(Ottawa native Cody Ceci was the Senators' first-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft held in Pittsburgh. The Ottawa 67's defenceman will provide readers with some thoughts about his first Senators development camp in a series of blog posts for ottawasenators.com).

As a hometown boy, Cody Ceci has received lots of attention from fans this week during his first Senators development camp.

Being from Ottawa, I've had a lot of media requests to deal with during development camp. I'm not too used to that and it's a little different for me, but it's been fun. I don't mind doing the media stuff and it's been cool.

I expected it a little bit, just because I'm from Ottawa and I grew up here, and to get drafted by my hometown team is pretty big. That just directed a little more attention to it than normal. Every time I'm doing a media interview, it's a reminder that I am from Ottawa and it reminds me how lucky I am to have had this happen.

There was some attention that came my way heading into the draft. Just being from Ottawa also means I'm around here all the time, so I can easily direct my attention toward our fans with the 67's. Being from here is an advantage that way. The fans all know what's going on, so they just naturally go to me and ask what's going on.

Since draft day, I've received lots of congratulations from fans and that's nice to hear. Even when I was just with the 67's, their fan base is big and everyone is really supportive. Now the fan base gets bigger with the Senators and it's just more support. So it's good to be in Ottawa and have all of that behind me.

Last night, we met some season-seat owners after our scrimmage at the Bell Sensplex and signed some autographs. It's always cool to meet the fans and it's something we should do to support them and show our gratitude toward them. They devote a lot of time and attention to us, so it's only right that we should give it back whenever we have a chance.

Having the support of the fans and my family in my hometown has always been big for me. Just being comfortable with the fans and having pretty much the same fan base ... I'm pretty lucky that way. Just having the comfort of knowing that really helps me out. They've never put me down or anything and I always seem to be on a high.

We're about halfway through camp now and it's definitely been a long one already with really long days. But other than that, it's been really fun being around all these guys and gaining this experience. I'm trying to make the most of it and it's actually going by quickly. It's been really good for me.