NHL
The Bruins have four picks to use at their disposal this weekend.
There’s not much drama surrounding the top of the 2024 NHL draft. Any mention of Macklin Celebrini over the last few years has included the qualifier: “The projected No. 1 pick of the 2024 draft.”
That talk only picked up steam during his freshman season at Boston University, when Celebrini took home the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player after tallying 32 goals and 32 assists in 38 games.
The San Jose Sharks, by virtue of finishing in last place and winning the lottery, are in line to select the talented forward, who turned 18 earlier this month. Most evaluators expect the Blackhawks, who hold the No. 2 pick, to take Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov. Beyond that, it gets a little murky.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the draft, which begins Friday night in Las Vegas.
The basics
When: Friday, June 28, 7 p.m., and Saturday, June 29, 11:30 a.m.
Where: Sphere, Las Vegas
TV: ESPN (first round), NHL Network (Rounds 2-7)
When do the Bruins pick?
The Bruins did not have a pick until the fourth round entering the week, but managed to move into the first by shipping Linus Ullmark to Ottawa for a package that included the 25th selection. It is the pick the Bruins originally sent to Detroit to acquire Tyler Bertuzzi at the 2023 trade deadline. The Red Wings later moved that pick to Ottawa for forward Alex DeBrincat.
The second-round pick was shipped to the Ducks at the 2022 deadline as part of the package to land Hampus Lindholm, and they included the third-round pick in the deal to get Garnet Hathaway from the Capitals in February 2023.
They will have selections in the fifth and sixth round, but their seventh-round choice was sent to the Coyotes in February 2022 in exchange for Michael Callahan.
Here’s where the Bruins will be picking this weekend:
List of 2024 Bruins draft picks
First round: 25th
Fourth round: 122nd
Fifth round: 154th
Sixth round: 186
NHL draft first-round order
The first 16 picks were determined by the lottery. Picks 17 through 28 went to teams that lost during the first two rounds of the playoffs, with teams that did not win their division in inverse order of regular-season point totals. Following those teams is the one division winner that lost, the Vancouver Canucks. Next are the conference runners-up, followed by the Stanley Cup Final runner-up Edmonton, and champion Florida.
The Oilers traded their pick to the Ducks for forwards Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick on March 6. The Panthers sent their pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for forward Claude Giroux on March 19, 2022.
What did the Bruins do in 2023?
The Bruins made five picks in last year’s draft, but none in the first two rounds. Their first three selections were centers and are playing for notable college hockey programs in the fall: Christopher Pelosi, Quinnipiac, at No. 92, Beckett Hendrickson, Minnesota, at 124, and Ryan Walsh, Cornell, at 188.
They added a pair of Swedes in the seventh round, taking forward Casper Nassen at 214 and defenseman Kristian Kostadinski at 220.
With the first pick …
San Jose general manager and Holliston native Mike Grier indicated he would select fellow Terrier Celebrini at No. 1 shortly after the Sharks won the lottery. The only question surrounding the pick is if Celebrini would sign right away and join Lexington native and former Boston College forward Will Smith, the No. 4 pick in last year’s draft who signed this spring, or opt for one more season at BU.
Here are some others who should be called shortly after Celebrini.
Artyom Levshunov, D, Michigan State (NCAA)
The third-youngest player in college hockey, Levshunov appeared in all 38 games for the Spartans and was the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. He led the conference with a plus-27 rating. At 6 feet two inches and 210 pounds, the puck-moving defenseman appears ready to make the jump.
Anton Silayev, D, Nizhny Novgorod (RUS)
The first thing scouts notice is his size. The 6-foot-7 inch left-shot defenseman blocked 74 shots in 63 games in the KHL and was second on his team with 98 hits. He just turned 18 in April, and has been working on his offensive game after recording three goals and eight assists, the most points by a player under 18 in KHL history.
Cayden Lindstrom, C, Medicine Hat (WHL)
The two-way center had 27 goals in 32 games before back and hand injuries forced him to miss 36 games in the second half of the season. He returned for the postseason, notching a goal and an assist in four playoff games, and appears to be back on track for a healthy return in 2024-25.
Ivan Demidov, RW, SKA St. Petersburg Jr. (RUS-JR)
After putting up 23 goals and 37 assists in 30 regular season games, Demidov added 11 goals and 17 assists in 17 playoff games in Russia’s junior league. He is under contract with SKA St. Petersburg for the 2024-25 season.
Zeev Buium, D, Denver (NCAA)
Local college hockey fans will know the name from his assist on the insurance goal in Denver’s 2-0 win over Boston College in the national championship game. The second-youngest player in college hockey became the first Denver player to reach 50 points in 40 years, tallying 11 goals and 39 assists.
Local players who could be drafted
Celebrini could be reunited with Newburyport native Cole Eiserman. The two were roommates at Shattuck St. Mary’s, and some mock drafts have the Sharks selecting Eiserman with the 14th pick. But before he hits the NHL, Eiserman will skate for BU next season as a freshman.
Teddy Stiga’s stock rose after he tallied 36 goals and 43 assists in 61 games for the US National Team Development Program. The Sudbury native could vault into the first round, although it seems more likely that the BC commit will be taken in the second or third.
The rest of the local prospects appear to be Day 2 hopefuls, including Gio DiGiulian (South Burlington/Cornell), Ben Merrill (Hingham/Harvard), Landan Resendes (Marlboro/BC), Jack Sadowski (Arlington/University of New Hampshire), Will Felicio (Holden/Michigan), Owen Keefe (Saugus/Northeastern), Ethan Gardula (Princeton, Mass./UConn), JJ Monteiro (Hudson/Providence), and Thatcher Bernstein (Brookline/Harvard).
Other draft eligible players committed or already playing for New England schools include Trevor Connolly and Tanner Adams (Providence), Cole Hutson (BU), Dean Letourneau (BC), Albin Boija (Maine), Joe Connor (Norhteastern), Heikki Ruohonen and Xavier Vellieux (Harvard).
Sign up for Bruins updates🏒
Get breaking news and analysis delivered to your inbox during hockey season.
