Biggest Surprises From Round 1 Of The 2024 NHL Draft

After a wire-to-wire run as hockey’s top prospect, Boston University freshman Macklin Celebrini surprised no one when he became the first-ever first-overall pick of the San Jose Sharks on Day 1 of the 2024 NHL Draft in Vegas.

Celebrini was welcomed to the organization by Sharks franchise legend Joe Thornton — a No. 1 pick himself back in 1997, although that was with the Boston Bruins.

Shortly after that, the real fun began.

No matter how many rankings and mock drafts circulate in the days and weeks leading up to the event, there are always plenty of surprises when the names are called.

Here are some of Friday’s biggest splashes, in order of appearance:

No. 3 – Anaheim Ducks select Beckett Sennecke

The TV camera training in on his face wasn’t enough to tip off Oshawa Generals right winger Beckett Sennecke that he was about to hear his name called third overall by the former Anaheim Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer — who was drafted at No. 3 himself by the New Jersey Devils back in 1991.

Sennecke moved from No. 15 to No. 13 among North American skaters between the mid-term and final draft rankings by NHL Central Scouting. A growth spurt saw him sprout up to 6-foot-3, and his draft stock spiked when he put up 22 points in 16 games before bowing out of the OHL’s Eastern Conference Final with an injury.

Boasting a mixture of power and finesse in his game, Sennecke became the first player selected from the Canadian Hockey League. His selection also served notice that maybe this wasn’t going to be ‘the year of the defenseman’ after all.

Terik Parascak also appeared to be daydreaming when the Washington Capitals called his name at No. 17. The high-scoring right winger came out of nowhere to put up 105 points as a WHL rookie with the Prince George Cougars in 2023-24. That vaulted him into first-round range after he finished at No. 15 on Central Scouting’s list of North American skaters.

No. 5 – Celine Dion announces Montreal Canadiens’ selection of Ivan Demidov

With 24 Stanley Cups including the most recent win by a Canadian team back in 1993, the Montreal Canadiens are the NHL’s most storied franchise.

Global superstar Celine Dion was born in Charlemagne, Quebec, about 15 miles outside of Montreal’s downtown core. These days, as she works to overcome health issues, Dion makes frequent appearances at NHL events with her three sons, and refers to herself as a ‘hockey mom.’

A long-time resident of Las Vegas, Dion brought her trademark emotion to her announcement of her hometown team’s first pick of the day, ultra-skilled Russian right wing Ivan Demidov.

No. 6 – Tij Iginla become first-ever draft pick of Utah Hockey Club

All the buzz suggested that the fast-rising sharpshooter Iginla was destined to go at No. 9 to the Calgary Flames, where his Hall of Fame father Jarome Iginla spent the best years of his NHL career and currently serves as a special advisor to Calgary GM and close friend Craig Conroy.

But the brand-new Utah franchise swept in and foiled that plan, with owners Ryan and Ashley Smith banking on Iginla to be the torch-bearer for their franchise — though not immediately. He’ll likely return to the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League for at least one more year before he turns pro.

Tij also steals some bragging rights by being selected five spots higher than his highly decorated father, who was chosen at No. 11 by the Dallas Stars back in 1995.

Later on Friday, Utah added a second first-round pick by trading three picks to the Colorado Avalanche. At No. 24, the new team selected big center Cole Beaudoin from the OHL’s Barrie Colts.

No. 7 – Ottawa kicks off run of defense picks by selecting Carter Yakemchuk

It wasn’t surprising to see Belarusian blueliner Artyom Levshunov go second overall to Chicago. He’s a coveted right shot who has been playing against men at Michigan State University, and demonstrated a maturity in his game.

It was surprising that four more picks went by before another blueliner was selected — and that the second defenseman targeted was Yakemchuk, the 6-foot-3, 30-goal scorer from the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen.

Yakemchuk is also a right shot, as was the next defensemen taken, Zayne Parekh, at No. 9 by the Flames.

Then came the three high-end lefties: towering 6-foot-7 Russian Anton Silayev to New Jersey at No. 10, 6-foot-3 London Knights rearguard Sam Dickinson to San Jose at No. 11 and Frozen Four champion Zeev Buium from the University of Denver to Buffalo at 12.

No. 13 – Michael Buffer announces Philadelphia Flyers’ selection of Jett Luchanko

Perhaps the only voice that could outdo Celine on the drama scale, legendary ring announcer and Philadelphia native Michael Buffer stepped to the microphone to welcome Guelph Storm pivot Jett Luchanko to the Flyers with the 13th pick.

No. 15 and No. 23: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Stian Solberg become first Norwegian players ever selected in the first round

It was a rough draft year for Sweden, which didn’t place a single player in the first round.

One player from their second-tier pro league, Allsvenskan, did get selected. But right wing Michael Brandsegg-Nygard of Mora hails from Oslo, Norway. When the Detroit Red Wings picked him at No. 15, he became the only Norwegian ever to be selected in the first round of the NHL draft.

That unique status lasted roughly an hour. At No. 23, Anaheim grabbed defenseman Stian Solberg out of Norway’s national league.

The Final Tallies

By the end of Day 1, only a handful of trades had taken place — all involving draft-pick swaps. The Chicago Blackhawks finished the day as the busiest team, adding a first-rounder from the Carolina Hurricanes that enabled them to added Brantford Bulldogs left wing Marek Vanacker at No. 27 in addition to Levshunov at No. 2 and center Sacha Boisvert from the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks at No. 18.

And while the Western Hockey League won the early part of the day, putting four players into the Top 10, Parascak was the only other WHL player selected, leaving the league five first first-rounders in total.

The Ontario Hockey League led the day with nine first-round selections, giving the Canadian Hockey League 14 first-round picks in total. No players were selected in the first round from the QMJHL in 2024.

Of the remaining 18, four came from the USHL, three each from the NCAA and from Russia, two from the U.S. National Team Development Program, Finland and Norway (with one coming via Sweden). One Czech player, defenseman Adam Jiricek, was selected at No. 16 by the St. Louis Blues and the field was rounded out by towering 6-foot-7 forward Dean Letourneau, who played Canadian prep school hockey at St. Andrew’s College and was selected 25th overall by the Boston Bruins.

Day 2 of the draft goes Saturday from Sphere, starting at 11:30 a.m. ET.