Celebrini Still Coy About Who’s Drafting Him, Gives His Best at Youth Hockey Clinic

LAS VEGAS — Macklin Celebrini still is being coy about where he will be selected in the 2024 NHL Draft, where the San Jose Sharks stand ready to pick him No. 1 overall.

“Trying not to get too ahead of ourselves for where I’m going to go,” the 18-year-old Boston University center said at the NHL Draft Prospect Youth Hockey Clinic on Wednesday.

Of course, we know Celebrini is going No. 1 — bet on the other consensus picks here.

He did admit to chatting with future fellow Sharks prospect Will Smith “a little bit” over the last couple months, but when asked to elaborate, he was guarded.

Celebrini laughed when asked if Smith was putting the full press on him to turn pro. Smith himself said last month that he is leaving Boston College — BU’s Hockey East rival — for the San Jose Sharks.

“Not much. Not much,” Celebrini said, when asked what Smith has been saying to try to convince him.

Celebrini said he won’t make a decision about turning pro until he speaks with the team that drafts him.

“It’s just something that I can’t really make a decision on until the draft happens and I talk to the team that selects me, and then I talk to my coaches at Boston University as well,” Celebrini said. “Once those conversations happen, then I’ll be set to make a decision.”

Don’t worry: The San Jose Sharks will select Celebrini No. 1 on Friday night, and San Jose Hockey Now’s sources indicate almost 100 percent that he’s coming out of college and playing pro hockey.

Read the Full Article at NBC Sports Bay Area