We are less than a month away from the 2021 NHL Entry Draft (July 23-24), so it’s time to start researching the prospects likely to be selected in the first round. The Columbus Blue Jackets currently hold three picks in that round: #5, #24, and #31.
Corson Ceulemans
Position: Defenseman
Team: Wisconsin Badgers
Date of Birth: May 5, 2003
Birthplace: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 201
Shoots: Right
Rankings
Ranked #28 by CONSOLIDATED RANKING
Ranked #55 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM
Ranked #11 by FCHOCKEY
Ranked #15 by NEUTRAL ZONE
Ranked #18 by TSN/BOB McKENZIE
Ranked #27 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
Ranked #22 by TSN/CRAIG BUTTON
Ranked #14 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Skaters)
Ranked #26 by SPORTSNET’S
Ranked #39 by RECRUIT SCOUTING
Ranked #42 by DOBBERPROSPECTS
Ranked #18 by DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY
Ranked #51 by SMAHT SCOUTING
Ranked #29 by THE PUCK AUTHORITY
2020-21 Stats
Corson Ceulemans played eight games for the Brooks Bandits, where he posted 4-7-11 with eight penalty minutes. Below are his stats for the Brooks Bandits for the 19-20 season.
Games Played: 44
Goals: 5
Assists: 30
Points: 35
PIM: 80
Ceulemans is a defenseman who will be playing next season for the Wisconsin Badgers in the NCAA after spending the last two seasons with the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Brooks Bandits. Ceulemans broke through with a dominant performance on the blue line for Canada’s U18 World Junior Championship with eight points in six games as Canada won the gold medal.
Consensus on Ceulemans points to a player with the tools to succeed, but one who is inconsistent and needs time to develop.
Scouting Reports
A plus skater with a hard shot who also plays physical, Ceulemans has all the tools to be one of the best defensemen to come out of this draft class. Marrying all his positives into shift-to-shift consistency has been a battle, however, and even a decent offensive showing at the under-18 world championship also revealed positional issues on the defensive side. – The Draft Analyst
Where his skating shines the most is during his transitional game, Ceulemans’ bread and butter. He’s capable of recovering the puck in the defensive zone, beating the first layer of the forecheck and facilitating a rush by using either his passing or his puck carrying abilities. He skates with his head up, scanning through traffic for optimal routes and changing his lateral direction with crossovers to confuse the defense. He understands give and go situations, the small windows that are created by passing back and forth with your teammates to cause the opposition pause and break down defensive structures.
The problem is that while Ceulemans exhibits these traits, I’m not convinced he’s shown he can do them with consistency. Sometimes he can recover the puck behind his net with the awareness that there is a forechecker behind him and he’ll account for that by making a move with his feet, his stick or his body in order to maintain puck control so that he’s ready to start a breakout the other way. Other times I see the first layer of forecheckers catch him off guard and he turns the puck over, as if he had no idea that there was a player behind him and he thought he had more room to work with. – Smaht Scouting
The star of Ceuleman’s game is his shot and the ability to activate off the point to fire it. EPRinkside.com