Celebrini, Bedard fired up for 1st face-off of past 2 No. 1 NHL Draft picks

Macklin Celebrini didn’t play with fellow North Vancouver, British Columbia native Connor Bedard as much as he played against him when they were kids. Even then, Bedard stuck out.

“He’s always been a superstar,” Celebrini said. “Whenever we were younger, he’s always been the kid you see now. I think it’s just flourished and kind of grown from there.”

Now Celebrini, the No. 1 pick by the San Jose Sharks in the 2024 NHL Draft, is as much of a star as Bedard, selected No. 1 by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2023 NHL Draft. They’ll square off for the first time in the NHL when the Blackhawks play the Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; CHSN+, NBCSCA).

There’s something special for the North Vancouver natives being back-to-back No. 1 picks in the NHL Draft. Not bad for a city of 58,120 (according to the 2021 census).

“I guess we had a couple of good years, obviously back-to-back first overall and stuff,” Bedard said with a laugh. “It’s cool to see our hometown do that but it’s a great place for people to grow up playing hockey and just a great city.

“Obviously that’s the goal is for both of us to be in the League for a while. It’s just been fun to watch his growth and get to cheer [Celebrini] on, see his success.”

This is the third time the Sharks and Blackhawks have met this season. Celebrini missed the first two games, a 4-2 Blackhawks win on Oct. 17 and a 3-2 Sharks win on Oct. 31, due to a hip injury he sustained in the preseason and aggravated in the Sharks’ 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues in their season opener on Oct. 10.

When Celebrini has been healthy, he’s been great. He has 48 points (20 goals, 28 assists) in 54 games this season, second among NHL rookies behind Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson with 51 points (four goals, 47 assists) in 65 games. He leads NHL rookies who have played 40 or more games this season with 0.89 points per game.

“He’s a dynamic player,” Bedard said. “I know coming in as an 18-year-old is tough and obviously it’s a good League, so I’m glad to see his production and his impact on games has been awesome. It’s been fun to watch.”

Bedard won the Calder Trophy, awarded annually to the League’s top rookie, in June after leading all rookies with 61 points (22 goals, 39 assists) in 68 games last season. The 19-year-old leads the Blackhawks this season with 52 points (17 goals, 35 assists) in 65 games.

And indeed, Bedard knows the pressure that comes with being the No. 1 pick. He and Celebrini are each expected to help turn around his franchise.

The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015 but outside of a Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance in 2020, they haven’t qualified for the postseason since 2016-17.

The Sharks have missed the playoffs the past five seasons. Before that they qualified 13 of 14 seasons from 2005-19, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015-16, when they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

With that in mind, as Celebrini prepared for the 2024 Draft, Bedard reached out to him.

“He [said] if I wanted to reach out to him, he was there to answer any questions, which I really appreciated, just going through that. He obviously went through it the year before,” Celebrini said. “When I went through it, I never ended up using him but knowing he was a resource for me was cool.”

While they haven’t played each other yet, they’ve watched each other closely and appreciate each other’s game.

“His playmaking is unbelievable. I see that a lot in the summers when I skate with him,” Celebrini said of Bedard. “The way he sees the ice I think doesn’t get appreciated as much. Also, his ability to strip pucks from guys. He has such a long stick, and he knows how to use it. So, he’s able to kind of pull those pucks from guys.”

Bedard said one of Celebrini’s underrated skills is his energy.

“He’s always hounding pucks and he’s always moving and he’s just hard to play against. I think that’s impressive from an offensive player who’s so gifted,” Bedard said.

“You can talk about his shot, his skills, his IQ, it’s all unbelievable. But that’s something that people might not notice as much is how hard he is on pucks. He’s always getting in the way and creating stuff off the puck, so that’s really impressive.”

Two of the League’s top teenagers will play on Thursday for what each hope will be the first of many meetings over the coming years, be it regular or postseason.

“For sure. it’s going to be great,” Celebrini said. “Them and us, we have a way to go before it’s a high-level rivalry where we’re both in a playoff spot and maybe we face each other in the playoffs. Both of our franchises need a little bit of time to get there

“But I mean, I think what they’re doing is great and we have a plan to turn this around soon. Hopefully soon, that becomes that.”

NHL.com independent correspondent Max Miller contributed to this report.