Prospect Report: Ceulemans could be the next great CBJ defenseman

Cale Makar grew up in the Canadian Prairies, played junior hockey for Brooks of the AJHL, spent two years in college hockey and is now one of the best defensemen in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche.
Corson Ceulemans grew up in Canadian Prairies, played junior hockey for Brooks of the AJHL, and just arrived at the University of Wisconsin.
Will the Blue Jackets first-round pick (25th overall) in the 2021 draft become one of the top blueliners in the NHL like the Avs star? Time will tell, but to this point, Ceulemans appears to be doing his best to follow the Makar path to the league.

In fact, Makar's success is one reason he's felt comfortable eschewing the WHL to go through the Alberta ranks then college before eventually heading to the Blue Jackets.
"I think that had a lot to do with (going to Brooks)," Makar told Dylan Tyrer on the latest edition of the CBJ Pipeline Podcast. "Probably a little bit to do with me choosing the NCAA route as well, just seeing how he was able to develop and go through Brooks and go through college and the player he is in the NHL now. He's a great leader that way, and he's able to pave the way for future comers like me and other guys, too."

If Ceulemans develops anything like Makar did, the Blue Jackets will certainly be thrilled. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound defenseman doesn't project to have the same offensive ability as Makar -- who does, though? -- but he's thought to have all the tools to become a dependable two-way blueliner who finds a home in the top four at the NHL level (and perhaps even higher).
The Regina, Saskatchewan, native's offensive abilities to this point have been pretty solid, as Ceulemans had nine goals and 46 points in 52 games over the past two seasons with the Bandits. This year with Wisconsin, he's overcome missing time as the result of a brutal hit against river Minnesota to notch two goals and 10 points in 15 games.
Add in Ceulemans' ability to use his size and strength on the defensive side of the puck and he projects to be the total package as he progresses in his hockey career.
"Getting to know Corson, I truly believe that we have a complete defensive player," CBJ director of player development Rick Nash said. "He brings it offensively. He is solid in his D-zone. So when I think of Corson, what his potential and what his ceiling is, it's obviously on the lines of a complete defenseman that every organization needs to have as the backbone of their team."
That doesn't mean Ceulemans is resting on his laurels, however.
"I think just becoming more of a complete defenseman in the defensive zone, being able to use my body position more to deflect players to the outside and shut down their time and space," he said when asked how he's improving this season at UW. "I think that's gonna be a huge thing at the NHL level. So far at the NCAA level, I'm starting to get the hang of it. And just always having a good stick -- obviously, that's important and super crucial in the NHL, too. Those are the two things I'm really gonna work on this year."
Ceulemans could very well spend another season or two with the Badgers -- Makar spent two years at UMass, winning the Hobey Baker Award as a sophomore -- but he looks forward to eventually having the chance to make it to Columbus.
And along the way, he's starting to learn more about what will likely be his professional home.
"I've been learning, looking at Ohio," he said. "It's a pretty cool place, actually -- a lot of pro sports teams there. Ohio State, the school is right there, too. I've heard it's a pretty good football school, so it's gonna be fun to go watch games there when they battle Wisconsin."

World Juniors Watch

As we get closer to the Boxing Day start of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, so far just one CBJ draft pick is confirmed for the annual event that captures the imagination of the hockey world.
The fifth overall pick in the 2021 draft, forward Kent Johnson, has made Team Canada's roster and is expected to be a big part of the roster for the home team should he get over recent illness issues that have kept him from the team's camp. The standout forward from British Columbia is one of the top scorers in college hockey this year, racking up four goals and 19 assists for 23 points in 17 games so far for the University of Michigan.
It seems likely, though, that the Jackets will have three other players taking part as well. Rosters are not finalized for the Czech Republic and Slovakia teams, but forward Martin Rysavy and defenseman Stanislav Svozil should make the Czech roster, while Samuel Knazko captained the Slovak team last year and is eligible to return.
Svozil is a third-round pick in the 2021 draft who has a 1-17-18 line in 26 games so far with Regina of the WHL, while Rysavy is in the same league, as the seventh-round pick has totaled 5-11-16 in 28 games with Moose Jaw. Knazko, meanwhile, started his season with TPS in Finland but recently moved to Seattle of the WHL, where he has a goal and two assists in five games.
Defenseman Nikolai Marakov, taken in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, of the CSKA Moscow system was invited to Russia's camp but did not make the final roster.
In addition, Norwegian defenseman Ole Julian Bjorgvik-Holm, a 2020 fifth-round pick, is captain of his country's U-20 squad that is taking part in the Division I version of the tournament, taking place now in Denmark.

Prospect Notes

• The Cleveland Monsters, the top farm team of the Jackets at the AHL level, are in the midst of a two-game losing streak, falling 3-1 at Utica on Friday and then 4-2 at Lehigh Valley on Saturday. Prior to that, the Monsters earned an 8-3 win Wednesday at Syracuse that featured a hat trick from Adam Helewka. The team, now 10-8-2-3 and in fourth place in the eight-team North Division, returns to the ice tomorrow night and Friday night at home against Utica.
• On the stats front, defenseman Jake Christiansen, now with the Blue Jackets, leads the team with a 5-13-18 line in 21 games. Brendan Gaunce (7-9-16) and Liam Foudy (6-10-16) are next in points, while Tyler Angle ties Christiansen with team-best 13 assists among his 15 points. Trey Fix-Wolansky is being eased back into the lineup after knee surgery but has a 5-3-8 line in nine games.
• Forward Dmirti Voronkov (fourth round, 2019) of Ak Bars Kazan had a scary moment this past weekend in a KHL game when he suffered an open-ice check that left him needing a stretcher to leave the ice. However, the team later tweeted a message from Voronkov -- one eye swollen shut -- that read, "I feel fine. I was released from the hospital, I will be recovering under the supervision of doctors in the club." The 21-year-old power forward scored in the game, giving him a 7-5-12 line in 37 games this year.