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Blades sign defenseman Zanon
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More Florida Everblades
- Blades come back to beat Lynx, 2-1
- Blades get Khudobin back from AHL
- Blades start long road trip with stops in Augusta, Gwinnett
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Brad Zanon has never played for a hockey team south of Portland, Ore., or east of Spokane, Wash., but that will change next season when Zanon heads to Southwest Florida to play for the Everblades.
The Blades announced the signing of the 6-foot-2, 207-pound defenseman on Wednesday, making Zanon the second defenseman and sixth player to officially sign for next season.
Zanon joins defenseman Kyle Peto and forwards Mike McLean, Jarret Lukin, Kevin Baker and David Nimmo on the roster. Negotiations are ongoing with forward Justin Bowers, ’07-08 Everblades forward Preston Callander and forward John McNabb, a 2007-08 ECHL All-Star with the Texas Wildcatters.
“I was really weighing my options, but the thing that most made me decide was (coach Malcolm Cameron) coming to the (Everblades),” the 25-year-old Zanon said Wednesday, amid noises from his construction job in British Columbia, Canada. “I had talked to (Cameron) while I was still in school and while I was in junior (hockey) as well. ... He seemed like a pretty good fit, and we were comfortable right from the get-go.”
After finishing four years at the University of British Columbia, Zanon joined the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings for 14 regular-season and 10 playoff games last year. But the Salmon Kings didn’t make him a qualifying offer on July 1.
“As soon as I wasn’t Victoria’s property anymore, (Cameron) sort of got on the horn right away,” Zanon said.
Everblades general manager Craig Brush said Zanon’s toughness is evident in the hockey rink, not just in his blue-collar summer job working construction.
“He’s a real rough-and-tumble kid,” Brush said.
Zanon had three assists for Victoria last season, while also playing on the penalty kill unit.
“I sort of relied on my defensive side there. ... I was getting a feel for the league,” he said. “I would like my offensive game to pick up a little bit next season. I’ll step up into the offensive zone when I can, but not too much. I’m just a cool, calm, steady presence back there.”
Zanon proved he could be a scorer during his junior year in college, when he had 14 goals and 19 assists in just 36 games for
the University of British
Columbia, earning him a spot on the All-Canada West Conference team.
Zanon also played three years in the Western (junior) Hockey League, where he spent two seasons on the Kootenay Ice with former Everblades player Adam Taylor. Zanon also played against Lukin in the WHL.
Zanon’s older brother, Greg, 28, has spent the past two seasons in the NHL with the Nashville Predators. Greg Zanon is also a defenseman, with 15 points in 148 regular-season games.
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