Boston University center Macklin Celebrini is the prize up for grabs in the NHL draft lottery.
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The Blackhawks will find out during the NHL draft lottery at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN which one of the top four picks in the draft they will make.
Canadian center Macklin Celebrini is this year’s Connor Bedard equivalent — the prize up for grabs for the team that lands the No. 1 overall selection.
As a freshman at Boston University this season, Celebrini carried the Terriers to the Frozen Four and became the youngest player in history to win the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA player of the year. He racked up 64 points (32 goals and 32 assists) in 38 games.
The Sharks have the best odds of winding up No. 1 at 25.5%, but the Hawks have the second-best odds at 13.5%.
They won the lottery last year with lower odds at 11.5% — odds which this year belong to the Ducks. The teams with the next-highest odds are the Blue Jackets (9.5%), the Canadiens (8.5%) and the new Utah franchise (7.5%).
If the Hawks don’t get the No. 1 pick, they have a 14.1% chance of winning the lottery for the No. 2 pick. Unofficially, they have a 30.7% probability of dropping into the No. 3 pick and a 41.7% probability of falling into the No. 4 pick, which is the lowest they can go.
Beyond Celebrini, the prospect hierarchy this year is murkier than last year. Belarusian defenseman Artyom Levshunov (coming off an impressive freshman season at Michigan State) and Russian wing Ivan Demidov (who has one year left on his KHL contract) are slight favorites to go second and third, but that could easily change.
American wing Cole Eiserman, Canadian centers Cayden Lindstrom and Berkly Catton, American defenseman Zeev Buium, Canadian defensemen Zayne Parekh and Sam Dickinson and Russian defenseman Anton Silayev are others in the mix as possible top-five picks.