For the first time in franchise history, the San Jose Sharks have landed the first pick in the NHL Draft.
In Tuesday’s draft lottery, San Jose edged out the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks to capture the top overall pick.
The Sharks finished an NHL-worst 19-54-9 and tallied just 47 points in the 82-game season.
Projected first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini was in the ESPN studio as the lottery was taking place, leading to an awkward exchange between he and ESPN’s John Buccigross.
“Have you been on Zillow every night?” Buccigross asked the 17-year-old, who replied, “No, no. Wait, what’s Zillow?”
The Blackhawks were looking to become just the second team in the Lottery Era to pick first in back-to-back seasons, a feat only accomplished by the Florida Panthers in 2002 and 2003. Chicago won the 2023 Draft Lottery and selected center Connor Bedard with the first pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
San Jose’s previous highest draft selection was when they picked second overall in the 1997 NHL Draft. The Sharks took Patrick Marleau who became the franchise’s all-time leading goal scorer along with the NHL’s all-time leader in games played with 1,779.
The Sharks retired his jersey in February 2023. It remains to be seen how Celebrini will translate to the NHL, but if one thing is clear it’s that he has big shoes to fill.
[Awful Announcing on Twitter/X]
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