The San Jose Sharks’ big win in the first round on Friday actually took place during the NHL Draft Lottery.
But they held firm and selected future franchise player Macklin Celebrini with the first overall pick. The Hobey Baker Award winner from Boston University was not only the most talented player in the draft, he also has ties to the Bay Area.
He and fellow college hockey player Will Smith give the last-place Sharks two players to lean on. Celebrini, who just turned 18, said he hasn’t decided whether to turn pro or return for another season of college.
The Sharks also selected defenseman Sam Dickinson with the 11th overall pick. He has the potential to become a top-tier defenseman.
Here are the winners and losers from the first round of the NHL Draft:
Winners
Beckett Sennecke’s reaction
The Anaheim Ducks went off the rails a bit last year when they took Leo Carlsson ahead of Adam Fantilli. They left Friday drafting Sennecke third overall. He was expected to be knocked out much later in the first round and the prospect had a priceless reaction on his face when he heard his name.
Sennecke had a solid second half with Oshawa, which boosted his draft stock.
“When he gets stronger physically, he’ll be able to play any type of game on the ice,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek told reporters. “He can play a physical game, he can play a skill game and he can play a fast game. His overall game is what we’ve been excited about.”
The secret weapon of the Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens probably knew they would be booed in Las Vegas for upsetting the Golden Knights in the 2021 playoffs. But they silenced the boos by calling Celine Dion on stage to announce their pick. Montreal took Ivan Demidov.
The Flyers were also treated to a nice appearance from boxing announcer and Philadelphia native Michael Buffer.
Norway
No Norwegian player had ever been selected in the first round before Friday. In 2024, there were two of them.
The Detroit Red Wings took winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygard 15th overall and the Ducks took defenseman Stian Solberg 23rd overall.
“A very good two-way player and scoring wing who obviously fills a void in our prospect pool,” Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, of Brandsegg-Nygard.
Losers
Calgary Flames
Wouldn’t it have been great for the Flames to have selected Tij Iginla at No. 9? His father, Jarome, established his Hall of Fame credentials in Calgary. But the Utah hockey club selected the younger Iginla at No. 6.
No NHL players traded, only picks
Yes, the commercial alert horn was very busy. And yes, there were no first-round trades last season, so we should be grateful for that. But the exchanges were only exchanges of choice.
The first is the Wild moving up one spot in a trade with the Flyers to get Zeev Buium. Utah and Chicago both moved up one spot to get another first-round pick and Edmonton gave up a 2025 or 2026 first-round pick to get the 32nd overall pick.
Ryan Suter
The Dallas Stars defenseman was bought out for the second time in his career, only the second time that has happened (Tony DeAngelo is the other player). Suter is still paid from his buyout from the Minnesota Wild and will receive $1,433,333 for each of the next two seasons for this one. He becomes an unrestricted free agent but is 39 years old.
The Flyers also acquired forward Cam Atkinson.
News Source : www.usatoday.com
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