SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks fans are clearly getting excited about seeing Macklin Celebrini join the organization.
According to a Sharks spokesperson, close to 10,000 free tickets have now been claimed for the team’s official NHL Draft watch party on June 28 at SAP Center in San Jose. Just three weeks ago, that number was around 5,000. Fans can reserve tickets on Ticketmaster.
The Sharks won the draft lottery earlier this month and now hold the No. 1 overall pick for the first time in the team’s 33-year history. The Sharks are expected to select the 17-year-old Celebrini, who is unanimously considered the best player available in this year’s draft and someone who could be in the NHL next season.
Earlier this month, with a growing demand for tickets since the May 7 lottery, the Sharks organization decided to open SAP Center’s upper deck and increase the seating capacity for next month’s watch party to 15,000.
San Jose also owns the 14th overall pick in the draft, which is taking place at the Las Vegas Sphere. The Sharks currently have two second-round picks, two fifth-round picks, and one pick in the third, fourth, and seventh rounds.
The first round is held on June 28, and rounds two through seven occur the following day.
A five-figure crowd at SAP Center would rival the size of the draft party the Chicago Blackhawks held last season as fans anticipated the selection of then-17-year-old Connor Bedard, who was and still is considered a generational talent.
The Blackhawks had their party at the Salt Shed in Chicago, and an estimated 8,000-10,000 people showed up to watch the draft, held last year in Nashville.
Bedard had 271 points in 134 games in the Western Hockey League before he was drafted and had 61 points in 68 games for the Blackhawks this past season.
Celebrini is coming off a sensational freshman season at Boston University as he became the youngest-ever winner of the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player. He had 64 points in 38 games and led the Terriers to an appearance in the NCAA Frozen Four in April.
Celebrini has local ties. He played for the Jr. Sharks as a 13-year-old during the 2019-2020 season and his father, Rick, is the Warriors’ vice president of player health and performance.
“To see the Sharks win the lottery was phenomenal,” Rick Celebrini said earlier this month. “Obviously, that’s different than Macklin getting selected by San Jose. So that still has to happen, if it happens. So if he were lucky enough to get selected, that’s when the excitement starts.”