Prospect Report: Ceulemans ready to begin pro career

It's fair to say the Blue Jackets might have hit a home run with the 2021 draft.
Columbus had three first-round picks in the selection process held less than two years ago, and two of those picks are already regulars in the CBJ rotation -- Kent Johnson (fifth overall) and Cole Sillinger (12th overall).
The third of those picks, 25th overall selection Corson Ceulemans, now will have his chance to make it to the next level. After two years at the University of Wisconsin, the defenseman has chosen to begin his pro career,
signing a three-year entry-level contract
last week with the Blue Jackets that will begin next season.

In the meantime, he's reported to Cleveland, as he has signed a contract with the AHL team for the rest of the season to begin his pro career right away.
"I just really wanted to get to the next level," Ceulemans told Dylan Tyrer on the latest edition of the Pipeline Podcast. "I felt like my game was ready. Obviously it could have went better points-wise and statistics-wise (at Wisconsin), but I think overall I was ready for the next level, and the next level life I guess, if you want to say that. When the opportunity was around, I really wanted to sign. It's something I've been working toward all year, and I just wanted to put myself in the best place for that.
"When it was there, I just couldn't pass it up. I'm super excited to be in Cleveland and get into that pro lifestyle."
Ceulemans, 19, had similar statistics in his two seasons with the Badgers, as the Regina, Saskatchewan, native had a 7-15-22 line in 34 games as a freshman last year, then posted an 8-15-23 mark in 33 contests this season while earning All-Big Ten honorable mention acclaim.
The 6-2, 198-pounder brings an aggressive nature to the blue line, as he's not afraid to play physically on the defensive side and then get forward in the offensive zone. He has an excellent shot from the right side and isn't afraid to push the pace, which makes him an intriguing prospect who could thrive at the pro level.
Wisconsin struggled each of the past two seasons, winning just 12 of 48 Big Ten games over Ceulemans' tenure with the Badgers. But Ceulemans has received plenty of experience playing against top forwards the past few seasons, including Johnson and Matty Beniers last year at the University of Michigan, plus such names as Adam Fantilli, Logan Cooley, Mackie Samoskevitch, Jimmy Snuggerud and Matthew Knies this season.
"My first year it was all offense, doing whatever I could to score a goal," Ceulemans said. "This year I had that as well, but way more solid defensive game. My defensive numbers were a lot better. I just feel like I could shut down those top players more. It was a good year. The points were similar, but overall I think I took a big step in my game."
Ceulemans and Tyrer talk about his experience at Wisconsin, how he grew as a Badger, what's next, and much more about his life. Listen to the entire episode of the Pipeline Podcast for more.
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The Pipeline Podcast: Corson Ceulemans

Monsters In Playoff Battle

The Blue Jackets would love to see their AHL affiliate in Cleveland make the playoffs, and the Monsters have moved closer to a postseason bid by winning three of the last four games.
Cleveland remains in last place in the seven-team North Division with 16 games to play, but the Monsters (25-25-4-2) are just three points behind fourth-place Rochester, two behind fifth-place Laval and one behind sixth-place Belleville. The Monsters also have games in had on the Rocket and the Senators.
Five teams in the North Division will qualify for the postseason, with the fourth- and fifth-place teams battling to start the postseason.
The recent wins have helped get the Monsters back within striking distance of a postseason berth. Included was the team's 3-2 shootout win Saturday over Grand Rapids in their last game, which featured two points each from Yegor Chinakhov (1-1-2) and Trey Fix-Wolansky (0-2-2). Jake Christiansen also added a goal, Chinakhov and Fix-Wolansky scored in the shootout, and Jet Greaves made 36 saves.
Chinakhov now has three goals and three assists in four games since returning from injury, while Fix-Wolansky is fourth in the AHL in scoring with a 25-37-62 line. 2022 first-round pick David Jiricek had an assist in the win over the Griffins and has five helpers in the last six games.
The next four games for Cleveland are at home at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, starting tomorrow night when the Monsters host Grand Rapids. Belleville then visits Saturday and Sunday before Cleveland kicks off a home-and-home with Toronto next Friday night.

KHL Playoffs Advance

Time and again, Dmitri Voronkov is showing he's a playoff-type player.
The 2019 Blue Jackets fourth-round pick finished the KHL season on a tear and continued it as Ak Bars Kazan rolled to a 4-2 victory in its opening round series with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. The top-seeded Kazan squad was led by Voronkov, who notched four goals and an assist, including tallies in both Games 5 and 6 as the squad finished off the victory. Ak Bars now moves on to take on Admiral Vladivostok in the second round of the playoffs.
Two seasons ago, Ak Bars got to the conference final thanks in part to the playoff success of Voronkov, as the big center with some snarl and scoring touch had a 6-4-10 line in 15 postseason games that season before his squad lost to Yegor Chinakhov and Avangard Omsk.
Voronkov posted career highs this season with 18 goals -- eight of them in the last 10 games -- and 31 points.
On the other side of the bracket, defenseman Nikolai Makarov and CSKA Moscow also have advanced to the second round, though it took a seven-game series to best Severstal Cherepovets. The CBJ fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft played a regular shift on defense in the series for CSKA, notching two assists and averaging 13:35 per game at age 20. CSKA now takes on Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the second round.
Two other CBJ prospects -- 2022 draft picks Kirill Dozhenkov (fourth round) and Sergei Ivanov (fifth round) -- are taking part in lower-level playoff tournaments. Dolzenkhov had 45 points in 50 games for Krasnaya Armiya at the junior level then has played in two more games in the postseason.
Ivanov, meanwhile, is a goalie who made his debut with SKA St. Petersburg this season at age 18. He played three games for SKA's minor league team before it was eliminated in the playoffs and now has three games under his belt in the postseason for SKA-1946, its junior team.

Dumais, Bedard Hit Stretch Run

The battle lines are drawn.
With six games left in the regular season, Blue Jackets 2022 third-round pick Jordan Dumais has 122 points (48 goals, 74 assists) for Halifax of the QMJHL.
And with six games left in his regular season, the presumed No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, Connor Bedard, has 125 points (61 goals, 64 assists) for Regina of the WHL.
There's a major gap between those two and everyone else, so one of the two will win the CHL's scoring title. Will it be the Blue Jackets' pick or the player that's the talk of the hockey world?
That Dumais is even in the race is a testament to what a historic season he's having. Dumais is sixth in the CHL in goals and second in assists, and he has a shot to break the Halifax record for points in a season (137, held by Ramzi Abid in 1999-00). His 260 career points are also third in Mooseheads history.
Columbus took him in the third round of last summer's draft after his 109-point season a year ago, and he's blown by that this season. He's been consistent from the get-go, notching 12-15-27 in 12 games in October; 7-20-27 in 13 November games; 8-6-14 in six December contests; 5-13-18 in nine games in January; 12-11-23 in 11 February showings; and 4-9-13 in six games in March. He has 38 multipoint showings in 58 games.
Dumais also notched five points in three games at this year's Traverse City NHL Prospects Tournament, one off the tournament lead for the Jackets.

Prospect Notes

• Dumais and the Mooseheads enter today tied for first place in both the QMJHL and the Eastern Conference, with the squad knotted with Quebec at the top of hte standings. Halifax is 45-10-4-3 overall in 62 games and will be in the mix to capture the crown once the playoffs start in early April.
• Quebec, meanwhile, has its own CBJ connection in 2021 fifth-round pick Jordan Malatesta. On the season, the wing has posted a career-best 36-25-61 line in 53 games, and he's tied for 12th in the league in goals.
• Out in the WHL, Bedard's Regina Pats are in sixth in the Eastern Conference, so it appears the squad will make the playoffs. That's good news for CBJ 2021 third-round pick Stanislav Svozil, Bedard's teammate whose 10-63-73 line in 50 games puts him third in the league in assists. He is tied for the WHL lead in scoring by defensemen.
• And over in Moose Jaw, the Warriors -- which feature two CBJ picks in Denton Mateychuk and Martin Rysavy -- are fourth in the East and have clinched a playoff bid. Mateychuk, a 2022 first-round pick at No. 12 overall, has an 8-52-60 line in 59 games while Rysavy (2021 seventh-round pick) has 9-18-27 in 42 games.
• Just one CBJ prospect in college hockey remains alive with a chance to make the NCAA tournament. Defenseman Guillaume Richard, a 2021 fourth-round pick, and Providence College have advanced to the Hockey East semifinals and must win the conference tournament to advance to hockey's version of the Big Dance. Richard, a sophomore, has a 1-7-8 line in 30 games this year. Ceuelmans, defenseman Aiden Hreschuk (1-5-6 in 35 games at Boston College) and defenseman Robbie Stucker (3-12-15 in 33 games at Vermont) have also seen their seasons end.