The San Jose Sharks won this month's NHL Draft lottery, granting them the right to the first overall pick in the upcoming draft, and likely securing top prospect Macklin Celebrini as a member of their future core.
It was a brutal season for the Sharks, as the franchise continues its tailspin in the aftermath of an expensive era built around Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic that was successful enough to deprive them of high-end draft capital for well over a decade but never strong enough to win the Stanley Cup.
Only Couture and Vlasic remain with the team, but they are still very expensive despite being greatly diminished as players from their peak days. This resulted in the bottom completely falling out the past few years, and while the Sharks missed out in the Connor Bedard lottery last year, they were luckier this time around.
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Macklin Celebrini Will Be a San Jose Shark
Celebrini is exactly the type of prospect that a franchise in San Jose's position needs to start to turn things around. While he's not at the level Bedard or Connor McDavid reached as prospects, the consensus is that he's also a tier above other recent first overall picks like Jack Hughes and Alexis Lafreniere.
The Canadian went a non-traditional pre-draft route, choosing to play NCAA hockey in the United States rather than partake in the Canadian Hockey League's junior infrastructure.
In his one year at Boston University, Celebrini put up 32 goals and 32 assists for a whopping 64 points in 38 games played, earning the Hobey Baker Award as the top college player in the nation, cementing himself as the presumptive first overall pick as the best in a pool of mostly older and more developed players.
While the Sharks have struggled the past few years, they have done a good job of compiling high-end prospects in anticipation of landing a pillar like Celebrini to set them up for the future.
Will Smith was Celebrini's rival at Boston College this season, but the two promise to make up an electrifying one-two punch down the middle at center for San Jose in the years to come, if Smith opts to sign with the Sharks and turn pro.
Quentin Musty and Filip Bystedt are also strong forward prospects in the Sharks' pipeline, and on defense the team hopes to develop Shakir Mukhamadullin, acquired from the Devils in the Timo Meier deal, into a future anchor.
The win of the lottery and the addition of Celebrini to this prospect pool will make it unquestionably the best in the league, and the dynamic Canadian center should have the supporting cast he'll need to not be stuck on an island on a bad team. Look out for the Sharks over the next few years.
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