Cody Ceci

Cody Ceci - Ottawa 67's

6'2" 203 LBS
D.O.B. - December 21, 1993

As a late '93 birthdate, the 2011-12 season will be Ceci's third full season with the 67's entering his draft year.

In his rookie season, Ceci put up 4 goals and 8 assists with 12 penalty minutes and was a plus 3 in 64 games. He followed that up with 3 assists and a plus 1 in 12 playoff games.

Ceci broke put with the high flying 67's in 2010-11. He played in all 68 games and recorded 9 goals and 25 assists along with 28 penalty minutes and a plus 11. He followed that up with 2 assists in 4 playoff games as his Ottawa 67's were stunned in a 4 game sweep by the Sudbury Wolves.

Following the season, Ceci was invited to play for team Canada at the IIHF World Under 18 Championships where Canada would finish 4th and would register 1 assist in the tournament. I'll go out on a limb and suggest Ceci will be part of Team Canada come August for the Ivan Hlinka Under 18 Tournament.

During his draft year in 2009, Ceci attended Lakefield College School and made public his wish to stay with the private school and hope to be drafted by the Peterborough Petes, who held the sixth overall pick. But the Petes, with 8 returning defensemen, felt that their needs were at the forward position. Ceci also made it publicly known that he would consider joining his hometown Ottawa 67's if they drafted him. Ceci said

"If I get drafted by a team I wouldn't want to play for then I'll come back to Lakefield next year and play (tier II juniorA) and then either wait another year and go (to the OHL ) or I'll go the NCAA route."

Well all the talk seemed to pay off for Ceci who dropped to 16th overall and was nabbed by the 67's immediately when he was still on the board.

Ceci has offensive ability as seen with his 24 goals and 77 points for the Peterborough Petes Midget AAA squad in 2008-09. But upon his arrival in Ottawa, he was asked to play a more defensive role which he welcomed with open arms.

Ceci already has NHL size. In fact he had it in his draft year and still has room to grow. He's an excellent skater with good speed and mobility for his size. He doesn't get beat to lose pucks often, using a combination of his skating and positioning.

Ceci plays in all situations, 5 on 5, power play and penalty kill. He keeps things simple and makes the safe play more often than not. He shows flashes of high hockey IQ but doesn't over think. He makes an excellent first pass and will use his skating to find a lane if he doesn't have that pass.

His commitment to school paid off in February as he was named the 67's academic player of the month.