Zach Sill’s professional hockey resume to date includes 93 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.
And yet his career might not have panned out that way if not for some help from the Truro Bearcats.
“It all started in Truro, getting it turned around and pointed in the right direction again,” said Sill, now a centre for the AHL’s Hershey Bears, ahead of Sunday’s Rogers Hometown Hockey stop in the Nova Scotia town.
What Sill is referring to is the fallout during the 2006–07 season, which temporarily stunted his career trajectory.
Sill had joined the NCAA’s Maine Black Bears as an 18-year-old freshman after recording 12 goals and 20 points in 48 points for the Maritime Junior A league’s Bearcats the previous year.
But things didn’t go according to plan. Sill was reportedly suspended for multiple off-ice incidents and was looking for a new team by Christmas.
The Bearcats were a natural landing place, but there weren’t any open roster spots. Coach-GM Shawn Evans found room for him with the team’s Junior B affiliate – coincidentally in Sill’s hometown of Brookfield, 15 kilometres south – and he was limited to call-up duty in Truro until playoff time.
“I was in no man’s land for a bit,” Sill said. “For Shawn to do that for me at that time in my career was a major turning point for me that got me to the next level.”
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Sill rewarded Evans for the big favour.
He didn’t lead the Bearcats in scoring during their 2007 post-season run. Instead, he starred by penalty killing and pestering opponents’ top players – roles he’d fulfilled in minor hockey in Halifax against the likes of future NHLers Brad Marchand and James Sheppard.
The Bearcats won the Kent Cup as league champions, the first of three since Evans took over in 2002, and Sill was named MVP.
“We had a very good team and Zach put it over the top,” Evans said. “He’s a fearless hockey player. He just plays the game the right way and he plays it with reckless abandon.”
“Skill’s not his game. Smarts and tenacity and big heart – that’s how he plays. He’s all about the team.”
Sill moved on to the QMJHL and played two seasons for the Moncton Wildcats, where he served as an alternate captain. He then entered the pro ranks.
That’s when Sill started participating in Bearcats training camps to get in a few extra skates before leaving for NHL camps. The six-foot, 214-pound forward has continued that tradition.
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In addition to getting in a workout, Sill gets to spend more time around an organization that’s meant so much to him.
Not only were the Bearcats his first junior team, but the self-described “rink rat” used to attend their games as a kid. Scarfing down hot dogs and running around the arena to wear off energy are memories that come to mind.
“He never forgets where he comes from,” Evans said. “Whenever you see him, it’s just the same old Zach. That might be the best thing I can say about him.”
Sill offers tips to the next wave of Bearcats during the late-summer sessions, most notably to aspiring penalty killers.
“I’ve had many, many players here over the years. I’ve liked them all, whether they know it or not,” Evans said. “But he’s right at the top. He’s just a heart-and-soul guy on and off the ice.
“When you look at how many years he’s played – the number of NHL games that he’s got based on not [being] a big stats guy – I think he’s a great role model for all the kids that aspire to play professionally.”
Now 29, Sill is hoping to add to his NHL totals and play pro hockey for as long as he can. He has two goals, five points and 98 penalty minutes to his name over those 93 NHL contests.
Realistically, he said he’s shooting for five more years of competitive action.
But if it wasn’t for Evans and the Bearcats organization, Sill may not have even gotten this far.
“It was great having a coach like that – and having a guy like that after I was done playing with him – around just to talk to, just to be there,” Sill said. “I know that that guy is there for his players 100 per cent.
“Truro’s a lucky town to have that guy there for so long.”
