On Thursday September 10th, the Idaho Steelheads announced the re-signing of Canadian forward Zack Andrusiak. The two sides have agreed to terms on a standard player contract for the upcoming season. For Andrusiak, it’s his second in Boise, Idaho.
Andrusiak, a left-shooting winger, re-joins the Steelheads after having debuted with the organization in 2019-20. During his first season with the hockey club, Andrusiak recorded 10 goals along with 13 assists in 51 games.
Prior to his ECHL debut, Andrusiak spent four seasons playing in the WHL between four of their teams. This includes the Tri-City Americans, Prince Albert Raiders, Seattle Thunderbirds and Everett Silvertips. During his tenure in major junior, Andrusiak recorded eighty goals along with 69 assists for 149 points. As well, he helped the Seattle Thunderbirds to the 2017 Western Hockey League Championship.
In a statement on Thursday from Everett Sheen, head coach of the Idaho Steelheads, he said about the team’s latest signing, “Andy had a great rookie season with us. He was a big piece of our team and we are happy to have him back. He is a pure shooter and goal scorer who has had a tremendous second season at every level. Look for him to build off of last year and be even more productive in his second season of pro hockey here in the Treasure Valley.”
Upon signing his contract on Thursday, the left-handed shooter said about returning to Idaho, “I love playing in Idaho; the fans are amazing and I feel like our team has a lot of unfinished business from last year. We had just started to hit our stride when the COVID-19 shutdown hit so I’m excited to build off that with the other guys returning along with the new players we’re bringing in and have a great year.”
The Yorkton, Saskatchewan native is collectively the eleventh player to sign a contract for next season. He joins forwards Cody Fowlie, A.J. White, Colby McAuley, Will Merchant and Kyle Marino. This also includes Zach Walker and Kenton Helgesen. As well, he is joined by defensemen Evan Wardley, Jeff King and Matt Stief.