2024 NHL Draft Prospect Roundup: Macklin Celebrini didn’t disappoint at the World Juniors

Credit: Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff

Where would Canada have been without Macklin Celebrini at the World Junior Championship?

Well, probably in the exact same position, falling in the quarterfinal to Czechia. But the 2024 NHL Draft’s top prospect truly played like it, leading the team with eight points in five games. Despite being the youngest player on the team, Celebrini was the only Canadian to score more than two goals with four, giving him three more points than anyone on the roster.

And that was to be expected. Celebrini was never going to blow away the competition like Connor Bedard last year, but Celebrini was by far the most dominant two-way player Canada had. He hit, blocked shots, played all situations and generated offense all game long. Without Celebrini, it somehow would have ended in an even bigger disaster.

I’ll have my updated NHL Draft rankings up on Daily Faceoff next week, and Celebrini isn’t leaving the top spot. And I can’t imagine a scenario where he will at any point this year. Celebrini isn’t a generational talent, but he’s special. And that’s why you’ll hear about him all season long.

USHL

– I’m a big Mac Swanson fan, because all he does is produce. He had 55 points as a rookie with the Fargo Force last year, trailing only Celebrini for the lead among 2024 draft eligibles. He’s just one point behind Trevor Connelly for first this year while playing at a 75-point rate in his final year before going to college with the University of North Dakota. But what really stood out was his dominant play at the World Junior A Challenge. The speedy playmaker had a record-breaking nine assists in the tournament, beating out the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko, Nick Schmaltz, Vasily Podkolzin, Nikita Kucherov and… well, everyone, literally. There are very few pure playmakers in this draft class who come close to Swanson. But at 5-foot-7, that won’t make him look great in the eyes of NHL scouts, unfortunately.

– Over the past 31 days, Trevor Connelly’s 20 points are the second most of any draft-eligible prospect, trailing WHL star Berkly Catton by a single point. Those two seem to have been connected often this year, with them both putting up MVP-level performances at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Connelly is now on an 82-point pace with the Tri-City Storm, but he’s also coming off an incredible WJAC that saw him tie Swanson with 11 points. He just can’t be stopped.

– Talk about a big performance at the WJAC. James Reeder scored in each of USA’s six games, including a hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Slovakia. USA cleaned the competition up until their surprising 4-3 OT loss to Canada West in the semifinal, but Reeder was a man on a mission. And it wasn’t a surprise either, given he had a hat-trick in his final game before heading to the event, either. The 5-foot-9 forward has seven points in his first five games back with Dubuque, where he’s currently on pace to double his 34-point output as a rookie last year.

OHL

– No defenseman is on more of a heater than London Knights standout Sam Dickinson. He has 20 points in his last 11 games, including seven goals. The offense is a nice touch, now putting him at 39 points in 39 games to lead all first-year eligible defenders by nine points. But Dickinson’s game goes far beyond that, with the 6-foot-3, 194-pound defenseman not afraid to use his frame. He’s mobile, has great speed and makes smart decisions with the puck.

WHL

– Clarke Caswell has been one of the most dominant players in the CHL since the turn of the calendar, registering 10 points over his past four games with the Swift Current Broncos. Caswell is a good skater whom you can rely on to be a competent scorer and playmaker, and he’s as competitive as it gets. I don’t know if he has the strength to take the next step to pro hockey, but he’s heating up in a big way right now, putting him on pace for 80 points.

QMJHL

– Don’t be surprised if Joseph Henneberry gets taken as a second-year eligible. The 6-foot-2 forward obliterated his previous best of 36 points with Acadie-Bathurst in 22 fewer games and was one of the most notable players moved at the QMJHL trade deadline. The Victoriaville Tigres were the beneficiaries, getting an assist in the 19-year-old’s first game with his new club. Henneberry has a good shot and can’t be moved easily in front of the net, playing a good power-forward game. He’s not a great skater and his hockey sense is below average, but a team willing to take a chance on Henneberry in the latter rounds could get a nice depth piece.

– Sticking with the overagers, Baie-Comeau’s Matyas Melovsky had an excellent WJC, finishing third in scoring with 11 points in seven games. A total of 10 of them were helpers as he seemed to excel with Jiri Kulich, especially on the power play. He’s been more than a point-per-game player in his two years with the Drakkar, which you hope to see from a 19-year-old. My biggest concern is I don’t feel he’s very effective when the pace is high, either as a skater or in a quick decision-making situation. But when everything slows down, he’s dominant.

Sweden

– Michael Brandsegg-Nygård tried everything in his power to keep Norway in the top division of the world juniors for 2025, only to come up short in the relegation game. Brandsegg-Nygård had five points, including two in the final game, and only seemed to get better as the tourney went on. He showed how dominant of a two-way threat he could be, especially in how he blocked shots, landed hits and played an overall powerful game. MBN doesn’t have much offense to show for with Mora’s men’s team in the Allsvenskan, but he did nab an assist in his second game back this past week.

– Don’t look now, but 6-foot-6 keeper Marcus Gidlöf is turning heads with Leksands’ U-20 team. He had a nice two-game stretch in December where he allowed just one goal, albeit in fairly dominant efforts by his squad. He’s exceptionally mobile for his size, perhaps similar to what we saw from Anaheim Ducks prospect Damian Clara a year ago. From my three viewings this year, he hasn’t looked like a guy who gives up bad rebounds all too often. He might not receive a ton of attention, given he’s still playing Swedish junior as a 2005-born keeper, but there’s something here for sure.

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2024 NHL Draft Prospect Roundup: Macklin Celebrini didn’t disappoint at the World Juniors

USHL

OHL

WHL

QMJHL

Sweden

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