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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterJun 30, 2024, 07:00 AM ET
CloseKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.
The 2024 NHL draft saw many teams select players who have instantly jumped to the top of their prospect pipelines. And for the San Jose Sharks, not only did they get a new top-six center in Macklin Celebrini, but a long-term power-play quarterback and minutes-eating defenseman in Sam Dickinson.
Meanwhile, the Utah Hockey Club brought in two new veteran defensemen in trades — Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino — while the goalie carousel continued spinning, with Logan Thompson and Akira Schmid finding new homes.
With free agency set to begin at noon ET on Monday, what else were executives and other NHL insiders discussing in Las Vegas? Here’s the latest buzz, setting up the next wave of trades and a pivotal free agent market:
The San Jose Sharks were locked in on taking Macklin Celebrini No. 1 overall with the franchise’s first-ever top draft selection. But even after landing Celebrini, there’s a question as to when he’ll actually join the NHL ranks. Celebrini just completed a dominant freshman season at Boston University that made him the youngest-ever winner of the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top skater. It’s possible Celebrini will return to BU for a sophomore stint given no one has said officially that a jump into the Sharks’ lineup is imminent.
Celebrini himself told reporters on Friday that he doesn’t have a timeline in mind to make a decision about going back to BU, either. And it would be a collaborative process with San Jose anyway in determining whether he’s ready to start what projects to be a successful NHL career.
One scout said it would be a “shock” though if Celebrini weren’t playing for San Jose next season. While there has been debate over Celebrini’s status as a “generational” talent or not, he’s still viewed at a similarly high level with potential to have an immediate impact.
“If [Celebrini] wants to be in the NHL, and the Sharks…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/insider/story/_/id/40462110/nhl-draft-2024-free-agency-trades-buzz-news-stamkos-guentzel-celebrini
Author : Kristen Shilton
Publish date : 2024-06-30 12:16:32
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