The future of professional hockey in the world's most prominent league will be shaped on June 28 and 29 with the NHL Draft.

The San Jose Sharks will have the top overall pick amid the franchise's worst season in three decades and center Macklin Celebrini figures to be the pick in the No. 1 spot.

Why is the Boston University star the guy and who else figures to hear their names called in the first round?

Find out with this early preview, complete with a mock draft and insight on two of the top forwards available.

First Round Mock Draft

1. San Jose Sharks (Macklin Celebrini, F, Boston University)
2. Chicago Blackhawks (Artyom Levyshunov, F, Michigan State University)
3. Anaheim Ducks (Ivan Demidov, F, SKA-1946)
4. Columbus Blue Jackets (Cayden Lindstrom, F, Medicine Hat)
5. Montreal Canadiens (Cole Eiserman, F, USNTDP)
6. Arizona Coyotes (Zayne Parekh, D, Saginaw)
7. Ottawa Senators (Anton Silayev, D, London)
8. Calgary Flames (Carter Yakemchuk, D, Calgary)
9. Seattle Kraken (Berkly Catton, F, Spokane)
10. New Jersey Devils (Sam Dickinson, D, London)
11. Buffalo Sabres (Zeev Buium, D, University of Denver)
12. Minnesota Wild (Adam Jiricek, D, HC Plzen)
13. Philadelphia Flyers (Adam Jecho, F, Edmonton)
14. San Jose Sharks (via Pittsburgh Penguins) (Liam Greentree, F, Windsor)
15. Detroit Red Wings (Beckett Sennecke, F, Oshawa)
16. St. Louis Blues (TJ Iginla, F, Kelowna)
17. Washington Capitals (Ryder Ritchie, F, Prince Albert)
18. New York Islanders (Terik Parascak, F, Prince George)
19. Vegas Golden Knights (Sasha Boisvert, F, Muskegon)
20. Chicago Black Hawks (via Tampa Bay Lightning) (Andrew Basha, F, Medicine Hat)
21. Los Angeles Kings (Dean Letourneau, F, St. Andrew's College)
22. Nashville Predators (Colton Roberts, D, Vancouver)
23. Toronto Maple Leafs (Jett Luchanko, F, Guelph)
24. Anaheim Ducks (via Edmonton Oilers) (Henry Mews, D, Ottawa)
25. Colorado Avalanche (Michael Hage, F, Chicago)
26. Montreal Canadiens (via Winnipeg Jets) (Cole Hutson, D, Boston College)
27. Philadelphia Flyers (via Florida Panthers) (Maxim Masse, F, Chicoutimi) 
28. Carolina Hurricanes (Kamil Bednarik, F, USA U-18)
29. Calgary Flames (via Vancouver Canucks) (Marek Vanacker, F, Brantford)
30. Ottawa Senators (via Boston Bruins) (Cole Beaudoin, F, Barrie)
31. Dallas Stars (Henry Mews, D, Ottawa)
32. New York Rangers (Tanner Howe, F, Regina)

Macklin Celebrini, Forward, Boston University

The consensus No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft is also college hockey's best player.

Macklin Celebrini won the Hobey Baker Award Friday night on the strength of a season that saw him score 65 points (32 goals, 32 assists), good enough for third in the NCAA. He added to his resume with rookie of the year and player of the year honors in Hockey East, becoming just the fourth player to win both awards in the same year.

The previous three? Jack Eichel, Paul Kariya, and Brian Leetch.

Hardly bad company.

Celebrini was integral in Boston University making the Frozen Four and while they suffered an upset loss to the University of Denver, Celebrini proved himself as a player capable of thriving at the next level, thanks to his complete game.

It remains to be seen where Celebrini will continue his career next season as he has yet to commit to returning to school but regardless of where he goes, he will be a key contributor and someone who can bring a much-needed spark to a Sharks team that finished last in wins, losses, points, and goal differential en route to the franchise's fourth-worst season ever.

Cayden Lindstrom, F, Medicine Hat

Lindstrom is the second-ranked center in NHL's Draft Prospects rankings, just behind expected No. 1 overall pick Celebrini.

The 18-year-old has 27 goals and 19 assists for a total of 46 points this season in the Western League for the Medicine Hat Tigers.

He is a big center at six-foot-three, with speed one would not necessarily expect from a player of his size.

A rash of injuries in the second-half of the season may hurt his draft stock, including one to his hand and another to his back, and did not finish the season after a so-so performance in the Tigers' playoff series.

It will be interesting to see how much that affects his stock entering the draft, or if teams like what they saw out of the young player and will look to shape him in their vision, while hopefully getting him to play a game that preserves him and keeps him on the ice.