A Look Ahead at the Future
It's always nice to be a winning franchise, and having a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup is always a team's goal. Some teams, however, aren’t always going to have successful seasons. The right way to build a strong team is taking advantage of young prospects in the draft. When teams miss the playoffs, they automatically look forward to the NHL draft lottery. The lottery consists of all the teams who missed the playoffs, and each has a chance at acquiring the first overall pick in the draft to kickstart their chances at one day putting together a more competitive team.
The projected first overall pick is always a very skilled player that teams get excited for, and this year's player is nothing short of spectacular. Macklin Celebrini is a 17-year-old prospect currently playing at Boston University with 64 points in 37 games as a freshman. He is leading his team in points with the next person closest to him having 49 points, which is just an insane margin.
Celebrini and the Terriers are currently competing in the Frozen Four against the three other remaining teams in the playoffs. He is a big stage player with significant numbers to back it up. His next level offensive abilities are what stands out most in his game, being able to score in many different situations provides a deadly force to whichever team selects him. Last year's first overall pick was Connor Bedard and although Celebrini will most likely not be as good as Bedard, you can absolutely argue that he is going to provide a major help to any team.
Usually, the top 3 teams with the least number of points in the league tend to have the best chances of winning the lottery. The three teams will most likely be the San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, and the Anaheim Ducks. Can anyone imagine if the Blackhawks win the lottery, and the world gets to see a duo of Bedard and Celebrini? Or if Anaheim wins it, we can now see Celebrini slot in with an already loaded young forward core with guys like Trevor Zegras, Mason Mctavish, Troy Terry, and Cutter Gauthier. The sweepstakes for Celebrini are in full swing and teams are hoping for a chance at grabbing the next big player in this league.
