Colby Cohen Considers Celebrini To Be Crosby/Toews ‘Hybrid’

Colby Cohen expects Macklin Celebrini to be special — both on and off the ice for the San Jose Sharks.

The ESPN college hockey analyst already saw it up close, covering the Boston University freshman throughout his Hobey Baker Award-winning campaign.

“He’s about as sure a thing as you can have,” Cohen told the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast about the San Jose Sharks’ 2024 No. 1 pick last week. “There is no such thing in the Draft, but watching him as much as I have, I’ve never been so confident.”

On the ice, Cohen believes Celebrini will be in the Calder Trophy conversation immediately.

“I think that he’s going to have a similarly productive year that Connor Bedard had. I think that we’re going to see him in more situations probably than Connor Bedard was seen in. I think you’re going to see him kill penalties at some point,” Cohen predicted. “Connor Bedard is a little more deficient in his defensive game, [though] he’s a little bit higher end offensively.”

2023 first-overall selection Bedard led all rookies with 22 goals and 61 points last year, winning the Calder Trophy.

Long-term, Celebrini’s most common comps have been future Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews…and Cohen didn’t shy away from the hype for the top San Jose Sharks prospect.

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