Macklin Celebrini, second from left, poses with San Jose General Manager Mike Grier, scouting director Chris Morehouse, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and former Sharks star Joe Thornton after being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft Friday night in Las Vegas. Steve Marcus/Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — The San Jose Sharks added a foundational piece to their rebuilding plan by choosing Boston University center Macklin Celebrini with the first pick in the NHL draft Friday.
Celebrini’s selection came as no surprise after the 18-year-old became just the fourth freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player. He did so as NCAA hockey’s youngest player, too, finishing second in the nation with 34 goals and third with 64 points in 38 games.
The 6-foot, 200-pound player from North Vancouver, British Columbia, already has ties to the Bay Area. Celebrini played for the Junior Sharks program after his father, Rick, was hired to be the Golden State Warriors’ sports medicine director.
“Just a surreal feeling,” Celebrini said after becoming the Sharks’ first No. 1 overall pick. “I’ve dreamed about this moment ever since I was a kid, and for it to come true, it’s just an amazing feeling.”
With the 25th overall pick, the Boston Bruins took a Boston College recruit – 6-foot-7 forward Dean Letourneau of St. Andrew’s College, a prep school in Ontario.
Celebrini is undecided on whether he will return to BU for a second year, but he deepens a talented prospect pool on a Sharks team in the midst of its longest playoff drought, now spanning five years.
The Chicago Blackhawks took Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov of Belarus with the second pick.
Anaheim followed with what was considered a surprise pick in selecting Oshawa forward Beckett Sennecke, who could be seen mouthing “Oh, my God,” to his father upon hearing former Ducks star Scott Niedermayer announce the pick. Sennecke was ranked 12th among North American players by NHL Central Scouting after finishing with 27 goals and 68 points in 63 games last season in the Ontario Hockey League.
Columbus selected Medicine Hat center Cayden Lindstrom at No. 4, and Montreal created a stir by having French-Canadian pop star Celine Dion announce their selection of Russian forward Ivan Demidov with the fifth pick.
Celebrini’s selection was announced by former Sharks star Joe Thornton – drafted No. 1 by Boston in 1997. Thornton opened by saying, “The San Jose Sharks are proud to select from Boston University,” before briefly pausing with a smile, and then said Celebrini’s name and pointing to him in the stands.
“I’m super excited he made the pick,” Celebrini said. “Obviously, a Sharks legend and an NHL legend, so that was real exciting.”
Celebrini’s production at BU accelerated over the second half of the season, with 22 goals and 39 points in his final 17 games in helping the Terriers reach the Frozen Four, where they lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Denver.
An NHL Central Scouting report referred to him as being “a strong skater with fluid stride, elusive speed and quickness. … The go-to for one-timers on the power play. Plays a heads-up complete game.”
Whenever Celebrini turns pro, he’ll join a Sharks’ youth movement that includes their two first-round picks last year, forwards Will Smith and OHL forward Quentin Musty. Then there’s the Swedish duo of Filip Bystedt, San Jose’s 2022 first-round pick who made his minor-league debut last season, and William Eklund, who has 18 goals and 52 points in 97 NHL games since being drafted seventh in 2021.
“Having the first overall pick, it’s a big moment for the organization, to have someone hopefully that can be a big part of our core and play here for a long, long time,” third-year GM Mike Grier said earlier this week.
“It’s definitely doing a good job of laying (the foundation). I don’t know if it’s finishing the foundation,” he added. “It’s definitely an important time, an important draft, but we still got some work to do to kind of round things out and keep building up the prospect pool.”
BUYOUTS: Buyout season is underway around the NHL as teams clear salary cap space for upcoming moves.
The Dallas Stars on Friday bought out the final year of veteran defenseman Ryan Suter’s contract after his disappointing playoffs. The Philadelphia Flyers are moving in the same direction with underproducing winger Cam Atkinson, putting him on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buying him out.
Suter, 39, did not need to go on waivers because of the no-movement clause in the two-year contract he signed with Dallas last summer. The buyout saves the club nearly $2.9 million against the cap next season, while costing an extra $1.4 million in 2025-26.
Atkinson, 35, had just 28 points in 70 games. The buyout of Atkinson’s final year under contract would save the Flyers $3.5 million against the cap next season, at a cost of an extra $1.76 million in 2025-26.
OILERS: Edmonton signed backup goalie Calvin Pickard to a two-year contract extension with an annual average value of $1 million.
Pickard, 32, was 12-7-1 with a 2.45 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in 23 games this past season.
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