(Buffalo) Top prospects drafted after one year in the NCAA, it happens. But the way Macklin Celebrini did it, it happens less often.

Barring a cataclysm, Celebrini will become the first in class in this 2024 draft on June 28. If he is not expected to be as exceptional a talent as his predecessor, Connor Bedard, his career is not no less exceptional.

His particuliarity ? He played in the NCAA at 17. Let’s explain.

2021 No. 1 pick Owen Power, along with Jack Eichel (2nd pick, 2015), Matty Beniers (2nd pick, 2021) and Adam Fantilli (3rd pick last year), all played in the college ranks this season. preceding their draft.

But these players all have in common that they were born after September 15, the date that determines eligibility for the draft. They are what we commonly call “lates”, or players who are drafted at 18, a few months before their 19th birthday. Which means they were 18 in their first season of college.

Celebrini is by far the most productive on this list. He finished the season as the NCAA’s 3rd scorer with 64 points (32 goals, 32 assists) in 38 games, with Boston University. However, remember that the average age of NCAA Division I teams this season varied between 20 years 9 months and 23 years 2 months*.

His decision to try his luck at university at 17 “was mainly based on hockey,” he explained in a press briefing reserved for five top prospects on Friday. I felt that the level of play would help me improve. »

Academically, however, he had to do, in the words of André Ruel, of the CAA agency, which represents Celebrini, “two years in one” in order to be admitted. “While I was playing for the Chicago Steel [in 2022-23], I had to take a lot of 11th and 12th grade classes in order to get all my credits. But besides, it wasn’t that much work,” the teen explained.

On the hockey side, it was Michael Hage, a 2024 draft prospect who played with him in Chicago, who explained the situation best. “With what he did in his first year, he had nothing to gain from coming back to the USHL with the Steel,” Hage told us.

At 16, Celebrini finished first in the American junior circuit in goals (46) and points (86) in 50 games.

With such exploits, the Vancouverite has established himself as the consensus choice in 1st place for the 2024 vintage.

However, he skillfully avoided the trap of presenting himself as a future member of the Sharks, despite questions strongly oriented in this direction. “At the end of the day, you never know what’s going to happen,” he emphasized.

He certainly admitted to having had a meal with Mike Grier, general manager of the Sharks, but nothing more.

The most tricky question was from a colleague asking if he was relieved to have Will Smith among his teammates. That’s because Smith, a Sharks prospect, wore the colors of Boston College last season, one of Boston University’s great rivals. This same Smith confirmed, at the end of May, that he was leaving school and signing a contract with the Sharks.

“It’s not pleasant to face him,” Celebrini agreed. He’s a special player, super talented. Every time we confronted him, he hurt us. » In short, not a single line about the prospect of being his teammate.

But barring an injury, it’s a safe bet that Smith and Celebrini will experience their NHL baptism in Pat Falloon’s old uniform sometime next October.