Projected No. 1 pick elite in top aspects of game, says Gregory of NHL Central Scouting
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The 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 28-29 at Sphere in Las Vegas. The first round will be June 28 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and round 2-7 are on June 29 (11:30 ET; ESPN+, NHLN, SN, SN1). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.
Macklin Celebrini, expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft, has elite-level skill in the three most crucial components to becoming an NHL player, according to David Gregory of NHL Central Scouting.
"We always talk about skating, hockey sense and compete level as being three of the most important traits a player can have to advance to the next level," Gregory said on the latest edition of the "NHL Draft Class" podcast. "If you have one of those that's elite, you have a chance, two you get better, and three, there's probably no doubt, and I think he's elite in all three of those aspects of the game.
"To watch him play this year was really amazing to see what he could accomplish."
Celebrini, at 17 years old the youngest player in college hockey, was third among NCAA players with 64 points (32 goals, 32 assists) in 38 games as a freshman at Boston University and won the Hobey Baker Award as the top men's player in NCAA hockey.
He will be one of the approximately 100 prospects taking part in the 2024 NHL Scouting Combine presented by adidas in Buffalo from June 2-8.
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Gregory is one of many members of Central Scouting who help coordinate the travel, medical and fitness testing, and interviews for the prospects with the 32 NHL teams, and discussed some of what goes into that work.
Also discussing the combine was Sportsnet draft analyst Jason Bukala, who previously worked as an amateur scout with the Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers.
Bukala shared his thoughts on several of the top prospects for the 2024 draft, among them forward Cole Eiserman of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team and where he could go in the first round.
"I wouldn't be surprised [if Eiserman was selected] around 10," Bukala said. "Someone might step up earlier because they think they'll be able to break him of some of his deficiencies. He's the most elite goal scorer, most elite shooter in the draft class by a wide margin. It's just the rest of it that you have to wrap your mind around."
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