The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery will be held on May 7 at NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey (TBA; ESPN, SN, TVAS).
Macklin Celebrini, the projected No. 1 pick, remained undecided on where he will play next season when his freshman season with Boston University came to an end in a 2-1 overtime loss to the eventual NCAA national champion University of Denver at the Frozen Four semifinals on April 11.
"I mean, I wasn't really planning on losing," Celebrini said at the time. "So, I mean, I’ve got to figure that out. Kind of still in shock, so I'm not too sure."
The lottery will set the order for the first 16 picks for the clubs that failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 2024 draft will reportedly be held at Sphere in Las Vegas. The first round will be held June 28, with rounds 2-7 on June 29.
There will be two lottery drawings, one for the No. 1 pick and one for the No. 2 selection.
Teams only can move up 10 selections if it wins one of the draws. Only the top 11 teams in the lottery are eligible to receive the No. 1 pick.
Once the two top picks have been established, the remaining teams will be assigned Nos. 3-16 based on inverse order of the final regular-season standings.
The San Jose Sharks, who finished last in the NHL standings (19-54-9), will have the best odds of winning the No. 1 pick at 18.5 percent.
The Chicago Blackhawks, who were 31st in the standings (23-53-6), will have the second-best odds at 13.5 percent, followed by the Anaheim Ducks (27-50-5) at 11.5 percent.
Chicago won the draft lottery last season and selected center Connor Bedard with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old led all rookies this season with 61 points (22 goals, 39 assists) in 68 games.
Celebrini turns 18 on June 13.
"I know [Celebrini] a bit; I played with him growing up a little," Bedard said. "I sent him a text [April 14]; 'Enjoy the next month of down time because then it'll get crazy.'
"It's pretty special what he did this year. He had some really high expectations and he exceeded all of those. I'm super happy for him and as a fan watching the game, he's great to watch and he's going to come in and make an impact right away. I'm excited for that and he's going to have a lot of fun this summer. It's going to be cool."
The Sharks could have two picks in the top 16, their own as well as the Pittsburgh Penguins' selection (top 10 protected), which was acquired as part of the trade for defenseman Erik Karlsson on Aug. 6, 2023. However, if the Penguins pick is in the top 10, it would stay with Pittsburgh and San Jose instead would receive the Penguins' unprotected first-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Celebrini (6-foot, 190 pounds), No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters for the 2024 draft, was the youngest player in NCAA Division I men's hockey this season and the youngest player to win the Hobey Baker Award, presented annually to recognize the top NCAA men's hockey player. He finished second among NCAA players with 32 goals and third with 64 points in 38 games at Boston University.
He also was named Hockey East Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year, joining Jack Eichel (2015), Paul Kariya (1993) and Brian Leetch (1987) as the only players to win the awards in the same season.
The teams who don't get the first pick still will have plenty of talent to choose from, including Michigan State University freshman defenseman Artyom Levshunov, who was No. 2 on Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters, and University of Denver defenseman Zeev Buium, No. 4 on Central Scouting's final ranking.
"Levshunov might be the most NHL ready player in this draft class; a great combination of the physical maturity and composure with the way he plays the game," NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr said. "Buium doesn't know when to quit; he just keeps going and the consistency as a freshman, taking over as one of their top players, has been truly impressive."
Additionally, center Cayden Lindstrom (6-3, 210) of Medicine Hat in the Western Hockey League is No. 2 on Central Scouting's list. He's been trending positively since returning to the lineup March 29 after missing 36 regular-season games while recovering from surgery for an upper-body injury.
The two top players on Central Scouting's final ranking of international skaters could also be chosen among the top five selections: defenseman Anton Silayev of Torpedo in the Kontinental Hockey League, and right wing Ivan Demidov of St. Petersburg in Russia's minor hockey league.
