William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles Bill Zonnon, a rookie forward for Rouyn-Noranda of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Bill Zonnon was 5 years old when he first saw PK Subban play for the Montreal Canadiens on TV.
“I told my parents, ‘I want to be like him,’ Zonnon said. “So they brought me to the store, we bought some gear and I started playing and realized I can kind of go far in the sport. And here I am today.”
“Here” is with Rouyn-Noranda of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The 16-year-old rookie forward from Montreal is the team’s fourth-leading scorer with 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in 20 games.
He’s third among QMJHL rookies behind Baie-Comeau center Matyas Melovsky (25 points; five goals, 20 assists in 26 games) and Chicoutimi forward Maxim Masse (23 points; seven goals, 16 assists in 22 games).
Zonnon, the sixth overall pick in the 2022 QMJHL draft, was the league’s Rookie of the Month for September/October, during which he had scored goals in four consecutive games as part of a seven-game points streak (12 points; five goals, seven assists).
He got his first taste of international hockey when he was added to Canada’s roster for the 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Langley and Delta, British Columbia, Nov. 3-12.
Zonnon had three points (one goal, two assists) in six games for Canada White in the tournament that included teams from the United States, Finland, Sweden and Czechia.
“On the offensive side, his IQ is very high, and he has very good hands, a good release, too,” Rouyn-Noranda coach Brad Yetman said. “He definitely brings a lot to the table. He’s a good shooter and just as good as a passer.”
Zonnon (6-foot-2, 179 pounds) said he’s surprised, but not surprised by his early season success after playing US prep school hockey at Northwood School in Lake Placid, New York, where he had 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists ) in 75 games from 2020-22.
“I’m someone who has a lot of confidence in himself, I wanted to believe I was able to have a good start to the season, but I wasn’t sure,” he said. “I didn’t know what the caliber of play looked like. But obviously, my goal was to have a good impact. Obviously, it’s good now that I’ve been able to see what the level looks like and adjust to it. I I’m having a good start, so I’m kind of surprising myself.”
Yetman said he isn’t surprised.
“We saw early in our training camp exactly how dynamic he could be,” he said. “Of course, looking at a 16-year-old being able to put up points like that right away is impressive. But for us, we knew when we drafted him how good a player he could be, just the way he’s able to make plays and just the way he’s able to capitalize on chances.
“We took a little bit of time just getting him adjusted to the league. Once we started giving him more ice time and more responsibility on the power play, he took off with it.”
Zonnon said he models his game after the New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarinhis favorite NHL player.
“We have good vision when we have the puck, we have good hands,” he said.
Zonnon said he also admires the confidence and style Panarin plays with, and that Subban exhibited as a player before he retired in September after 13 NHL seasons as a defenseman with the Canadiens, Nashville Predators and New Jersey Devils.
“Obviously, that’s what I try to bring to my game,” Zonnon said. “You need to be confident and have some swag in your game. I feel that’s what people like in our generation. People like guys that are not only hockey players but do more off the ice. It could be the way they dress, the way they act.”
Zonnon’s early success in the QMJHL came after he debated whether major junior hockey or US college hockey would provide the best route for him to reach the NHL.
He chose the QMJHL largely because Rouyn-Noranda is about seven hours from his home in Montreal.
“There was always a part of me that wanted to come back home,” Zonnon said. “Even though I decided to play in the ‘Q,’ I still watch college games and videos on YouTube on campuses. I don’t regret my decision at all, but college hockey is still something that is very interesting.”
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