Projected No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini is Canada’s top player to watch at 2024 World Juniors

Dec 14, 2023

Projected No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini is Canada’s top player to watch at 2024 World Juniors

Credit: Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Canada’s world junior selection camp is always a “who’s who” among the best prospects in the world. And it’s always special when the next No. 1 draft pick shows up to to town.

So it wasn’t surprising that Macklin Celebrini was Canada’s most impressive player throughout training camp in Oakville this week. And now, he’s projected to lead Canada’s top line at the World Junior Championship when the event kicks off on Dec. 26 as the lone first-year draft-eligible prospect on the roster.

Widely considered the clear favorite to go first overall in 2024, Celebrini entered camp with fans keeping a close watch. Not to the level that Connor Bedard received the past two years, but what Celebrini is doing with Boston University in the NCAA deserves so much respect in its own right.

If you haven’t been following along, Celebrini has 25 points in 15 games as a pure freshman. A student of the school’s College of Arts and Sciences program, he’s third in NCAA scoring despite playing three fewer games than Massimo Rizzo, who leads the way with 31 points. Celebrini is on pace for around 60 points with BU, which would put him around Adam Fantilli’s 65-point run a year ago. The difference? Celebrini is 17, while Fantilli was 18 after missing the 2022’s draft cutoff by a few months. Celebrini is the only 2006-born player in college right now.

“He doesn’t play his age,” said Canadian world junior goaltender Mathias Rousseau. “Plays a more mature game. More mature even with his size. He’s a great player.”

The only player with a cage, Macklin Celebrini. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/IOPmys9M44
— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) December 11, 2023

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Celebrini is no stranger to donning the red, white and black. He had a quiet showing at the 2022 U-17 World Challenge, but he carried Canada on his back to a gold medal at the U-18 World Championship a few months later with 15 points in seven games en route to a bronze medal.

Celebrini played the tournament with a shoulder injury, but you couldn’t tell from the moves he made. He required surgery over the summer, but it didn’t take long for him to find his groove with BU. Now, with school on hold for the Christmas break, Celebrini’s focused on representing Canada at the highest level of international junior hockey for what’ll likely be his only attempt at the world juniors.

Just ask his teammates: Celebrini’s appearance is going to be a sight to behold.

“He’s a gifted player, he can do a little bit of everything,” said forward Denver Barkey. “Kind of gives you shades of Bedard.”

As one of just two college players on the team – and given he took the USHL route before that – there aren’t many of his fellow Canadians that have actually played alongside him. But Matthew Wood was his right-hand man at the U-18 World Championship, with the pair becoming one of the most dominant duos in the tournament.

“He’s just getting better every day, even from the half year since I’ve seen him,” Wood said. “He’s a really good kid, a really good player.”

Canada’s coach, Alan Letang, is already impressed with what he’s seen in the early days of coaching Celebrini. The pair have had very little interactions before, with Letang having never coached or coached against the Vancouver, B.C. native.

“Even in the lineup of drills, he’s always touching the puck and he’s always stickhandling,” Letang said. “He’s just very focused on the things he needs to do to continue to be successful.

“The puck finds him. He has lots of confidence with the puck, he makes great decisions. I heard lots about him… he comes as advertised.”

For now, Canada’s roster is lacking a Bedard or a Mason McTavish-type player that helped Canada win gold the past two years. There’s no immediate NHL-bound forward ready to take over. No Zach Benson, no Matthew Poitras, no Adam Fantilli and no Shane Wright.

But Celebrini could become “the guy.” You couldn’t tell he’s one of the youngest players this year – compared to the rest of the draft class, he’s special.

“You can tell he’s a pro already,” said forward Conor Geekie. “That’s what makes him so special. It’s just how he carries himself.”

Just a few weeks ago, Celebrini was just trying to finish his first term college classes. Now, he’s looking to lead Canada to its third straight gold in a tournament the country loses its mind about.

No pressure.

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