Presumptive first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini won the 2024 Hobey Baker Award on Friday as the most outstanding player in men's college hockey for his freshman season with Boston University.
Celebrini, 17, is third in scoring across the NCAA with 32 goals and 32 assists in 37 games and was named Hockey East's Player of the Year. He becomes the youngest player ever to win the award.
Though he is projected to be the first pick at this year's NHL Draft, the North Vancouver, B.C. native told reporters Thursday after Boston University's loss at the Frozen Four that he wasn't "too sure" where he would be playing next year and did not rule out a return to college hockey.
Though rare, it's not unheard of for first-overall picks to wait a year before jumping to the NHL — first-overall pick Owen Power returned to the University of Michigan for his sophomore season after the Buffalo Sabres selected him in 2021.
The 2024 NHL Draft will take place at the Sphere in Las Vegas on June 28-29, the last of its kind before the NHL transitions to a decentralized draft in 2025.
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