With the 2023-24 Season Down The Drain, A Look Ahead To The 2024 Draft's Top Prospects, Macklin Celebrini and Cole Eiserman

By Coby Maeir on November 21, 2023 at 10:15 am
Boston University forward Macklin Celebrini (71) skates with the puck during the Boston University-Notre Dame NCAA hockey game on Saturday, October 21, 2023, at Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Indiana.
John Mersits / USA TODAY NETWORK
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In terms of making the playoffs, the 2023-24 Blue Jackets season is over.

The team has lost nine straight games and sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference at 4-11-4. 

Maybe they could make things interesting with a winning streak, but there's no evidence that that's in the team's future. 

With that being said, it's time to look ahead at the players who will make another season of losing worth it. 

RELATED Is The Losing Worth It?

Macklin Celebrini, C, Boston University

Celebrini won't turn 18 until June, but he's already dominating college hockey, posting a nation-best two points-per-game (9-13--22 in 11 GP), and is on track to be the second-consecutive freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award after Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli was the nation's best player in 2022-23. 

Here's an excerpt from The Athletic's Scott Wheeler's draft rankings on Celebrini:

His profile has it all, too. He’s a natural center. He plays with confidence and presence that is rare in a player his age, consistently looking to attack and dictate with the puck. He’s also an intelligent off-puck player who understands timing, routes and how to get open and make himself available without the puck in his hands. He’s a plus-level skater. He’s a hardworking player defensively and into battles and races for pucks. He’s got dynamic puck skill that allows him to break down opponents and coverage at speed. He’s a tactile shooter and finisher who can get pucks off in a variety of ways, from a variety of stances, and without needing to tunnel vision for it (plus he has a hard one-timer). He’s consistent in approach. He sees and executes through seams with a lot of crispness. He is sturdy and thick for his age, and absorbs and plays through bumps extremely effectively, staying over pucks and extending sequences through a strong lower half. Those tools combine with excellent puck protection skills to allow him to play a heavy-skill game. He’s a quietly powerful player for a 6-foot kid, and while he’s not going to bully his way around the ice, he commands play and imposes himself.

Cole Eiserman, LW, U.S. National Team Development Program

Like Celebrini, Eiserman is still 17 and won't turn 18 until August. In 17 games for the USNTDP, he's registered 22-10--32. Eiserman is committed to playing at Boston University. 

Here's what Wheeler said about Eiserman:

I actually think he's a better skater than he has been given credit for in conversations I’ve had with folks about him, too, but it’s his dancing puck skill, quick release, shot variety (he can rip it in motion, off catch-and-releases, standing still, and from a one-timer, and he’ll make goalies guess wrong in alone because of how fast his hands are), and sneaky strength (when he uses it, which he could do more of) that allows him to create at will against his peers. He can frustrate, though, too, and scouts desperately want to see him round out his game. He can be a little careless and selfish with the puck. He can get carried away trying to do too much, stickhandling into trouble or shooting into shin pads. And he just needs to use his teammates better. He doesn’t miss when he’s got an opportunity, though. The puck pops off of his stick so effortlessly and he produces that "he’s about to score here” feeling every time the puck comes to him in a good spot. It’s cliche, but you can’t teach that. He looks to me like he’s on a track to pass through BU on his way to NHL stardom as a first-line winger and PP1 focal point. 

These are the two players that teams will be tanking for as the season continues, and with the playoffs seemingly out of reach for the Blue Jackets, that route may be the most beneficial choice when looking at the future of this team. 

Adding a difference-making player like Celebrini or Eiserman to an already-stacked prospect pool would make this season, which has started as poorly as possible, worth it. 

Will the Blue Jackets continue to struggle and be in the running for these two players or will they string some wins together and be a competitive team down the stretch?

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