Player Information:
Name – Connor Zary
Position – Center
League – Western Hockey League (WHL)
Team – Kamloops Blazers
Shoots – Left
Age/DOB: 18-years-old, September 25, 2001
Nation – Canadian
Height – 6’0
Weight – 181lbs
WHL Drafted: Kamloops Blazers, second round, 37th
overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft
Potential Draft Round – Middle first round
Potential: Top-six forward
Statistics
The Rising Tide
One year ago, Connor Zary had been enjoying a fantastic breakout season with Kamloops. Former Blazers head coach Serge Lajoie had this to say of his star pupil at the time, “He’s now developed an approach where it’s infectious. He brings that positive energy and that want-to-get-better attitude. It can honestly be a foundation and a cornerstone for this program for three, four years.”
Since then, Zary has done exactly that. After missing the 2019 NHL Entry Draft cut-off date by ten days, he has dominated the WHL and elevated the Blazers from a fringe-playoff team to atop the B.C. Division. Neck and neck with fellow draft-eligible prospect Seth Jarvis of the Portland Winterhawks, his 68 points in 46 games this season currently sit eighth on the WHL scoring leaderboard. When adjusting for draft-eligible players 18-years-old or younger, his 1.48 points per game is second best in the entire league.
Scouting
Notes
On top of the contagious work ethic mentioned above, Zary boasts an attractive skill set headlined by excellent puck skills and hockey IQ. He regularly capitalizes on chance opportunities by simply finding open space and being in the right place at the right time. Another example of his anticipatory prowess is his work on the penalty kill. He not only creates, but converts shorthanded scoring chances with his defensive ability and tenacious two-way play.
Zary has a quite impressive shot to go along with his terrific puck handling ability that makes him a scoring threat at a distance or in close. While it does not stand out as elite, it is both hard and accurate with a good release. His timing and anticipation allow him to get shots to the net and pick a corner when needed. He has also proven to be capable of releasing his shots accurately from multiple angles.
The knock on Zary that has kept him on the outside looking in when it comes to this year’s upper echelon of prospects is his skating. By no means a wart on his resume, Zary possesses good, but not great skating ability. He can pull away from defenders in the Western Hockey League, but some scouts have wondered if it’s anything above average at the NHL level.
Young
players in the past, however, have shown that skating can be improved throughout
the course of player development with enough dedication and hard work. In Zary’s
case, he is a prime candidate to do just that if he can translate his in-game
work ethic to improving his skating ability.