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On Monday night, Macklin Celebrini picked up a pair of assists as the San Jose Sharks dropped a 4-3 decision in his first-ever NHL game in his hometown of Vancouver.
That’s already Celebrini’s eighth-career multi-point game and sends him into the Christmas break with an impressive 25 points in 25 games.
He has competition in the Calder Trophy race, but the 18-year-old is the only contender producing at a point-per-game rate. And while he certainly isn’t a finished product by any stretch, his competitive motor runs hot at all times. If he keeps improving at his current rate in the second half, he’ll have a real crack at succeeding Connor Bedard as a No. 1 overall pick named rookie of the year right after being drafted.
Given that those players are competing against rivals who can be as old as 25 in the Calder race, the true freshmen don’t prevail very often. Before Bedard, the last NHL player to do it was Auston Matthews in 2016-17. Five others have done it in the salary-cap era: Aaron Ekblad in 2015, Nathan MacKinnon (2014), Gabriel Landeskog (2012), Jeff Skinner (2011) and Patrick Kane (2008).
Celebrini is one of just three players from his draft class who has played in the NHL this year, and the only one to have any points at all. The others were No. 13 pick Jett Luchanko, who got into four games with the Philadephia Flyers before he was sent back to junior, and seventh-rounder Nikita Prishchepov. The 20-year-old was called up from the AHL for 10 games when the injury-ridden Colorado Avalanche were undermanned at forward.
Related: NHL Calder Trophy Tracker: Celebrini, Michkov And Hutson Begin To Separate
2024 NHL Draft Picks At World Juniors
Making the NHL is tough for 18-year-olds. But cracking World Junior Championship rosters in draft-plus-one years is not a slam dunk either, especially for players in the deeper North American prospect pools.
This year, there was plenty of second-guessing those braintrusts’ decisions to pass over some highly touted 2024 first-rounders, including Beckett Sennecke, Carter Yakemchuk and Zayne Parekh for Canada and E.J. Emery on the U.S. side.
Canada does have six players from the 2024 NHL draft on its roster, including Luchanko, top-10 pick Berkly Catton, defenseman Sam Dickinson and goalie Carter George, a late second-round pick by the Los Angeles Kings.
The U.S. roster features eight players from the 2024 draft, including their top three first-rounders: No. 12 Zeev Buium from the University of Denver, No. 19 Trevor Connelly from Providence University and No. 20 Cole Eiserman from Boston University. Emery was selected at No. 30.
Related: World Juniors 2025: One Prospect To Watch From Every Eastern Conference NHL Team
Finland has two highly touted first-rounders on its roster. Keep an eye on Konsta Helenius, who is holding his own with the Rochester Americans in the AHL as an 18-year-old. Emil Hemming, selected at No. 29 by the Dallas Stars, is also in the midst of his first year of North American hockey with the Barrie Colts.
After being knocked out of last year’s tournament with an injury and missing additional time this season, St. Louis Blues defense prospect Adam Jiricek is healthy. He suited up for Monday’s pre-tournament game for Czechia — a good sign.
Related: World Juniors 2025: One Prospect To Watch From Every Western Conference NHL Team
Away From The International Spotlight
Two other top five picks can’t participate in world juniors due to the ongoing IIHF sanctions against Russia and Belarus.
After missing training camp and the start of the season with a fractured foot, Artyom Levshunov has been a steady rookie with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. And over in Russia, dynamic winger Ivan Demidov has been seeing regular KHL minutes with St. Petersburg — not something that always happens for 18-year-olds in a league that traditionally favors veterans, especially on a team that expects to compete for a championship every year.
Last week, Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes and a couple of other staffers travelled to St. Petersburg to get a first-hand look at the progress of their No. 5 overall pick and show him that they’re invested in his development.
The New Jersey Devils’ No. 10 pick, 6-foot-7 defenseman Anton Silayev, is also in the KHL this season. He has seven assists in 32 games with Nizhny Novgorod, which sits just behind St. Petersburg in the Bobrov Division standings.
After finishing last in the top-level world juniors in 2024, Norway was relegated to Div. IA. Earlier in December, the Norwegians finished third in that six-team tournament, but both first-round picks from the 2024 NHL draft were relatively quiet. Right winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and defenseman Stian Solberg each finished with one goal.
Related: Six Biggest World Juniors Snubs: Will Canada, USA Regret Cutting Cristall, Misa And Musty?
In The Infirmary
Selected fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets, power center Cayden Lindstrom has yet to play a game at any level this season as he continues to rehab lingering injuries. And after rocketing up draft boards to earn a sixth-overall selection by the Utah Hockey Club, Tij Iginla put up 32 points in 21 games with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets this year before he underwent season-ending hip surgery in early December.
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Related: World Juniors: Sweden’s Victor Eklund Enters The Spotlight
