Hinterland
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I mean. How many big, physical, fast skating Centermen with his kinda offensive upside you think are gonna be available in the upcoming draft?
LW Bill Zonnon - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, QMJHL (2025 Draft)
- Thread starter GermanSpitfire
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I mean. How many big, physical, fast skating Centermen with his kinda offensive upside you think are gonna be available in the upcoming draft?
Juxtaposer
Outro: Divina Comedia
I was under the impression that skating was a weakness of Zonnon's. Is that not the case?
Dack
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Not really a Q watcher but I've seen a decent amount of Zonnon this year. I'm a pretty big fan of his and I think he's worth a 1st round pick.
His production slowed down a lot in the 2nd half but he was still really impactful in the games I watched. In short, he's a really good passer, a monster on the boards, is physical and plays in the dirty areas. To add to that I don't disagree with earlier posts saying that they still think he's quite raw, there's still a lot of areas that need work but there's also reason to believe he will improve. I think his puck handling looks far better now than it did early this season and he's really become more of a puck carrier through the NZ.
I think with his skill, physicality and athleticism he has the chance to be a bit of a unicorn of a complimentary player if things go right.
His first few steps aren't great, earlier in the year I would've even said they were bad but I think he's improved a bit in that aspect. However his top speed is very fast, when he gets wound up he can fly. I think I remember one of the eliteprospects guys saying that his top speed measure out as elite or something along those lines.
Hinterland
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I mean his feet do look heavy. Furthermore, his skating technique does look ugly and is far from clean and we'll have to see how that translates to the NHL but for a 6'2 200lbs kid he's still rather fast and mobile. His acceleration could be better but I expect him to gain explosiveness once he grows into his body. He certainly does create chances and score points (and goals) by using his speed or even mobility or pirouttes to create space for himself. I understand that major juniors isn't the same as pro hockey but I wouldn't say that skating is a weakness of his. If he does have a weakness it's probably decision making. He's epic when on top of his game but also has a tendency to pass up shots and try the impossible play with then leads to turnovers. That may also have to do with him shifting to Center this season but I think he's just very green as well. He's a project but I like his tools a lot.
Hinterland
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I do think that he's raw but I see it as a plus. He's an impact player already despite being green...which means there's upside. He's a project but could hit big time should he ever reach his potential.
I totally agree regarding his skating. He's also surprisingly agile. You don't often see such big kids dance around opponents the way he does.
Juxtaposer
Outro: Divina Comedia
Cheers, appreciate the write-up. I do think first-step is a bit of an underrated attribute that gives me a bit of pause when I hear it's "something that could be improved on". I think that it's more important than top speed, because it's the attribute that lets you pull away from defenders and gives you space to puck handle. But plus-agility is a mitigating factor.
That said, I do think Zonnon is interesting and have no problem when I see guys at lower levels try crazy moves that definitely won't work in the pros, it's just the feeling-out process kids with high-end skill have to go through to figure out what their limits are. If he were available at the Dallas 1st, I would be pretty happy for the Sharks to snag him.
He's also one of the oldest first time draft eligible players and I'm sure teams will factor that into their rankings.
Hinterland
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Yes they will...but again...how many big, physical Centermen with his kinda upside are gonna be available? Those guys tend to go earlier than anticipated on draft day.
Hinterland
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Hockeyville USA
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September 15. Born on September 15 2006, you're draft eligible in 2024, born on September 16 2006, you're draft eligible in 2025.
To me what's most impressive about Zonnon's season is how quickly he got used to the center position, when as far as I know he had only ever been a winger before this year. He adapted really well to being thrust in the 1C role on a pretty good Q team. Even his faceoff % improved noticeably over the course of the year: in October it was at 45.3%, in March it was at 53.6%.
He's an intelligent, hard-working forward whose best asset is his top-tier playmaking. He has great vision and can thread difficult passes with his forehand or backhand. He has a nice frame, and he's pretty physical, but it's a side of his game that's pretty raw, and he loses more battles than you'd expect for a guy his size. Shot is ok but nothing special.
The big problem with Zonnon is his weird skating mechanics. Yeah he can get really fast once he gets going, but his acceleration and overall agility are really poor, It's something he'll absolutely have to improve if he wants to make the NHL.
His realistic upside is probably solid bottom-6 guy. As great as his passing and vision are, he doesn't have the overall tools to be a top-6 NHL player. But that's true of most forwards picked in his likely range (late 1st/early 2nd).
He's an intelligent, hard-working forward whose best asset is his top-tier playmaking. He has great vision and can thread difficult passes with his forehand or backhand. He has a nice frame, and he's pretty physical, but it's a side of his game that's pretty raw, and he loses more battles than you'd expect for a guy his size. Shot is ok but nothing special.
The big problem with Zonnon is his weird skating mechanics. Yeah he can get really fast once he gets going, but his acceleration and overall agility are really poor, It's something he'll absolutely have to improve if he wants to make the NHL.
His realistic upside is probably solid bottom-6 guy. As great as his passing and vision are, he doesn't have the overall tools to be a top-6 NHL player. But that's true of most forwards picked in his likely range (late 1st/early 2nd).
Hinterland
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Barry Amsterdam
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how much of a power forward is zonnon, does he throw the body and fight or just a big body out there
Jared Grayden
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Dylan Strome is still slow as molasses just like Ryan. Skating has strong inherent inputs that can't be altered by coaching in all cases.
I don't disagree but I think it's pretty clear that it can be improved with good coaching more than any other skill.
Strome's skating has improved to the point where it doesn't impede his other elite offensive skills. Same with Protas, Sandin, McMichael, Wilson, Carlson, and others. They've also taken other guys recently who's #1 knock has been skating in Cristall and I. Protas who have made massive improvements in that area.
I'd love for them to keep up that trend and get their hands on Zonnon, who's other skills make him a very intriguing project
More of the latter honestly. I've seen him throw some big checks, but I don't think he has the natural aggression of a true powerforward; he seems to prefer playing more of a cerebral game. Also, he's 6'2, which is slightly above NHL average, but it's not "NHL Big Man" size. Right now he can leverage being bigger and stronger than most of his junior competition, but that advantage will shrink quickly as he moves up the ranks. Nobody should be drafting him hoping to turn him into Tom Wilson, that's just not his game.
Washington would honestly be a pretty good (and realistic) landing spot for Zonnon. Though it's worth noting that not all skating problems are the same; sometimes it's a guy whose skating has not kept up with his physical growth, sometimes it's just due to inherent physical limitations. Either way, I imagine the Caps's org has enough expertise on the subject to determine whether Zonnon is worth picking 1st round.
Hinterland
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He's not Tom Wilson but he does throw big hits and I could see him turn into a checking line Center at NHL level. Like Adam Lowry for example.
