There might come a time during the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championships when Team USA’s Will Smith matches up against Canadian and fellow centerman Macklin Celebrini.
Smith, the top player in the San Jose Sharks pipeline, competing against Celebrini, arguably the best player available in the 2024 NHL Draft. They’re the two best NHL prospects at the under-20 tournament in Gothenburg, Sweden, per The Athletic, and with some Sharks’ lottery luck, could be teammates as soon as next season, and for several years to come.
“Any time when you have an opportunity to see talent versus talent,” Chris Morehouse, the Sharks’ director of amateur scouting, said recently, “is an exciting thing,”
Seeing Smith and Celebrini in teal uniforms one day is a tantalizing proposition for anyone following the Sharks, who entered the Christmas break in last place in the NHL’s overall standings with a 9-22-3 record.
If the season ended today. San Jose would have the best chance of winning the NHL’s draft lottery and selecting Celebrini, a former Jr. Sharks player and now a standout freshman at Boston University.
“For us and me personally, this is just another chance to get eyes on Macklin,” Morehouse said. “We have, as a group, a really good handle on what we think he is and what we think his future could be.”
The Sharks have six players competing at the world junior tournament, which begins Tuesday and finishes with the gold medal game on Jan. 5.
Two defensemen taken in the fifth round by the Sharks, Jake Furlong in 2022 and Eric Pohlkamp in 2023, are representing Canada and the U.S., respectively. Center Filip Bystedt and defenseman Mattias Havelid, both taken by San Jose in 2022, are on Team Sweden, and 2023 pick Kasper Halttunen, a winger, is on Team Finland.
“In one year we’ve done a really good job as an organization of creating a really good prospects pool in a short period of time,” Sharks coach David Quinn said.
Smith appears to be at the top of that list.
Selected fourth overall by the Sharks at June’s draft in Nashville, Smith, 18, is having a solid freshman season at Boston College, as he’s tied for 10th in scoring among all NCAA Division I players with 23 points in 17 games.
“Any time you look at the numbers, he’s doing his thing,” Morehouse said. “I’m sure if you ask Will, he would put more pressure on himself, but in terms of where we are, we’re really excited about Will. He’s just a driven, focused kid.”
Smith, Ryan Leonard, and Gabe Perrault, who starred together as a line on the U.S. National Development Team last season, are all at Boston College, and project to be linemates when the U.S. opens the tournament on Tuesday against Norway.
It won’t be known until after Boston College’s season ends in March, or possibly April, whether Smith will turn pro and join the Sharks or return to Chestnut Hill for his sophomore year. But regardless of when Smith signs, he figures to be a huge part of the Sharks franchise for years to come.
“The one positive for Will is that he’s been able to produce and get better every game,” Morehouse said, “and that’s a really big part of the development.”
Celebrini, whose father, Rick, is the Warriors’ vice president of player health and performance, is second among all NCAA Division I scorers so far this season with an average of 1.67 points per game, as he leads BU with 25 points in 15 games.
Of all the 2024 draft-eligible players, Celebrini, still just 17, is thought to be the one who could step into an NHL lineup next season.
“I’m not going to get into specifics on why we like Celebrini, just because he’s a draft-eligible player and I like to keep things kind of close to the vest,” Morehouse said. “In terms of just looking at his numbers in college hockey and what he’s been able to do at such a young age, it’s been really impressive.”
There’s no guarantee Smith and Celebrini will get a chance to play against each other as the Americans and Canadians are not in the same group during pool play. But if they don’t cross paths in Sweden, they’ll likely face each other in the coming months when Boston College and Boston University play each other in the regular season.
“In terms of the head-to-head, I’m looking forward to seeing Will go head-to-head against Bystedt, against (Canada’s) Owen Beck, and some of these other kids that are really good players from all different countries,” Morehouse said. “Any time you get an opportunity to see these players go head-to-head, it’s awesome.
“I want all the guys that we drafted to have amazing events there, but I think it all comes with just a little bit of staying focused on what the end goal is — developing National Hockey League players.”
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