No Celebrini Celebration in Chicago: Blackhawks Land XXX in 2024 NHL Draft Lottery
The Chicago Blackhawks landed second in Tuesday night’s NHL Draft Lottery, dashing their hopes of winning the league’s No. 1 draft pick for a second straight season and the shot at selecting Boston University power forward Macklin Celebrini.
The San Jose Sharks won the first over pick for the first time in franchise history.
Chicago came out on top in the lottery in 2023 and then drafted generational talent Connor Bedard, who went on to become the NHL’s leading rookie scorer in 2023-24. The Blackhawks were trying to become the first team with back-to-back No. 1 draft picks since the Edmonton Oilers had three straight in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
2023 No. 1 pick Connor Bedard chases 2015 top pick Connor McDavid.
Chicago actually had slightly better draft lottery odds in 2024 than in 2023.
The Blackhawks finished with the NHL’s third-worst record in 2022-23 and an 11.5% percent chance of winning the lottery. Even with Bedard in the lineup, the Blackhawks dropped to second-worst in 2023-24 and had a 13.5% chance of winning on Tuesday.
Celebrini Stats and Background
Celebrini had a terrific 32-goal, 64-point freshman season at BU and won the Hobey Baker Award as the top NCAA player.
Celebrini, still just 17, will join Canada’s team at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Czechia along with Bedard.
Having both Bedard and Celebrini in the same lineup in Chicago would have considerably accelerated the Blackhawks’ rebuild. It would have given team two foundational star forwards — ones with different, complementary styles — like Chicago had with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews as it won Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
But now it’s on to Plan B for Blackhawks general manger Kyle Davidson with the second overall pick in the first round.
Odds are Davidson and his staff will focus on finding a high-skilled forward for long-term help.
The group of top prospects heading into the 2024 draft is dominated by defensemen. Davidson says the Blackhawks will select the best player available regardless of his position, but Chicago has several top defenseman prospects who are on the verge of making it in the NHL.
With the XX pick, the Blackhawks could be in line to pursue Russian forward Ivan Demidov. The 18-year-old came on strong in the second half of the 2023-24 season and has been compared to Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov, the NHL’s leading scorer in 2024 and Hart Trophy finalist.
Chicago also has second first-round pick in 2024, 20th overall. It came in a 2022 trade that sent forward Brandon Hagel to the Tampa Bay Lightning.