It’s the second consecutive year the top two picks in the past two NHL drafts and the first and second picks of the most recent draft will all be playing in the same game.
Last season, center Connor Bedard (No. 1 in 2023) and defenseman Artyom Levshunov (No. 2 in 2024) played for the Chicago Blackhawks against Celebrini and the Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose on March 13.
The previous time this happened was March 10, 2012, when Taylor Hall (No. 1 in 2010) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (No. 1 in 2011) played for the Edmonton Oilers against Gabriel Landeskog (No. 2 in 2011) and the Colorado Avalanche.
“Looking forward to playing this team,” Schaefer said. “Very talented group, but I say this a lot, we’re focused on what we have in here and we’re ready.”
Celebrini and Schaefer don’t know each other at all other than a quick greeting in Toronto last year.
“Besides that, great hockey player,” Schaefer said of Celebrini.
Schaefer and Misa, who are each from Southern Ontario (Schaefer is from Hamilton and Misa is from Oakville), have a much stronger bond having gone through the entire draft process together. They became tight along the way.
“I think everyone in the draft class wanted to go (number) one, but we were super close,” Schaefer said. “That doesn’t really get in the way. We both love playing hockey and whatever was going to happen was going to happen. We were always there to support. Whether it was the combine, through all the interviews, we were always there for each other. I think he loves it there in San Jose. I love it here. It worked out awesome.”
Their connection extended into the offseason, when they would occasionally skate together.
“We’d have 3-on-3 games every Friday and I think he came out to a couple there,” Schaefer said of Misa. “Then, one of our buddies, Jack Ivankovic, he went to Nashville (with the No. 58 pick), he’d get the ice, we’d get coaches out there and we’d get a lot of high-talented guys out there. They’d be really good skates, so I’d see him there quite a bit too.”
Now, they’ll all see each other on the ice in an NHL game. It’s a chance for Schaefer and Celebrini to get to know each other in a different way, for Misa to show why he thinks he should have been No. 1 instead of Schaefer, for Schaefer to prove, again, why it was him.
“It’s great for the game of hockey,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said.
NHL.com independent correspondent Stefen Rosner contributed to this report
