Craig Button compares two young forwards to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin
Photo credit: Sportsnet
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were two of the best players in the NHL for well over a decade and now we may see the next dynamic duo come in San Jose.
Currently, the San Jose Sharks hold the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft and are projected to take Hobey Baker Award winner Macklin Celebrini out of Boston University. In addition to this, the Sharks have one of the best prospects in hockey with Will Smith from Boston College who led the NCAA in scoring and was also the 4th overall pick in 2023.
TSN scout Craig Button recently joined the San Jose Hockey Now podcast and made a bold statement about Celebrini and Smith.
"Evgeni Malkin was drafted in 2004 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, second overall. And Evgeni, uh, has been. He's a Hall of Fame player. He was a really top-notch player coming in. And then the next year they got Sidney Crosby. I'm not so sure that the San Jose Sharks fans, in fact, I think the San Jose Sharks fans can draw parallels to Evgeni Malkin being drafted before Sidney Crosby. Will Smith before Macklin Celebrini."
"They're difference-makers. So now you don't have one, you have two. And that now becomes significant, significant building blocks for what you're trying to do."
"I think the Sharks, like the Penguins, can draw those parallels." - Craig Button
"They're difference-makers. So now you don't have one, you have two. And that now becomes significant, significant building blocks for what you're trying to do."
"I think the Sharks, like the Penguins, can draw those parallels." - Craig Button
Both Celebrini and Smith have yet to play in an NHL game so this is quite the bold claim but if both come as advertised, as all-stars or maybe even superstars, then they could be a lite-version of prime Malkin and Crosby.
The pair will likely both make their NHL debuts next year and will look to both compete for the prestigious Calder trophy, one of the few awards Sidney Crosby never won.
Source - House of Hockey
TSN scout Craig Button shares who the next Crosby & Malkin are
TSN scout Craig Button shares who the next Crosby & Malkin are
| POLL | ||
30 MAI | 135 ANSWERS Craig Button compares two young forwards to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin Do you think Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini will ever come close to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin? | ||
| Yes | 16 | 11.9 % |
| No | 119 | 88.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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