The draft was filled with surprise guests, with Céline Dion announcing her hometown Montreal Canadiens selecting Russian forward Ivan Demidov at No. 5.
LAS VEGAS — Macklin Celebrini headlined the NHL draft by going first overall to the San Jose Sharks on a Friday night hockey and Las Vegas royalty mixed company under the visual spectacle of the Sphere.
French-Canadian chanteuse Céline Dion and longtime boxing announcer Michael Buffer shared the stage with the likes of former Sharks star Joe Thornton and rookie of the year Connor Bedard by announcing the selections to provide the event a true Vegas flair.
When it came to Thornton announcing the selection of Celebrini, Sharks general manager Mike Grier said it was important to connect his franchise’s future with its successful past.
“We don’t have too many guys left on the team that were there when we were on top of things and challenging for the Stanley Cup,” Grier said.
As for Dion’s …
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