LAS VEGAS — Maclyn Celebrini became the centerpiece of the NHL draft when he was selected No. 1 overall by the San Jose Sharks on Friday night in a mix of nighttime hockey and Las Vegas royalty under the visual spectacle of “The Sphere.”
French-Canadian singer Celine Dion brought a Las Vegas feel to the event by taking the stage with former Sharks star Joe Thornton and Rookie of the Year Connor Bedard to announce the selections.
And, more importantly, the newly formed Utah Hockey Club relied on his NHL credentials to select Kelowna centre Tizi Iginla as the franchise's first player with the sixth pick. Iginla is the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla, who spent the majority of his career in Calgary.
Utah, which relocated to Salt Lake City from Arizona two months ago, selected Iginla, eliminating any chance Calgary might have of taking the former star's son with the ninth pick.
“You just never expect it,” said Jarome Iginla, who was selected 11th overall by Dallas in the 1995 draft and traded to Calgary a few months later. “All the cities are great, but there's excitement in Utah. … We're just happy for him. He's worked hard and today is a big day.”
The Iginlas brothers became the sixth father-son pair to be selected in the top 15 of the draft.
Four defensemen were selected among the top 10 picks. The New Jersey Devils selected 6-foot-7, 211-pound Russian Anton Shiraev. Minnesota also traded up to 12th overall to select University of Denver defenseman Zeev Bouium, giving them six blue linemen in the top 12.
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