Casey Pierro-Zabotel

Casey Pierro-Zabotel (born November 8, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is currently playing for the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, 80th overall, out of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). Playing major junior with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League (WHL), he set franchise single-season records in 2008–09 with 79 assists and 115 points, en route to a Bob Clarke Trophy as the league's leading scorer.

Casey Pierro-Zabotel
Pierro-Zabotel with the Vancouver Giants during the 2009 WHL playoffs.
Born (1988-11-08) November 8, 1988
Ashcroft, British Columbia, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
ECHL team
Former teams		 Adirondack Thunder
WBS Penguins
Charlotte Checkers
Lausitzer Füchse
Norfolk Admirals
NHL Draft 80th overall, 2007
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 2009–present

Playing career

Undrafted by a WHL team,[1] Pierro-Zabotel began his junior hockey career with the Merritt Centennials of the Junior A British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) in 2004–05. He produced at a near point-per-game pace in his second season with the Centennials before dominating the league in 2006–07, his draft year, with 51 goals, 65 assists and 116 points in 55 games. Going into the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Pierro-Zabotel was ranked 75th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting,[2] up from 87th in their mid-term rankings.[3] He would be taken in the third round, 80th overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Pierro-Zabotel and Giants teammate Brent Regner in 2008.

Set to make the jump from Junior A to college hockey for Michigan Tech in 2007–08, he was deemed ineligible to play for the first semester by the NCAA for academic reasons.[4][5] As a result, Pierro-Zabotel instead signed with the Memorial Cup defending champions, Vancouver Giants of the WHL, in November 2007.[6] He scored his first WHL goal on November 24 against the Medicine Hat Tigers[7] and tallied 48 points in 49 games for the Giants in his major junior rookie season.

Pierro-Zabotel (right) and Giants linemate Evander Kane in 2008.

Beginning the 2008–09 season on the top line with Evander Kane, Pierro-Zabotel was named WHL Player of the Week on October 5 after recording 7 points in 2 games.[8] Just 44 games into the season, he set a Giants single-season record with his 54th assist as part of a 5-point game on January 17, 2009, in a 9–3 win against the Red Deer Rebels. The team mark was previously set by Darren Lynch, who recorded 53 assists in 70 games in 2002–03.[9] A little over a week later, on January 25, Pierro-Zabotel tied the Giants' franchise mark for single-season points set by Gilbert Brule in 2004–05 with his 87th point of the season.[7] He broke the record the next game against the Medicine Hat Tigers, on January 28, with an assist in a 4–3 win.[10] His record-setting January was capped off with a WHL Player of the Month recognition after tallying 28 points in 15 games.[11] Pierro-Zabotel completed his second WHL season with a league-high 115 points (36 goals and 79 assists) to become the first Giants recipient of the Bob Clarke Trophy. He was also named co-team MVP with captain Jonathon Blum[12] and was unanimously selected to the WHL West First All-Star Team.[13] After eliminating the Spokane Chiefs in the second round of the playoffs, Pierro-Zabotel was named the Western Conference's nominee for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as top WHL player. The award was given to Eastern Conference finalist Brett Sonne of the Calgary Hitmen.[1][14] In game two of the semifinals, he scored the game winning overtime goal to defeat the Kelowna Rockets 4–3 and tie the series 1–1.[15] The Giants were, however, eliminated in six games. Pierro-Zabotel completed the post-season with 17 points in 17 games.

A week after Pierro-Zabotel's final WHL season ended, the Penguins signed him to a three-year, entry level contract on May 4, 2009. He was subsequently assigned to the American Hockey League (AHL) to join the Pittsburgh's minor league affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for their 2009 playoff run. [16] He did not, however, appear in any games.

Pierro-Zabotel began the season on the Penguins' ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers, but was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on January 21, 2010. At the time of his reassignment, he was second in team scoring with 33 points in 38 games.[17]

In February 2011, it was announced that he was loaned to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL, who are not affiliated with the Penguins.[18][19] Prior to the start of the 2011-12 ECHL season, the Wheeling Nailers traded Pierro-Zabotel to the Bakersfield Condors for future considerations.[20]

After the 2011-12 season, his entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization expired. Pierro-Zabotel was not re-signed by the Condors and became a free agent on July 1, 2012. On September 27, he signed with the Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL.[21][22]

On July 5, 2013, Pierro-Zabotel signed his first European contract, agreeing to a one-year deal with German second tier club, Lausitzer Füchse of the DEL2.[23] He eventually returned to the Gwinnett Gladiators, where he had spent the majority of his 2012-13 season.

On July 16, 2014, Pierro-Zabotel re-signed with the Gwinnett Gladiators[24] but was traded at the deadline to the Florida Everblades on March 12, 2015.[25] On August 6, 2015, he continued his career in the ECHL, signing a one-year contract with reigning Champions, the Allen Americans.[26] In the 2015–16 season, Pierro-Zabotel quickly transitioned to become an integral contributor to the Americans offence, posting 15 goals and 47 points in 58 regular season games. With 16 post-season points, Pierro-Zabotel helped Allen retain the ECHL Championship.

As a free agent in the off-season, Pierro-Zabotel opted to join his seventh ECHL club, in agreeing to a one-year deal with the Colorado Eagles on August 11, 2016.[27] In his lone season with the Eagles, Pierro-Zabotel claimed his second consecutive Kelly Cup, posting 15 points in 24 playoff appearances.

After a second stint with the Allen Americans, Pierro-Zabotel continued his tenure in the ECHL, agreeing to terms with the Adirondack Thunder on September 3, 2019.[28]

International play
Medal record
Representing  Canada West
Ice hockey
World Junior A Challenge
2007 Trail
2006 Yorkton

Following his second season in the BCHL, Pierro-Zabotel competed for Canada West at the inaugural 2006 World Junior A Challenge in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Playing Canada East in the final, Pierro-Zabotel scored the game-winning goal on the powerplay to win the gold medal by a 4–3 score.[29][30] He finished with 9 points in 4 games, second in tournament scoring behind teammate and tournament MVP Kyle Turris.[31]

The next year, Pierro-Zabotel was named team captain for Canada West[32] for the 2007 World Junior A Challenge in Trail, British Columbia. He led his team past Belarus in a 7–4 quarter-final win with a natural hat trick in the third period, scored in just 4 minutes,[32] en route to a second straight gold medal win against Canada East in the final. He finished with 7 points in 5 games, tied for second in team scoring behind tournament MVP Mike Connolly.[33]

Records

Personal life

Pierro-Zabotel married his long-time girlfriend, Levi Gottfriedson in December 2008, and they have two children together.[34][35]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
    Regular season   Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeague GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
2004–05 Merritt Centennials BCHL 58 6 6 12 19 — — — — —
2005–06 Merritt Centennials BCHL 60 25 30 55 29 — — — — —
2006–07 Merritt Centennials BCHL 55 51 65 116 42 — — — — —
2007–08 Vancouver Giants WHL 49 19 29 48 8 10 2 4 6 4
2008–09 Vancouver Giants WHL 72 36 79 115 52 17 4 13 17 16
2009–10 Wheeling Nailers ECHL 49 12 29 41 26 — — — — —
2009–10 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 9 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2010–11 Wheeling Nailers ECHL 42 14 20 34 42 — — — — —
2010–11 Cincinnati Cyclones ECHL 25 4 16 20 8 4 0 0 0 0
2011–12 Bakersfield Condors ECHL 71 8 27 35 50 — — — — —
2012–13 Gwinnett Gladiators ECHL 66 22 53 75 30 10 1 8 9 2
2012–13 Charlotte Checkers AHL 5 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Lausitzer Füchse DEL2 33 5 17 22 20 — — — — —
2013–14 Gwinnett Gladiators ECHL 36 7 21 28 17 — — — — —
2014–15 Gwinnett Gladiators ECHL 54 23 37 60 32 — — — — —
2014–15 Norfolk Admirals AHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2014–15 Florida Everblades ECHL 5 0 4 4 2 12 4 2 6 0
2015–16 Allen Americans ECHL 58 15 32 47 12 24 7 9 16 16
2016–17 Colorado Eagles ECHL 72 24 64 88 47 20 4 11 15 6
2017–18 Allen Americans ECHL 72 19 50 69 26 7 2 0 2 2
2018–19 Allen Americans ECHL 8 1 2 3 2 — — — — —
2019–20 Adirondack Thunder ECHL 63 24 15 39 28 — — — — —
ECHL totals 621 173 370 543 322 77 18 30 48 26

International
Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2006 Canada West WJAC 4 3 6 9 4
2007 Canada West WJAC 5 3 4 7 2
Junior totals 9 6 10 16 6

Awards and Honours
Award Year
BCHL
MVP 2007
WHL
West First All-Star Team 2009 [13]
Bob Clarke Trophy 2009
CHL Second All-Star Team 2009
Player of the Week (October 5) 2008–09 [8]
Player of the Month (January) 2008–09 [11]
ECHL
First All-Star Team 2013, 2017 [36]
All-Star Game 2013
Kelly Cup (Allen Americans) 2016
Kelly Cup (Colorado Eagles) 2017 [37]

References
  1. "Giant Pierro-Zabotel named WHL West finalist for top player award". Vancouver Sun. 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  2. "2007 CSB Final Rankings". TSN. 2007-04-25. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  3. "2007 CSB Mid-Term Rankings". TSN. 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  4. "This week in the WCHA: Nov. 15, 2007". USCHO. 2007-11-15. Archived from the original on 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  5. "Bringing back the bark". 2007-10-04. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  6. "Tips duo may play for Team Canada". HeraldNet.com. 2007-12-04. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  7. "Pierro-Zabotel ties scoring mark". The Province. 2009-01-26. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  8. "Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Vancouver Giants: Sept. 29 - Oct. 5". Western Hockey League. 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  9. "Mighty Casey smashes record". Vancouver Sun. 2009-01-18. Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  10. "WHL:Vancouver Giants defeat Medicine Hat in come-from-behind win". Vancouver Sun. 2009-01-28. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  11. "Giants' Pierro-Zabotel named Husky WHL Player of the Month". Western Hockey League. 2009-02-03. Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
  12. "Giants Pound Cougars 6-0". OurSports Central. 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  13. "WHL Announces Western Conferences All-Stars and Award Finalists". Western Hockey League. 2009-03-18. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
  14. "WHL Announces 2008-09 Award Winners". Western Hockey League. 2009-04-30. Archived from the original on May 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  15. "Giants defeat Rockets in overtime". Vancouver Sun. 2009-04-19. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  16. "Giants Pierro-Zabotel signs with Penguins". OurSports Central. 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  17. "Casey Pierro-Zabotel Recalled To Baby Penguins". OurSports Central. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  18. "Nailers Acquire a Pair of Forwards, February 10, 2011". Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
  19. "Baby Penguins Banter: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Depleted by Pittsburgh Injuries".
  20. Mike Griffith (September 29, 2011). "Condors acquire scoring threat from Penguins organization". Bakersfield Californian. Archived from the original on 2014-10-21. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  21. Casey Pierro-Zabotel Gwinnett Gladiators Archived 2012-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ECHL.com: ECHL Announces Training Camp Rosters Archived 2012-10-18 at the Wayback Machine, September 28, 2012
  23. "Foxes sign Canadian with killer instinct" (in German). Lausitzer Füchse. 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  24. Press Release (Jul 16, 2014). "Condors acquire scoring threat from Penguins organization". Gwinnett Gladiators. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  25. "Glads Get Two from Florida". Gwinnett Gladiators. March 12, 2015. Archived from the original on March 13, 2015.
  26. "ECHL Champions sign top score Casey Pierro-Zabotel". Allen Americans. 2015-08-06. Retrieved 2015-08-06.
  27. "Eagles add Kelly Cup Champion, former All-Star Pierro-Zabotel". ECHL. 2016-08-11. Archived from the original on 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  28. "Thunder add two-time Kelly Cup Champion Pierro-Zabotel". Adirondack Thunder. September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  29. "Game Summary 1076". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  30. "Canada East 3 - Canada West 4". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  31. "Top Scorers - 2006 All Players". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  32. "Captain leads Canada West through to semi-final". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  33. "2007 World Junior A Challenge - Statistics". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  34. "Penguins draft pick enjoying banner season in WHL". Sporting News. 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  35. "Pierro-Zabotel having the 'time of his life'". The Province. 2008-12-31. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  36. "All-ECHL First Team announced". ECHL. 2013-04-02. Archived from the original on 2013-05-26. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
  37. "Sweeping Success: Colorado Eagles win Kelly Cup". ReporterHerald.com. 2017-06-05. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Mark Santorelli		 Bob Clarke Trophy
2008–09		 Succeeded by
Brandon Kozun
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