Pustertal's NHL hero: The fairy tale of an underdog

There are players who get fans out of their seats with acrobatic puck moves, with irresistible solos and with magical goals. And then there are players like Zachary “Zach” Sill, who also take fans’ hearts by storm – but in a different way.

Zach Sill's entry in the ice hockey databases reads relatively unspectacular - purely in terms of the numbers. As a striker, he has never scored more than eleven goals in a season or collected more than 30 points. Why did HC Pustertal's new center still make it into the NHL? Why did he still twirl alongside stars like Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin? And why did he quickly become a Puster fan favorite? We'll let Shawn Evans, one of his first coaches and sponsors, answer that for him: “Intelligence, tenacity and a big heart – that's how he plays. He’s all about the team.”

Zach Sill at Intercable Arena.

When we meet Zach Sill for an interview in the Bruneck Intercable Arena, it immediately becomes clear that we are sitting across from a complete professional. The 35-year-old exudes the aura of a player who has experienced and seen a lot in his life. And yet his words are characterized by a remarkable humility. For example, if he talks about ice hockey, the game itself, his eyes literally start to light up. "I love it! Although it's a team sport, there are one-on-one duels everywhere on the ice, it's just fun to go in there. And I don’t like losing duels like that.” That’s what someone who has been passionate about this sport says for more than 20 years. “I never thought I would make it to the NHL.” Zach Sill It must also be this passion, this hunger that ensured that Zach Sill has had a great career. 93 games in the NHL, in the colors of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals, that's impressive. Especially because the Canadian himself says: “I never thought I would make it to the best league in the world. But suddenly I was there.”

Sill (left) doesn't back down: Here he is having a fist fight with MIchael Raffl. © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / DREW HALLOWELL

Suddenly, that's the right word. It became clear in his youth that Sill was a talented ice hockey player when he always played on the teams of his brother, who was two years older than him, in his hometown of Truro on the easternmost reaches of Canada. But the course of his career is fundamentally different from many other careers. Sill was not educated at a highly decorated American college and, above all, he was never drafted by an NHL club. Not even when, as a teenager, he played strong hockey in Canada's top junior leagues for two years and was assistant captain of his team. “But I knew that my chance would come,” said Sill.

He had almost lost faith This opportunity would come in the summer of 2009 and was called the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The club from Pennsylvania not only plays in the American Hockey League, the second highest league in North America, but is also the farm team of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the notorious ice hockey stronghold in the NHL. Suddenly the best league in the world was within Sill's reach. But the games, months and years went by, but the call from Pittsburgh just wouldn't come. “I played for Wilkes-Barre in the AHL for four seasons and you start to think that the NHL isn't going to work out anymore. You’re slowly but surely losing faith.”

Here Zach Sill celebrates his first goal in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penguins. © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / JUSTIN K. ALLER

On November 15, 2013, a Friday like many others, Zach Sill was supposed to play an AHL game with Wilkes-Barre. But just before the match, what he had been waiting for all his life happened. “My coach told me I would be playing in the NHL the next day. That was emotional.” For Sill it was time to get in the car, drive to Pittsburgh, fly with the team to New Jersey - and there, at the age of 25, he made his long-awaited debut in the premier ice hockey league, in front of his parents were flown in.

Alongside Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin That was the start of an adventurous time in which Sill played almost 100 NHL games for Pittsburgh, Toronto and Washington. Primarily deployed on the fourth line, the 92-kilogram striker was mostly busy with “clean-up work” and repeatedly shook the arenas with boxing matches. When he scored the first goal in his 52nd NHL game, Sill was so excited that he swung his stick through the air and almost hit a teammate. He particularly fondly remembers his time in Toronto. “That was my childhood favorite team. My father didn’t miss a single home game at that time.” “Crosby and Ovechkin are two guys you’d also want to have a beer with.” Zach Sill Sill was also given a special honor. He went into the ring with both Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) and Alexander Ovechkin (Washington) - two of the best players in the history of ice hockey. “You can only learn from such cracks every day,” says Sill, who describes both Crosby and Ovechkin as follows: “They are easy-going guys with whom you would like to have a beer with in a bar in the evening. Really two buddies.”

Zach Sill's story shows what is possible with tireless effort, great perseverance and amazing persistence. The father of two has also left his mark in Europe, where he has been playing since 2018, first in Prague, then for four years in Cologne. So now Pustertal. “The move from a big city to this small town is really nice. Bruneck is already one of the favorite places in my career,” said the NHL warrior. Even with these words, the smile on Zach Sill's face is wide and the sparkle in his eyes cannot be overlooked.

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Pustertal's NHL hero: The fairy tale of an underdog

HC Pustertal is enthusiastic – and one person who particularly shines is veteran Zach Sill. But who is the 35-year-old center who has taken an unusual path, culminating in playing alongside superstars like Sidney Crosby?

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