THUNDER BAY – Hockey may be on hold, but Thunder Bay’s Nicholas DeGrazia looks like he’s headed for a pretty good year.
The Rayside-Balfour Canadians centre was given a ‘B’ grade in the National Hockey League Central Scouting Bureau’s mid-season players to watch report, one of nine players skating with a Canadian Junior Hockey league club to receive a mark.
The rating pencils DeGrazia in a s a possible second- or third-round choice.
The 6-foot-1 18-year-old is a graduate of the Thunder Bay Kings program and had seven goals and 15 points with the Canadians before play was halted in 2020-21.
He had 61 points in 46 games last season, adding a goal and an assist in four appearances with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves.
Corson Ceulemens, a defenceman with the Brooks Bandits, was the lone CJHL player to receive an ‘A’ rating, making him a potential first-round pick.
Ty Mueller (Sherwood Park), Alex Teleguine (Chilliwack), Finlay Williams (Penticton), Ryan Gillespie (Brockville), Nolan Dann (Georgetown), Declan Ride (Oakville) and Lucas Strickland (Stouffville) all received C grades, suggesting they could hear their name called in the fourth- to sixth-round range.
