The San Jose Sharks announced Saturday that the club has signed Boston University forward Macklin Celebrini, the first-overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, to a standard, entry-level contract.
Celebrini now gives up his remaining NCAA eligibility.
“Macklin is not only a special player on the ice, but he is a poised, confident and intelligent young man off of it,” said Sharks GM Mike Grier in a statement. “His combination of skills and hockey sense is rare, and we are extremely confident that he is ready to make the transition to being a full time NHL player.
“We could not be more excited to have Macklin locked in to formally join the Sharks organization for the 2024-25 season.”
Celebrini, an 18-year-old Vancouver, B.C., native, played in 38 NCAA games for the Terriers in 2023-24, recording 64 points (32 goals, 32 assists) along with a plus-25 rating. As a freshman, Celebrini finished second in the NCAA in points per game, ranked second in goals and was third in points. He became the fourth player in collegiate history to achieve a 30-goal, 30-assist campaign and failed to register a point in only six games this past season.
He registered a four-assist game on Nov. 11, a 10-game point streak (nine goals, 13 assists), and in his first 11 games of the season, he notched eight multi-point outings and collected a total of 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists). He helped BU to the Beanpot final, scoring a goal against Northeastern, guided his team to the Hockey East final against Boston College, and helped BU reach the NCAA Frozen Four semifinal.
Celebrini was recognized with several year-end awards and achievements, notably winning the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player, becoming the fourth freshman in NCAA history and the youngest to ever to be named the recipient of the award. He was named the national rookie of the year, New England rookie of the year, Hockey East player of the year and rookie of the year, and named first team All-American, Hockey East first team all-star, Hockey East all-rookie team, among several other achievements.
During his youth hockey days, Celebrini played with the San Jose Jr. Sharks program during the 2019-20 campaign, collecting 94 points with the 14U AAA team across 54 games (49 goals, 45 assists).
Internationally, he has represented Team Canada at the 2024 World Junior Championship and led the team in scoring with eight points (four goals, four assists) in five games. He also helped Canada to a bronze medal at the 2023 Under-18 World Championship and was named a top-3 player on the team for both tournaments.
