Prospect Watch: Don’t Forget About Corson Ceulemans

Our prospects coverage continues this week as we focus in on Blue Jackets 2021 first rounder Corson Ceulemans. Returning to the University of Wisconsin for his second year with the Badgers, Corson will look to improve his all-around game after leading the Badgers in scoring as a freshman.

When you look at the pipeline for the Blue Jackets right now, it’s loaded with high end talent throughout. Even with the graduation of Kent Johnson to the NHL, there are several blue chip prospects here who get plenty of recognition from fans of the team. Lost in the shuffle a little bit is defenseman Corson Ceulemans.

Selected by the Blue Jackets with the 25th pick last summer (acquired in the Nick Foligno trade); Ceulemans is a big, rangy defenseman who plays a strong game on both sides of the puck. While he doesn’t have the shifty skating ability of Denton Mateychuk, or the heavy hitting, hard shooting game of David Jiricek, Ceulemans does a little bit of everything well. Here you can see him breaking up a play, then sending a pass into an open area for a streaking teammate:

He’s a good skater who loves to be involved in the play, whether it’s jumping up to intercept a pass, joining the offense off the rush, or throwing a big hit defensively. Immediately, when I watch him play, he reminds me of a young Seth Jones. While he doesn’t have the same kind of standout skating ability or quite the same size; he plays in a similar fashion, asserting himself into every aspect of the game.

Last season with the Badgers, Ceulemans started off slowly, but went on to score 7 goals and added 22 points in 34 games, tied for the overall team lead. This season he’s started off pretty well, posting 1 goal and 5 points through 9 games. In spite of the fact that he’s a young player at the collegiate level, the Badgers lean upon him heavily in all situations.

Developmentally, I think Corson is probably ready for the professional ranks once this college season is over, though he will most likely start out with the Cleveland Monsters. Ultimately, he’s probably still 1-2 years away from seriously competing for a spot with the Blue Jackets. His game is still pretty raw and the overall pace of the professional game is quite a step up from the NCAA.

If Ceulemans continues to round out his game and improve, it’s easy to see him as a future top-4 fixture on defense for the Blue Jackets. With the excitement around Jiricek and Mateychuk, it’s easy to overlook a guy who was taken late in the first round a year prior – and who isn’t putting up gaudy numbers. But make no mistake about it, this guy can play, and he might be ready pretty soon.