Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League

Mitch Zambon

By Dave Leaderhouse

LA RONGE ICE WOLVES, C

Things are looking up for the La Ronge Ice Wolves.

With one game left on their pre-Christmas portion of the schedule the Ice Wolves already have more wins this season than they did the entire 2016-17 campaign and when play resumes after the break a bonafide scoring threat is expected to return to the line-up adding more punch to a squad that is within striking distance of securing a playoff spot for just the second time in six years.

Mitch Zambon has been on the sidelines for the entire month of December recovering from what coach Evan Vossen says is being “banged up,” but in the five games prior to his absence Zambon was in on 60 per cent of the Ice Wolves’ offence including every goal in his last two outings.

The 6-foot-2, 170-pound Saskatoon product landed in La Ronge in mid-November after the Ice Wolves surrendered a player development fee to the Canmore Eagles of the Alberta Junior Hockey League in exchange for the talented forward.

Zambon was in his second season with the Eagles prior to the trade and in 22 games this year he had registered one goal and seven assists. Last year, as an 18-year-old, Zambon dressed in 47 games for Canmore collecting six goals and four helpers.

Prior to making the jump to the Junior “A” level, Zambon spent his final year of midget eligibility with the Saskatoon Blazers of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League and in 41 games he netted 17 goals and set up 18 others.

As a 16-year-old Zambon played in 51 games with the Pursuit of Excellence where he posted 10-25-35 totals for the year.

The Ice Wolves are just six points back of the Flin Flon Bombers and eight in arrears of the Melville Millionaires – the teams that presently hold down the final two playoff berths. In the first half of the season La Ronge lost a pair of games in a shootout and another handful by two or fewer in regulation time. With a skilled player like Zambon in the line-up that could turn the results in the Ice Wolves’ favour and bring them that much closer to challenging for a playoff berth. It should be an entertaining second half for the northern most entry in the SJHL.

Tag(s): Young Guns