Forward Macklin Celebrini — the first pick in the 2024 NHL Draft — joins defenseman Lane Hutson and goaltender Dustin Wolf as finalists for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, the league announced on Monday.
Celebrini, 18, made an immediate impact with the San Jose Sharks this season, collecting a goal and an assist in his NHL debut, a 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 10. His score at 7:01 of the first period was the second-fastest in NHL history by a player picked first overall. The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Mario Lemieux scored 2:59 in his debut on Oct. 11, 1984.
Celebrini played 70 games and scored 25 goals — second among rookies behind the Philadelphia Flyers’ Matvei Michkov — and his 63 points tied with Michkov for second.
The 21-year-old Hutson, Celebrini’s teammate at Boston University in 2023-24, played 82 regular-season games for the Montreal Canadiens and led all rookies in assists (60) and points (66) — the latter setting the franchise record for rookie defensemen. He was a second-round pick (62nd overall) by Montreal in the 2022 draft.
Wolf, 24, was 29-16-8 with a 2.64 goals-against average, .910 save percentage and three shutouts for the Calgary Flames, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2019 draft.
A goalie hasn’t won the Calder Trophy since Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009. The annual award, voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, will be announced at a later date.
–Field Level Media
