North Vancouver teen Macklin Celebrini picked for Team Canada and he’s the only non-NHLer

North Vancouver-born hockey phenom Macklin Celebrini continues to rack up impressive accolades.

Celebrini was named to Team Canada today for the upcoming World Championships. He’s the only player on the roster who is not currently in the NHL.

All of the selections can be seen in the social media post made by Hockey Canada below.

Celebrini is just 17-years-old. He had 32 goals and 32 assists for 64 points in 38 NCAA games with Boston University this year as a freshman. He also won the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in college hockey.

He’s joined on Team Canada by rising stars in the NHL like Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Dylan Guenther, and Owen Power.

This year’s World Championships are being held in Czechia. Last year, Canada won gold, beating Germany in the finals, and they’ll look to defend that finish this year. The tournament starts on Friday, May 10 and runs until Sunday, May 26.

Former NHL star Rick Nash was named general manager for the tournament and picked the team. There are still some empty roster spots, so they can add a few players as more teams are eliminated from the NHL playoffs.

Celebrini is expected to be the first overall selection in this summer’s NHL draft. If he’s picked in that spot, that’ll make it two straight years since a North Vancouver-born kid went first overall after Bedard was drafted at the top of the draft last year.

The NHL’s draft lottery will take place on Tuesday, May 7. The winner will be the team that has the right to select Celebrini.

Celebrini has represented Canada in the past at other tournaments. He had eight points in five games at last year’s World Juniors, although the team failed to medal.

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