Penguins Get Strong Center with 22nd Pick: Forward Bill Zonnon

With the dust still settling from the Pittsburgh Penguins reaching for playmaking center Benjamin Kindel at No. 11, the Penguins management again selected a player ranked lower by scouting services when they selected forward Bill Zonnon of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

Using the 22nd overall pick acquired in the earlier trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, in which the Penguins traded the 12th overall pick for Nos. 22 and 31, the Penguins took the QMJHL forward who is known to use his size to control puck battles and keep the puck away from defensemen.

Zonnon can play all three forward positions as different services list him at different positions, from LW, RW, and center. The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder had 28 goals last season and 55 assists.

“I could see myself playing in the middle. That’s where I played pretty much the whole season, so I’d like to keep developing there,” Zonnon said. “And obviously, I’m still 18 years old. So I’ve got a long way to go to potentially play down the middle in the NHL. That would be my goal. My strengths are just my compete and my versatility. I’m very good offensively, but I’m really reliable defensively, as well. Like I told Kyle Dubas, they’re gonna get everything that I’ve got.”

There is a lot to like about Zonnon, as he generates scoring chances and is a playmaker with good straight-line speed.

The downsides are inconsistent effort, defensive awareness, and he won only 45% of his faceoffs. And despite creating a significant number of high-danger scoring chances, Zonnon also finished a below-average number of them (12.5%), according to Neutral Zone Scouting.

However, despite the low grades from scouting services, several also project him to grow into a second-line center potentially.

Personal Side

Unlike Will Horcoff, whom the Penguins drafted with the 24th overall pick, Zonnon is not from a hockey family, or even a family that had ever seen hockey until later in life. Zonnon’s parents are from Togo (Africa) and arrived in Montreal to attend college when they were about 25.

Growing up in Montreal, the hockey bug bit. It helped that the kid of African descent had a hero on his favorite team. Zonnon gravitated toward the game because of former Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban.

“They meant a lot to me and are one of the reasons that I’m here today,” admitted Zonnon.