The Blue Jackets have wrapped up their first round with another solid selection.
With the 25th pick, the club selected Canadian defenseman Corson Ceulemans. The 18-year-old tallied 4-7-11 in eight games with the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL in 2020-21. He's committed to the University of Wisconsin to play college hockey next year.
Ceulemans has earned impressive comparisons, most notably Cale Makar. Dayton Reimer of The Hockey Writers writes that both "Ceulemans and Makar play a fast, offense-first style that emphasizes puck handling and out-thinking their opponents."
#CBJ select Corson Ceuelemans 25th overall. I ranked him 14th overall, and 4th among defensemen.
— Patrick Bacon (@TopDownHockey) July 24, 2021
Ceuelemans scored at a very high rate in the AJHL in a small sample this year and also scored over a point per game in the U18 WJC. This young, large defenseman is a good value bet. pic.twitter.com/u4xIDmdjOn
The Athletic's Corey Pronman projects Ceulemans to be a full-time NHL defenseman: "In a sentence, Ceulemans projects as a quality top-four NHL defenseman who could possibly be on a second power-play unit with the potential to play higher in a lineup."
