Final NHL mock draft: Who goes after Macklin Celebrini?

Draft weekend is upon us! Two days from now, more than 200 players will have their rights selected by NHL teams with the hopes of lifting Lord Stanley’s Cup in the future. Teams will draft those players hoping they become key cogs on a contending team. There is plenty of intrigue heading into Friday night’s first round (7 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+) outside of the first pick — the Celebrini name bar is all but stitched to the back of a San Jose Sharks jersey.

With Matvei Michkov coming over to North America sooner than expected, surely that bodes well for Ivan Demidov’s hopes of going second overall? And in what order do the defensemen get picked? Who are the biggest risers and fallers? How many trades will be made by Friday evening? Which team will go off the board?

There are so many questions heading into the draft, and only one thing is certain: There will be surprises.

The mock draft vastly differs from the Big Board. The latter is a pure ranking of players based on model outputs, viewings, industry intel and other factors. This close to the draft, the mock is what industry knowledge tells us might happen on Friday night in Las Vegas. Teams have varying lists every draft, but this year more than I can remember, the variance is staggering. A few teams have players in their top five that other teams have in the late teens. Truly, this comes down to how each team feels about each player.