Celebrini will make NHL decision ‘pretty quick’ | NHL.com

San Jose (19-54-9) finished last in the NHL standings last season and won the NHL Draft Lottery on May 24, giving it the No. 1 selection for the first time in franchise history.

Celebrini was considered the consensus No. 1 pick going into the draft and is expected to be a pillar of San Jose’s rebuild.

To help expedite the rebuild, the Sharks signed forward Tyler Toffoli to a four-year, $24-million contract ($6 million average annual value) and forward Alexander Wennberg to a two-year, $10-million contract ($5 million AAV) on the opening day of NHL free agency Monday.

“Those guys have been around the game for so long, and between those two they have a lot of NHL games,” Celebrini said. “Being able to learn from those guys and have them around the locker room, that certainly helps.”

With all the hype surrounding the draft, which included a trip to the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, Celebrini was happy to get back on the ice and begin to build relationships with some of his future teammates.

“It was lots of fun, I feel like it’s only going to get more enjoyable as the week goes on,” Celebrini said. “There’s some special players here, it’s been good to play with them, starting to get to know them a little bit, start to bond with them and see how their game is.”