The 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 28-29 at Sphere in Las Vegas. The first round will be June 28 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and Rounds 2-7 are June 29 (11:30 a.m. ET; ESPN+, NHLN, SN, SN1). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at center Macklin Celebrini of Boston University in Hockey East. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.
Macklin Celebrini should be celebrated for all he accomplished on the ice as the youngest player in NCAA Division I men's hockey with Boston University this season.
But there's more to this story because the relentlessness shown by the two-way center during rehabilitation after shoulder surgery just short of five months prior to making his college hockey debut as a 17-year-old might have been even more impressive.
It's that part that seems to be forgotten.
"I feel like that rehab was probably the hardest thing I've faced in my career, so far," Celebrini said. "The offseason was a lot different; more so than any other. It was a lot more rehabilitation after surgery and it was difficult. It was all about getting the fundamentals back, working on getting my hand strength and shot back to the level that I was before. I feel like I did a good job."
“Good job” might be an understatement. But that competitive verve has defined Celebrini at every level and each stage of his life to reach this point of his hockey career.