Cizikas’ OHL Experience Leads to AHL, NHL Success

After playing four years of OHL hockey, Casey Cizikas is making his way up the ladder. This past season, he made his debut in both the American and National hockey leagues with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and the NY Islanders, respectively.

Cizikas began his pro career with the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League in 2007 at the age of sixteen years old. In that his rookie season – a year that was certainly tough, as he dealt with some off-ice issues – he had a respectable 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists) and a plus-12 in 62 games.

Playing for his hometown team, Cizikas would spend his entire OHL career with the Majors. His second season with the team wouldn’t prove to be as productive as the first, but that’s not to say it was a bad one. Despite ending the year with a less-than-impressive minus-15 rating, he still managed 16 goals and 20 assists in 55 games.

Although the center’s first two OHL seasons were decent, they were nothing compared to the second half of his career in the league. Cizikas was drafted in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders, who selected him with the 92nd overall pick in the fourth round.

This, it seems, made all the difference and put a spark in Cizikas’ play, as the next two seasons in the OHL were his best as he set OHL career highs in goals, assists and points.

The 2009-10 season that followed his draft selection would arguably be the best of his career, save for the ’06-’07 season with the midget team in Mississauga. (He had 106 points in 77 games there.)

In ’09-10, his third year with the Majors, Cizikas had 25 goals and 37 assists in 68 games for the best points/game average of his OHL career to that date. He also ended the regular season as a plus-32 player and had 14 points in 16 playoff games with the Mississauga.

He wrapped up his OHL career on an even better note the following season. In 52 games with the Majors, Cizikas scored 29 goals and 35 assists and finished with an outstanding plus-43 rating. He also had nineteen points during a 16-game playoff run and signed an entry-level contract with the Islanders on May 31, 2011.

In addition to OHL success that year, Cizikas competed at the IIHF World Juniors in Buffalo, NY as a member of Team Canada. He had three points in seven games and won a silver medal as Russia defeated Canada in the final game of the tournament.

This past season, Cizikas made both his AHL and NHL debuts, beginning with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. There, he had 15 goals and 30 assists in 52 games, tied for second on the team in points. His plus-26 rating was best on the team, and he also earned his first NHL call-up on February 24, making his debut against the NY Rangers.

He went pointless in his first three games with the Islanders, earning his first NHL point on March 1. He assisted on Josh Bailey’s goal just 1:35 into the game before adding another assist (on a Kyle Okposo goal in the third period) as the Islanders lost to the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-3.

He played fifteen games with the Islanders until March 29, but failed to notch his first NHL goal – a feat certainly forthcoming, although he’ll likely begin the upcoming season in Bridgeport with the Sound Tigers.