Ottawa Citizen

Ceci aims to impress

All eyes on Senators’ top prospect as training camp approaches

- ALLEN PANZERI

All around town, Cody Ceci’s buddies have been asking him the same question: When’s he going to make the jump to the NHL?

That’s the plus side of playing in your hometown. Everybody knows your name, and everybody wants to see you succeed.

But the flip side of the coin is that you have to deliver.

Ceci, taken in the first round (15th overall) of the 2012 draft, knows this. NHL teams don’t waste high draft picks on local players just to curry favour with fans. They expect the player to eventually be a productive member of the organizati­on.

That’s the weight Ceci carries around town.

“I’ve played all my junior hockey here, pretty much, so all the people around here kind of know me,” he said on Tuesday, after a practice at the Bell Sensplex. “They’ve seen me play before so they know what I can do. I’ll just have to keep playing the same way I can and hopefully it’ll be good enough to make the jump to the NHL.

“There’s a huge upside to it. I’d love to play a game in front of all my family and friends in Ottawa.”

As Ottawa’s No. 1 prospect, Ceci, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound offensivel­y minded defenceman, is expected to be a key part of the new generation.

In the not-too-distant future, the average age of the team’s defence is going to drop well below 30. Chris Phillips, 35, and Joe Corvo, 36, will be the two oldest this season, but they’ll both be unrestrict­ed free agents next summer.

Marc Methot is the next oldest at 28.

Then there’s Erik Karlsson, 23, Patrick Wiercioch, 22, Eric Gryba, 25, Jared Cowen, 22, Mark Borowiecki, 24, and Ceci, 19.

It will be one of the younger, and one of the better, groups in the league.

If, of course, are met.

all

expectatio­ns

By his own evaluation, Ceci had a mixed 2012-13 season, split between the 67’s and Owen Sound, and finishing with a brief stint in Binghamton, when he played three regular-season and three playoff games.

He got away from his game by trying to do too much on a young and terrible 67’s team, found himself improved in Owen Sound, and then had to be a quick study in Binghamton.

There, though, he was fortunate to find head coach Luke Richardson, who played 1,417 NHL games and was one of the league’s better defencemen for 21 seasons.

Ceci already knew another pretty fair defencemen, Senators special teams coach Jason Smith, from the times he helped out with the 67’s.

So to start his profession­al career, Ceci had two of the better teachers he could have ever hoped to find.

“They’ve played a ton of games, they know their stuff back there, and they’ve been able to help with some things that should help me make the jump,” said Ceci.

In Binghamton, Ceci found the brisk pace a surprise, as junior players generally do when they first get to the AHL, but after a time he felt more comfortabl­e.

“At first it was tough, a lot quicker, and I was nervous, too,” he said. “So the combinatio­n of that was hard on me.

“You definitely don’t have as much time as you’d like. But after a while I started to get used to it. It took me a couple of games, but after those I felt OK out there.”

Where Ceci fits this year will be an interestin­g question during training camp.

In addition to his games in Binghamton last season, the Senators got to see him as one of the Black Aces during their playoff run.

He’ll play in next week’s four-team rookie tournament in London, and then attend the main camp.

There doesn’t seem to be a spot for him in Ottawa. Borowiecki would seem to have the edge as the seventh defenceman.

And it might not be the worst thing in the world for Ceci to spend a full year with Richardson and be No. 1 on the recall list.

He’s already had his eyes opened off the ice this summer, as he’s worked out at the Canadian Tire Centre with veterans such as Chris Neil and Marc Methot.

What he discovered is that it doesn’t get any easier.

“I’ve learned that even the guys who have played a lot of years still train really hard,” he said.

“It’s a tough league to play in, so you have to be ready and always have to train as hard as you can. Guys are always coming up and trying to steal your job.”

So when training camp starts, he’ll do his best to make an impression.

“I’m just going to go in and try to make as big an impact as I can,” he said.

“I mean, if I get some exhibition games, great.

“If I don’t, I’m going to try to do as much as I can in the rookie tournament and try to open some eyes and hopefully let them know that I’m ready to make the jump and that I’ve improved this summer.

“If I get sent down, I won’t be too disappoint­ed, but I’m going to go into camp with the attitude that I’m trying to make the team.”

 ?? WAYNE CUDDINGTON/OTTAWA CITIZEN ?? Cody Ceci will play in next week’s four-team rookie tournament in London, and then attend the main Senators camp.
WAYNE CUDDINGTON/OTTAWA CITIZEN Cody Ceci will play in next week’s four-team rookie tournament in London, and then attend the main Senators camp.

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