Having both first overall picks facing off early in the season is a great way to start a new year. It will certainly create a lot of buzz around the NHL and around both teams as both rebuilding franchises are looking to carve new paths.
Celebrini Was selected 1st overall on June 28th by the San Jose Sharks who joins Will Smith as the sharks continue to rebuild their franchise. Both organizations are in different parts of their rebuilds with the sharks just beginning and the Blackhawks two years into theirs.
General manager Kyle Davidson has been quite busy over the past several weeks including the NHL draft an unrestricted free agency and he has begun to transform the roster into a more competitive and better lineup that should compete with most teams.
He has added players like Tyler Bertuzzi, former Blackhawk Teuvo Tervainen, Alec Martinez and Laurent Brossoit to add to his lineup of Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno and Seth Jones.
But the Blackhawks still holding 9.4 million in cap space, it's likely Davidson will continue to bolster the lineup as there are other free agents still available including Daniel Sprong, Joe Pavelski and Filip Zadina.
It's safe to say that Davidson is not done and this lineup will continue to evolve as the summer rolls on and training camp gets closer in September.
Source: The Hockey News
Connor Bedard Versus Macklin Celebrini In Blackhawks' Home Opener
POLL | ||
JUILLET 5 | 192 ANSWERS Gary Bettman pulls off genius schedule for Blackhawks 2024-25 home opener Who will be the better player long term? | ||
Connor Bedard | 175 | 91.1 % |
Macklin Celebrini | 17 | 8.9 % |
List of polls |