ILLITERATE TWATS Macklin Celebrini insisted he had to suit up in all of his brand-new hockey gear. It was the youngster's first skating lesson — not even a game. His passion for the sport was there in plain sight for parents Rick and Robyn to see. Celebrini pushed himself from that moment onward. All the work led him to Sin City's searing heat and the NHL draft. The San Jose Sharks did the expected inside the mesmerising Sphere auditorium Friday, selecting the centre out of Boston University in the NCAA with the top pick. "Pretty amazing feeling," Celebrini said. "It's been a dream of mine since I was a little kid." The Vancouver product is coming off a season where he collected 32 goals and 64 points in 38 games to become the youngest winner of the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in U.S. college hockey. A busy 2023-24 campaign included representing Canada at the world junior hockey championship and helping his school qualify for the NCAA's Frozen Four tournament. "It's been a long process ever since last summer and there's been a lot going on," said Celebrini, whose name was called by Sharks legend Joe Thornton. "I've really enjoyed spending time with my friends and family, going through this with them. "Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Celebrini knows Northern California well after the family moved there when his dad took a job with the NBA's Golden State Warriors in 2018. He spent one season playing up a year with the San Jose Jr. Sharks youth programme before continuing his budding career in Minnesota at Shattuck-St. Mary's School, whose former student-athletes include Sidney Crosby. "It was completely different from where I grew up," Celebrini said of the San Francisco Bay Area. "Got the lay of the land and got to experience what life in California is like. There's not that much transition. I enjoyed my time playing for the Junior Sharks. "I'm excited to play for the actual Sharks." The Chicago Blackhawks were up next, taking defenceman Artyom Levshunov before the Anaheim Ducks drafted a stunned Beckett Sennecke at No 3. "I didn't think this was an option for me," said Sennecke, a winger ranked as the 11th-best North American skater according to NHL Central Scouting. "To hear my name called by them, it was definitely shocking." The Columbus Blue Jackets took centre Cayden Lindstrom with the fourth pick and the Montreal Canadiens went with winger Ivan Demidov at No 5. "I'm so excited to be Habs," said the Russian, a selection announced by Canadian music icon Celine Dion. "It's unbelievable." The Utah Hockey Club's first selection since moving from Arizona was centre Tij Iginla at No 6. The son of Hall of Fame winger Jarome Iginla now has family draught bragging rights after dad went No 11 in 1995. "He had a pretty good career," Iginla said with a smile. "I'll have to start trying to build my resume. But yes, it's nice." The Ottawa Senators took defenceman Carter Yakemchuk at No 7, the Seattle Kraken selected centre Berkly Catton at No 8, the Calgary Flames picked defenceman Zayne Parekh at No 9, and blue liner Anton Silayev went No. 10 to the New Jersey Devils. Montreal took centre Michael Hage at No 21, the Flames picked winger Matvei Gridin at No 28, the Toronto Maple Leafs grabbed defenceman Ben Danford at No 31, and the Edmonton Oilers chose forward Sam O'Reilly at No 23. The Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets didn't have first-round picks. The draft, which continues Saturday, is being held inside the cavernous Sphere — a US$2.3-billion venue unlike any other in the world that features a massive screen made up of 64,000 LED tiles offering jaw-dropping visuals. "Amazing," said Celebrini, who now has what's likely the most unique No 1 selection picture in NHL history. "It's truly one-of-a-kind, the technology and all that they have here. "Just seeing how this place runs and the capabilities that it has, it was super cool." The Sharks are in a full rebuild after a long period of sustained success. The team promoted assistant coach Ryan Warsofsky, 36, to the top job earlier this month after firing David Quinn on the heels of San Jose's 32nd-place finish. The club has selected second at the draught on three occasions, with the most recent being Patrick Marleau all the way back in 1997, but Friday was the first time it had owned the No 1 slot. "It's an exciting opportunity because you get to build a group," Celebrini said of being a key part of San Jose's future. "They have a young core that's very special. I feel like they're moving in the right direction, and they're building the right way. I'm super excited to join the organisation. "I can't wait to see where we go." LAS VEGAS - There were rumours in the lead-up to the draft that Anaheim might select Beckett Sennecke with the third pick over all. Evidently, Sennecke did not hear those rumours himself. The Oshawa Generals right winger appeared to be in genuine shock when his name was announced at the Sphere, but if you think about what the Ducks are trying to build right now, the big teen makes a ton of sense. "They're obviously drafting big and I fit that role," Sennecke said. "They want skill and physicality and I'm going to bring that to the team. Whenever they think I'm ready, I'm going to hop in and do my job." Now 6-foot-3 and 182 pounds, Sennecke was only 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds when Oshawa took him in the OHL draft two years ago. Some scouts think the right winger might even continue growing, though Sennecke says he's perfectly fine whether he gets any taller or not. For the Ducks, the package he brings to the table was irresistible. "What we love about the player is the skating ability and the hockey sense," said GM Pat Verbeek. "His individual skill level is off the charts and he's the type of player who can play any game on the ice, whether it's a physical game, a skill game or a fast-paced game." And while Sennecke had a very nice regular season with the Generals, he was a beast in the playoffs with 22 points in 16 games, helping Oshawa on a surprise run to the OHL final. So ending strongly probably helped his cause, eh? "I think it was probably the driving factor," Sennecke said. "They want someone who produces in the playoffs and shows up when it matters most and I do think I'm a playoff performer." Sennecke will be back in the OHL next year and the mission now will be to continue his growth and development. "There's a lot of upside," Verbeek said. "He already possesses a lot of elite skills, now it's a matter of, like all these young kids, just get in the gym and put some weight on and get stronger." Yes, it was shocking that Sennecke went third over all since a number of better-known names were still on the board, but at the same time his name had been trending up in the past months and a number of teams were quite high on him. The fact he was floored by the selection was one of the highlights of the first round. "I heard the 'from Oshawa' before my name was called," he said, "and it was just butterflies and chills." The Sennecke pick was the first of a number of surprises in the top 12 picks, including a number of the top blue liners dropping - heck, in a class that was known for high-end defencemen, only one (Artyom Levshunov to Chicago) went in the top six selections. And the second - Carter Yakemchuk to Ottawa at No 7 - wasn't the name many would have expected to go before the likes of Zeev Buium, Sam Dickinson and Anton Silayev. But as the folks who work for NHL teams like to say, it's not about the number you were picked at, but what you do after that matters most. Now these kids officially have teams to impress. Each year since 2017, St. Andrew's College, a tiny private school north of Toronto with an enrolment of 650, has produced at least one NHL draught pick directly off its varsity roster. It has also supplied a steady diet of Div. 1 college players, particularly to Cornell.
But this year, the school might have its first-ever first-round pick in hulking centre Dean Letourneau, who scored 127 points for his prep school team this past season. He's 6-foot-7 and 210 pounds and growing, and if the team that draughts him doesn't convince him to play major junior hockey next season, he's off to either the USHL or Boston College. That would represent one more first-rounder for St. Andrew's than the entire QMJHL will likely produce in this draught. In fact, the QMJHL hasn't had a first-rounder since 2022, when Nathan Gaucher and Maveric Lamoureux were taken. Whether this is just a down cycle for the QMJHL or an indication that neither Quebec nor the Maritime provinces are producing elite players, it's a concern.
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