CONNOR ZARY ENJOYING LIFE IN THE NHL
Connor Zary has become a rookie sensation with the Calgary Flames.
The 22-year-old forward played for the Kamloops Blazers in the WHL from 2017 to 2021 before the Flames nabbed him 24th overall in Round 1 of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Zary hopped on a Zoom call with Marty Hastings of Kamloops Last Week on Friday, Jan. 19, the day after his third-period goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs was disallowed and the day before his Flames played host to Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
Topics include his rookie season in the NHL, McDavid, Kyrell Sopotyk, the Vancouver Canucks, the Flames’ recent dads’ trip and his time with the Blazers.
The question-and-answer session has been edited for length.
Click here to see video of the interview — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuxIaNdtJkY
MH: What does an off day generally look like for you?
CZ: I usually get up in the morning and it’s a lot slower pace and then get out and do something during the day, maybe run a couple errands. Other than that, it’s pretty slow-paced compared to the other days.
MH: Do you have a significant other or are you flying solo?
CZ: I have a girlfriend and she’s kind of back and forth to Saskatoon.
MH: Any picks for this weekend’s NFL games or the Super Bowl?
CZ: I like watching NFL. I watch quite a bit, but I don’t really got a team. I’m just more a fan of the players. I don’t know if I really have a pick. I’m just a fan of all the studs. I’m kind of hoping Buffalo beats KC, just to get some new teams moving forward into the later rounds.
MH: Let’s talk hockey. Last night, you scored against the Leafs to tie the game in the third period, but the goal was challenged and disallowed. How do you feel about the call?
CZ: That’s a tough one. It’s the first time that’s happened to me. It was really close, one of those things you couldn’t really see with the naked eye. It barely touched off [Blake] Coleman’s glove.
It sucks. It’s not like it was just a first-period goal, where we can kind of figure it out. It was pretty late in the game. It’s pretty unlucky it ended up going off of Colezy’s glove, but it is what it is.
MH: How do you feel about your rookie season individually so far, with 22 points in 35 games?
CZ: It’s been good so far. There’s been some ups and downs. I’m just trying to come to the rink every day and be consistent and try and learn from games before or other guys or little video clips, little things you can pick up on day to day and things to improve your game. It’s a tough league. It’s the best players in the world. Every day, you can try and improve on something.
MH: Do you still pinch yourself occasionally? You’re living your dream. Or are you past that point now?
CZ: For me, it was maybe a bit like that for the first couple of weeks, but now it’s just kind of become hockey. Once you get to the point where you realize you can play and you can be here, you kind of want more and it kind of makes you hungry. Maybe it’s the first time you have a bad game or something like that. It makes you want more and know you can do more. It’s just kind of become my life, wanting to improve every day and not be satisfied with just being here. It’s trying to be here to be the best player I can be.
MH: What’s the highlight of the season so far?
CZ: The first game was cool, but if not that, we had the dads’ trip last week. That was pretty special for me and my dad.
MH: Any stories you can share?
CZ: They had Colin Patterson and Lanny McDonald chauffeuring the dads around, taking them out and about around town and to the games. To have him around on the plane and in the hotel and dressing room, and at pre-game skate and during the meetings, that was pretty cool.
MH: Tomorrow night [Jan. 20] you get Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. What’s it like to match up against him?
CZ: He’s obviously an all-world talent and a special player. You see what he does out there day in and day out. It’s something you can’t really match up for. You’ve just got to try and contain and do whatever you can to make sure we stay to our structure and every line is going and we do our best to keep him out of the game. That goes for all of those guys, the MacKinnons, the Kucherovs and all of those guys who are top, elite players that you can’t really let in the game or let them have a sniff. Last night, you give Matthews a couple inches and he has three goals. The more we can play in the offensive zone and pressure them to defend us is what stops those guys from doing what they want to do.
MH: Are you surprised by where the Canucks are in the standings?
CZ: I don’t think I’m surprised. You come into the year and everyone, analysts and what not, has their predictions, but a lot of times it just comes down to how groups start to gell. Sometimes that happens right from the start of the season and sometimes midway. Sometimes it’s not just looking at a team on paper and saying, ‘Oh, they’ve got the best team. They’re going to win the Stanley Cup.’ It’s looking inside the locker room to what type of guys are around. And not just speaking for the Canucks, but in general, any good, winning team, any good, winning culture, you have kind of a brotherhood inside the locker room and guys who want to be there and win every game. The Canucks have had success in the first half of the season and they’re obviously a really good team.
MH: Let’s talk Blazers. What do you remember about the end of your 17-year-old season in 2018-2019, when the team went on a wild run at the end of the season to get into the playoffs?
CZ: Our first year [2017-2018], we were pretty up and down. We missed the playoffs and I think it was kind of time to turn that around. We started to figure that out in the next year and moving forward and at the end of that second year, being able to play in those meaningful games and that play-in game was pretty crazy. That’s something that doesn’t happen very often, where two teams are playing winner takes all, one game to make it into the playoffs, and it being Kamloops versus Kelowna is another cherry on top. I remember that game being pretty cool and special and something you’ll remember forever just because it never really happens.
Then moving forward from that year, those last two years, my 18- and 19-year-old years, we had exceptional teams with exceptional talent, and high-end goaltending and coaching. We were probably ready to make some damage in the post-season, if not be a team competing to win it all in both of those years.
It was pretty tough, the way my junior career went and ended like that, with COVID and everything. That sucks I never got to play that out, especially with the teams we had in those last two years, but it’s something I’ll cherish forever, being part of the city of Kamloops and part of the Blazers.
MH: Yeah. I was going to ask you specifically about the 2019-2020 team, when the pandemic hit. How much damage could that team have done?
CZ: We were unreal. We were so good and so deep. Even Stanky [Logan Stankoven] I think started that season playing on the third line. That shows how deep we were. We were adding at the deadline and for it to all come to an abrupt close. We were right near the top of the Western Conference when everything ended. That was definitely a tough one. We were winning the B.C. Division, ready to go on those long runs, but it just didn’t end up happening.
MH: Any coaches from your time with the Blazers stand out?
CZ: All those guys helped me a ton. My last two years with Cluey [Blazers’ head coach Shaun Clouston] were huge and the little things he taught me, more toward mentoring me to become a pro hockey player and what it was going to take and how I had to play, the little details I needed to play at the next level. He was huge for showing me that.
And then having those other guys around like Chris Murray. He was there all my years, the little tips he brought to me and always showed me, and talking to me, just being around and a good guy and funny.
And then you’ve got Toledo [head equipment manager Colin Robinson] whose been there forever. You wouldn’t think, but he taught me a lot of things and having him around made my junior career even better and even more special, getting to become friends with him. He’s one of those guys you may not see and he’s not going to be in the headlines, but he’s always in the background making things better.
MH: You are great friends with Kyrell Sopotyk. We know what happened a few years back with the snowboarding accident, but I want to ask you about what he’s been up to since then, including winning three gold medals last year at the national track and field championships.
CZ: He’s the same person and nothing has really changed. He’s always been such an amazing athlete. You knew he was going to do great things and he has been doing great things, with those gold medals and with what he’s doing with the track stuff and the basketball. It has been pretty cool to see form afar. You just know he’s always going to do great things.