It’s all part of the process for the talented Ceulemans, who stands 6-2, 198 pounds despite being only 20 years old. Last season, Ceulemans played 33 games for Wisconsin, posting an 8-15-23 line, before joining the Monsters for 13 games (1-1-2) later in the year.
This season, Ceulemans arrived in Cleveland to start his pro career on a stacked defensive corps that includes such names as prospects David Jiricek, Stanislav Svozil and Jake Christiansen as well as veterans Billy Sweezey and Cole Clayton.
“It’s super fun,” Ceulemans said. “You had all those guys to play with and play against. So, you can watch Christiansen and see what he's doing, like how he goes back on a puck, if he's shoulder checking, the fakes he's making, how he creates more time and space for himself. So, it's fun to go out there and learn from those guys. Take little things from their game that I can put into my game, but you know, we're always competing against each other, too.
"So, it's super fun that way. We just push each other; we all want to get better. We all want to make the show. So, I think just that like internal competition allows us to elevate our game even more.”
The Monsters have been leading the North Division of the AHL for most of the season, and as the end of the campaign nears, Ceulemans wants only to keep elevating his game and continue his team's success.
"I would say it's like, keep your nose to the grindstone, keep working hard, keep doing it for that guy next to you,” he said. “We've worked all year to get ourselves into this position. Let’s just keep doing it. Show up every day. It's a new day. Just focus on today and have a blast while doing it.”
The Regina, Saskatchewan, native is ready for his first real taste of postseason hockey as a pro.
“I'm pumped for it,” he said. “Everybody's like, playoffs are a different kind of hockey, and in juniors I kind of got sold short of that a little bit with COVID and everything going on. So, I didn't really get the full effect. They were real short. So, I'm just really looking forward to the grind and the battles that we're going to have in playoffs. I think that's the best part of hockey. Everybody just wants to win so bad. So, I'm pumped for it.”
For more on Ceulemans, including his favorite things to do in Cleveland all the way to what types of foods he has been learning to cook, check out the full Pipeline Podcast interview above.
Monsters on a Roll
Speaking of the Monsters, the team has started to regain its mojo at the right time.
Cleveland had a chance to grab full command of the AHL’s North Division when it had a 10-game homestand in January and February, but the Monsters won just three of the first nine games. Things ended on a high note, however, with a win over Grand Rapids, and that victory started a seven-game point streak (4-0-3) that has vaulted Cleveland five points ahead of Syracuse for the top spot in the North with 21 games to go in the season.
Cleveland is coming off a busy weekend on the road, winning a Thursday night tilt at Hartford before a pair of overtime losses at Providence.
The opening game was a 4-3 win at Hartford that saw the Monsters build a 3-0 lead before the Wolf Pack rallied to tie the score late. Hunter McKown and Trey Fix-Wolansky then scored in the shootout for Cleveland to claim the extra standings point. Brendan Gaunce, Jake Christiansen and Roman Ahcan scored in regulation, while Jet Greaves made 34 saves.
Cleveland’s first-ever trip to take on Providence resulted in a pair of oddly similar games. The Bruins won both by a 4-3 score in extra time, while Fix-Wolansky got the Monsters a point by scoring a late equalizing goal in each contest.
In the Friday night opener, Gaunce had a three-point night (one goal, two assists) and David Jiricek had a goal and an assist before Fix-Wolansky's goal with 1:56 left tied things 3-3. Unfortunately, former Ohio State forward Georgii Merkulov scored 45 seconds into overtime to give the Bruins the win.
Sunday, the rematch featured Cleveland taking a 2-0 lead on goals by Luca Del Bel Belluz and Fix-Wolansky, but Providence rallied to take a 3-2 lead. Again, Fix-Wolansky played the hero as he tied the score with 1:08 to go, but the Bruins won the shootout. Greaves made 39 saves in the effort.
With his big weekend, Fix-Wolansky is now tied for third in the AHL in points with a 19-30-49 line, while Greaves’ 23-9-3 record leaves him first in the AHL in wins.
The Monsters are now home in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for four straight games, including tonight’s tilt with visiting Toronto. Chicago comes to town for a pair of games Friday night and Saturday afternoon, then the Monsters host Grand Rapids on Monday.
Prospect Notes
- The KHL regular season is now complete, and three Blue Jackets draft picks saw action during the campaign. Goalie Sergei Ivanov (2022 fifth-round pick) was a standout at age 19, posting a 2.63 GAA and .928 save percentage in 33 games while being loaned from SKA St. Petersburg to Admiral Vladivostok. Coming off a Gagarin Cup championship last year with CSKA Moscow, defenseman Nikolai Makarov (2021 fifth-round pick) skated in 28 games with two assists. Massive young forward Kirill Dolzhenkov (2022 fourth-round pick) made his debut in the KHL at age 19 and had a 4-5-9 line in 39 games for CSKA.
- When it comes to the postseason, CSKA is the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and will take on Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the opening round. Dolzhenkov looks primed to make his KHL playoff debut, while Makarov is currently skating with Zvevda Moscow in the minor league playoffs. Despite Ivanov’s impressive numbers, Admiral fell short of the postseason in the Eastern Conference
- Luca Pinelli’s impressive season marches on. The 2023 fourth-round pick has topped the 40-goal mark on the season with Ottawa of the Ontario Hockey League, reaching the milestone with a pair of goals Feb. 19 vs. North Bay. That gave Pinelli four two-goal games in an eight-game span, and on the season he’s added 27 assists for 67 points in 55 games on the campaign.
- Another milestone was hit by 2022 seventh-round pick James Fisher on Sunday as he scored his 20th goal of the season in his debut campaign with Penticton of the British Columbia Hockey League. The Northeastern-bound power forward now has scored in three straight games and has six goals in the last seven games, part of a 20-10-30 line in 44 games.
- And another milestone took place Saturday night when University of Michigan forward Gavin Brindley (2023 second-round pick) reached 20 goals in the Wolverines’ win over Notre Dame. Brindley has scored in five of the last six games for a U-M team battling for an NCAA tournament berth, part of a 20-22-42 line in 31 games this season. He’s one of nine players with 20 goals in the season in college hockey.
- Unfortunately, we must report that goalie Nolan Lalonde’s winning streak has come to an end with Saginaw of the OHL. The CBJ goalie signee won 16 straight decisions from Nov. 3 through Feb. 21 before finally taking a loss Friday against North Bay. The 20-year-old netminder got back to his winning ways a night later, though, making 22 saves in an overtime win over Brantford. On the whole, he’s 18-5-0 this season with the Spirit with a 3.15 GAA.
