Macklin Celebrini, Matvei Michkov Headline 2024-25 NHL Rookie Class
With the dawn of a new NHL season, another crop of fresh faces is preparing to enter the scene.
The headliner is Macklin Celebrini, the 18-year-old who was picked first overall by the San Jose Sharks at the draft last June. He has skated in just one pre-season game so far, scoring a power-play goal and dishing a perfect pass to Tyler Toffoli for a two-point night against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sept. 22.
Though he was one of the youngest players in his draft class, Celebrini is being lauded for his maturity and work ethic in the Sharks' training camp. That fits with what we've already seen: he finished high school a year early to attend Boston University before being drafted, then became the youngest player ever to win the Hobey Baker Award last April. Celebrini was just the fourth freshman ever to take the title, after Adam Fantilli (2023), Jack Eichel (2015) and fellow North Vancouver native Paul Kariya (1993).
Last season, Connor Bedard became the first player since Auston Matthews in 2017 to win the Calder Trophy in the season after he was drafted first overall. That's no small achievement: only a handful of freshly drafted players are ready to spend a full season in the NHL, let alone excel relative to older players who are making their debuts after spending more time in major junior, college or in Europe.
Celebrini is expected to play a major role on a Sharks team that finished last in the NHL last season and hasn't made the playoffs since 2019. During camp, he has been rooming with another potential rookie star in Will Smith. The 19-year-old center was drafted fourth overall in 2023 and also spent last season in the NCAA, skating for Boston College.
But the Bay Area isn't the only market where rookies are expected to shine this season.
The excitement is rising fast in Philadelphia, where Matvei Michkov is living up to his billing as a super-skilled forward. In three pre-season games, the 19-year-old is up to six points after scoring twice, including the overtime winner, in the Flyers' 3-2 home victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
Regarded as one of the top talents in the 2023 draft class, Michkov fell to the Flyers in the seventh spot because he was under contract to a KHL team in his native Russia. It wasn't clear how long it would take before he would be free to play in North America. But Flyers GM Danny Briere exceeded expectations by securing his prized prospect well ahead of schedule — to the delight of Broad Street fans who are hoping to see their team take another step after coming close to seizing a playoff spot last season.
Michkov's dazzling arrival also eases the sting left behind when the Flyers' fifth-overall pick from 2022, Cutter Gauthier, forced a trade to the Anaheim Ducks in January after making it clear that he did not want to sign in Philadelphia. The Flyers received young defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick in return, and after two seasons at Boston College, Gauthier signed with the Ducks and got into his first NHL game at the end of last season.
In his only pre-season game to date, Gauthier was held off the scoresheet in the Ducks' 3-2 overtime loss to the Sharks on Sept. 26. But he showed well in more than 20 minutes of action with a whopping 18 shot attempts, and accounted for 12 of Anaheim's 34 shots on goal.
Some other highly touted young prospects who have impressed in the 2024 pre-season include Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, 20, who is also coming out of Boston University, and the Calgary Flames' 2023 first-round pick, 19-year-old Samuel Honzek.
And while he's already a familiar face, don't sleep on Dallas Stars winger Logan Stankoven. The 21-year-old was a fixture in the Stars' top six during the playoffs last spring, amassing eight points in 19 games. But the second-round pick from 2021 is still eligible for rookie-of-the-year consideration because he dressed for 24 regular-season games in the 2023-24 season, one fewer than the maximum allowed.
Of course, the big names aren't the only ones who will shine. Every season brings surprise Calder candidates, who are usually a bit older. For example, last year defenseman Brock Faber gave Bedard a run for his money at age 21, effectively handling a massive role on the Minnesota Wild's blue line. Then, he parlayed that effort into a $68 million contract extension after just 84 NHL games. One year earlier, a 2019 fourth-rounder named Matias Maccelli played his way to fourth place in the Calder voting thanks to a 49-point season with the then-Arizona Coyotes.
So far, this year's front-runner for breakout star is Patrick Giles of the Florida Panthers. An undrafted 24-year-old who spent three years at Boston College before turning pro, the big right winger has posted six points in four pre-season games with the Panthers. He's coming off career highs of 13 goals and 23 points in 66 games with the AHL's Charlotte Checkers last season, so Giles' scoring pace may not be sustainable. But he's a strong skater who's making a case for himself as an inexpensive option on a league-minimum salary of $775,000, with a Stanley Cup-winning team that needs to manage its cap space carefully.
Florida GM Bill Zito has a proven history of finding gold among in previously unheralded players. Will Giles be his next success story?
