When you think of an offensive defenseman coming out of the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Jr. A League, your mind automatically goes to Cale Makar. That's not a good comparison for Ceulemans, but he's ready to create his own path.
BORN May 5, 2003, Regina, Sask.
2020-21 Brooks POS D
HT 6-2 WT 201 SHOOTS R
INTERNATIONAL SCOUTING SERVICES No. 25
When you think of an offensive defenseman coming out of the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Jr. A League, your mind automatically goes to Cale Makar. And while there are some similarities between Ceulemans and Makar, it doesn’t look at this point like Ceulemans will rise to Makar’s level, largely because that’s a ridiculously high standard.
“He’s a bit of a polarizing guy,” said one scout. “I think it’s going to be hard for him to play that unstructured as he moves up. When Makar played, it was with structure. Ceulemans’ offense is created by his tools, a high-level skater, good size, good skills. His hockey sense has much less to do with his offense than other things.”
Other scouts are more optimistic, pointing to how well Ceulemans adapted to the higher level of play at the world under-18s. And he’ll likely improve defensively when he plays next season at Wisconsin. “Corson in junior looks nothing like he does (at the worlds),” said another scout. “In junior, he has no conscience. This tournament will benefit him because he’s been more involved defensively, and I think this will show that he can take coaching.”
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This excerpt is from The Hockey News' Draft Preview issue. Purchase a digital copy of the issue here or subscribe to The Hockey News here.