Yep. And I think CBJ pick Grigorenko if they stick to no.2. Why do they pick Murray if they have already have Johnson, Wisniewski, Methot, Tyutin, Nikitin, Martinek, and Moore?
Cody Ceci was Ottawa’s first round selection in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection, and looks to be steadily developing into a very good player. Ceci already has NHL size standing at 6’ 2” and 190 pounds, which is even more impressive considering Ceci is still only 15 years old. As a rookie, Ceci is playing in all situations, power play and penalty kill, and doing it effectively. This shows the confidence coach Chris Byrne has in his young defenseman, as well as the kid’s versatility. The Orleans, Ontario native has great speed for his size and is rarely beaten by quick skaters. He’s effective in the offensive zone, and is finding some success by keeping things simple and not over-thinking the game. There is no question that Ceci has the raw ability to play hockey at a high level, and he’ll have the next two seasons to develop his game before he becomes draft eligible.
Ceci was one of the weaker defensemen at the camp, but as the youngest player at the camp, Ceci has an extra year to develop as his late birthday makes him 2012-eligble. He looked uncomfortable in his own end where forecheckers were able to get pressure on him and cause him to turn over the puck. He lost a lot of puck battles. Ceci made some good outlet passes, but he didn’t use his skating ability to open up bigger passing lanes when pressed.
Cody Ceci is an interesting prospect in my opinion. He can be categorized as a two-way defenseman, but at the next level will be looked upon to think defence first, and chip in offensively when his own end is taken care of. His mentality in his own zone one of his top qualities, but he is also able make a great first pass to initiate the rush. With a 6.02, 203 lbs. frame, Ceci already has respectable size, especially for a 16 year-old. To coincide his size, Ceci is a good skater, and has great vision. Due to his late birthdate, the Orleans, Ontario native is not eligible until the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, and preliminary rankings have him sitting in the top 30.
Ceci’s sophomore season in the OHL was promising as the Ottawa native took the steps forward that most were expecting after his rookie season. Already playing with pro size, Ceci entrenched himself as one of the better defensive defensemen in the OHL last season with very responsible play while logging heavy minutes. His physical play took a step forward last season and it was noticeable that he was much improved in handling defensive zone coverage and preventing himself from over-committing. Has some offensive upside and serves as an effective PP quarterback at the OHL level. Ceci projects to be a potential late first-round pick or early second-round pick as a player who has the potential to be a dependable NHL defenseman who might not have quite as much high-end upside as some of the other players available in the range.
“He’s a very good skater, a powerful skater,” Byrne said. “He’s got a good shot and uses it a lot more confidently. He separates the opposition from the puck in our zone.
As it stands, Ceci has to be considered one of the premier defensemen not only in the OHL, but the Canadian Hockey League as a whole. He plays a strong offensive game and has developed into an exceptional puck mover and one of the top powerplay players in the OHL. Ceci has a big shot and does a good job distributing the puck and activating in the offensive zone. His defensive game has improved considerably since his 16-year-old season, but he still needs to show an increased commitment to the defensive end. As an 18-year-old, Ceci is a little ahead in the development curve of some of the other defensemen in the draft, but his strong offensive upside makes him a quality pick in this range.
The Dean’s List has ranked Ceci as the highest of the three OHL defenders and it’s mainly due to the impressive combination of his size, mobility and two-way upside. As credentialed OHL writer, Todd Cordell, confessed to TDL, “Ceci is solid defensively and very good with the puck. He has good vision, good instincts at both ends of the rink and is very mobile”. Cordell continued, “Ceci certainly has all of the tools to make and have success in the NHL.”
Ceci, a 6-foot-3 two-way defenseman, has certainly made large strides through the first half of his draft year scoring nine goals and 40 points to place him second in OHL defenseman scoring trailing only Dougie Hamilton (50 points) who was last year’s top drafted OHL defenseman. Ironically, Cody Ceci was the Ottawa 67’s first round selection in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection Draft when the hulking defenseman went sixteenth overall ahead of Boston Bruins’ prospect Dougie Hamilton (2nd Round, 27th *overall). The Peterborough native was an impressive player during his midget days notching 24 goals and 72 points in 52 games.
Ceci has developed nicely over the past few years when he more than doubled his rookie totals last year, from 12 points to 34 and is on pace to surpass the 63 point mark this season. Ceci’s development in his third major junior season has him playing with a ton of confidence and excelling in his puck-moving abilities. Cody does not play with too much of a physical edge (an area that experts would like to see an improvement in) but he does use his size and reach effectively in shutting down his opponents. Offensively, Ceci has exceptional hockey intelligence and earns his numbers through smart decision making and a big shoot from the point. Size, skating ability, and hockey smarts have caught the attention of the The Dean’s List and it would be hard to imagine Ceci waiting around too long at next year’s draft to be picked by a NHL team.
At 6’2, having just turned 18-years-old in December, and currently tipping the scales at over 200lbs, Ceci looks more than comfortable logging top minutes on the 67s back-end. In 47 games, he’s registered 47 points, and already has a career-high 11 goals, something he attributes to increased confidence with the puck and a lot of power-skating sessions in the summer.
“I think it’s just a combination of that and being in the league for three years now,” he explains. “I’ve had a lot of opportunity over the past few years so it’s helped me develop as a player.”
And after those few years he’s developed into a mobile defenseman with size and dynamic skating ability; not to mention, he has huge offensive upside. He exudes poise and is more than calm with the puck on his stick. The 18-year-old can also quarterback a power-play.
Ceci has all the tools to be a dominant NHL defenseman, which has many scouts drooling with anticipation for the 2012 Draft. He is smooth-skating, and very agile for his size, has a big shot, makes smart decisions with the puck, never panics, uses his long reach and big body to perfection when defending, and has the hockey IQ of a seasoned veteran. Currently the 18-year-old sits second overall in scoring by OHL blueliners with 38 points (8G,30A) in 41 games, behind only the Niagara IceDogs bluechip d-man Dougie Hamilton, who Ceci has very similar intangibles to. The towering 6-foot-3, 210-pound defenseman has improved his point totals in each of the past three seasons, along with his defensive play, and currently his +21 rating is good enough for 7th best in the league. In a year where defenseman dominate the NHL Draft rankings, Ceci has the ability to go anywhere in the Top 30, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him jump into the Top 10 when all is said and done.
I agree we need Centers more than anything, but our D pool is hardly surefire. Oleksiak is the only blue chipper, and both he and Nemeth are probably going to end up closer to shutdown guys than offensive threats. We are in very desperate need for a legit PMD prospect.
I agree though I'd rather see a blue chip C added first though. But considering D take longer to develop, and this draft is heavy on them, I wouldn't be sad if we took an offensive D-man prospect in the 1st.
I certainly wouldn't mind him, as long as no one falls to us. Would prefer a center, but I'm fine with trying to build from the net out as well (which seems to be something we're headed towards).
Also, if we're that desperate for offensive defensemen (which we shouldn't be, they'll obviously give Goligoski a chance, and I think Larsen will find it soon), we should look into trading up for Rielly. Kid has some insane offensive talent.
He also convinced me that Faksa will not be available at Dallas' pick. I mentioned in this thread earlier that Carolina tends to select talent from the Kitchener Rangers (OHL team owned by Canes owner), but I didn't make the connection at the time with Faksa. The Canes last two first round picks were Rangers, and I'd be pretty surprised not to see them take Faksa at 8. That's around the time teams would likely start considering him so it's not even a reach.
He also convinced me that Faksa will not be available at Dallas' pick. I mentioned in this thread earlier that Carolina tends to select talent from the Kitchener Rangers (OHL team owned by Canes owner), but I didn't make the connection at the time with Faksa.
Peter Karmanos (Hurricanes owner) owns the Plymouth Whalers, not the Rangers. The Hurricanes select a lot of OHLers in general.
He also convinced me that Faksa will not be available at Dallas' pick. I mentioned in this thread earlier that Carolina tends to select talent from the Kitchener Rangers (OHL team owned by Canes owner), but I didn't make the connection at the time with Faksa. The Canes last two first round picks were Rangers, and I'd be pretty surprised not to see them take Faksa at 8. That's around the time teams would likely start considering him so it's not even a reach.
I'd say Ceci pretty likely the guy we end up taking. Faksa may be a little bit of a wild card as well as teravainan because if neither goes before we pick it'd be fairly likely that Ceci does.
I hate when experts come out with lists and no explanations at all.
I haven't heard why he has Subban so high and Murray so low but he has addressed Grigorenkos ranking numerous times... He doesn't think that Grigorenko will be anything better than a second line or 1B centre... All the forwards he ranks above him, Yakupov, Forsberg, Galchenyuk, and Teravainen he foresees as elite point producers
I'm not saying I agree with him, Craig Button is the ultimate prospect hipster; Subban, Lindholm, Jankowski, and Smith are all ridiculously high, but he did explain Grigorenkos ranking
. That was fun for a moment. He corrected the error and now gives us Ceci.
