“It’s signed, sealed, delivered.”
“The unanimous top prospect.”
“Easy peasy.”
“The obvious choice at No. 1.”
“There is nobody [else] in consideration to be the first overall.”
“No-doubt pick.”
“Surely will go to San Jose first overall.”
That’s how certain seven experts are that the San Jose Sharks will make Macklin Celebrini the first-overall pick of the 2024 Draft.
Good thing for this article, the Sharks also have the No. 14 selection, acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer in the Erik Karlsson trade.
So who do Chris Peters of FloHockey, Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff, Craig Button of TSN, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, Rachel Doerrie of ESPN, Sam Cosentino of Sportsnet, and Elite Prospects have the San Jose Sharks picking 14th-overall right now?
These are all picks from their post-Draft Lottery mock drafts.
Cole Eiserman
This would be exciting!
Celebrini and Eiserman were friends at prep school Shattuck-St. Mary’s, and the 6-foot-0 right winger is arguably the premier goalscorer of the 2024 Draft.
Chris Peters wrote: “He’s a legit sniper and with the playmakers San Jose has lined up including last year’s top pick Will Smith, Eiserman could do a lot of damage with those guys.”
Adam Jiricek
However, the San Jose Sharks are in sore need of higher-end defensive prospects.
Up front, San Jose could be set with Celebrini, Will Smith, William Eklund, and Quentin Musty leading the way. But on defense, only Shakir Mukhamadullin looks like a likely top-four rearguard.
Ellis, Wheeler, and Doerrie went for arguably the top defenseman outside of the sweet six of Zeev Buium, Sam Dickinson, Artyom Levshunov, Zayne Parekh, Anton Silayev, and Carter Yakemchuk.
The 6-foot-2 right-handed Jiricek, younger brother of David Jiricek, might be right up there if not for injuries this season.
“Jiricek is a good puck-mover who just dealt with some bad luck in the top Czech league,” Ellis wrote.
Wheeler added, “Viewed as a potential top-10 pick last summer before two knee injuries derailed his season and turned him into a wild card.”
“He will be the Sharks’ top prospect on the blue line,” Doerrie declared.
Beckett Sennecke
Elite Prospects actually has the Sharks passing on Yakemchuk in favor of the fast-rising 6-foot-2 right winger: “The Oshawa winger has been cooking the OHL playoffs thanks to his terrific set of hands and impressive work in tight space.”
Terik Parascak
Would this be a bit of a reach?
The 5-foot-11 winger is Button’s choice for the San Jose Sharks – but he doesn’t appear in the top-16 of any of the other lists featured here, showing up at No. 22 for Ellis and No. 31 for Doerrie.
“He’s an excellent dual threat as a shooter and a passer,” Ellis wrote, “be betting on the upside here.”
Michael Hage
Or could the San Jose Sharks keep fortifying themselves up the middle?
Cosentino wrote of the 6-foot-1 centerman, who endured his share of injuries this season: “A skilled player who moves around the ice well, with the added bonus of having a solid frame.”
Ellis added: “Scouts I’ve talked to think he could have easily been a top 10 pick if there was more of a sample size to build upon.”
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