CCHL News

Shapiro Commits to Clarkson for 2011

Date: Jan 28, 2010

In the midst of his second season of Junior A hockey with the Toronto Junior Canadiens, one of defenseman Zach Shapiro's primary objectives, along with helping his team to another long playoff run like he did in his rookie campaign when the Junior Canadiens won two playoff rounds before ultimately falling to the Wellington Dukes in the Central Division Finals, was to secure some certainty for his hockey future.

That certainty arrived earlier this month for Shapiro when he committed to attend Clarkson University to play Division I NCAA hockey for the Golden Knights beginning in the fall of 2011.

"It's a really great honour," said Shapiro. "The numbers of Canadians, from what I can see, are going down in terms of those getting scholarships. NCAA schools seem to be looking more toward Americans so for me to get a commitment to an American NCAA school is just really quite an honour."

For Shapiro, a scholarship to an NCAA Division I school was always the ultimate target.

"Getting a commitment was always my goal," explained Shapiro. "When Clarkson came around showing interest, I just worked and worked at it and I've finally achieved it. It was a goal that I've always been try to accomplish and it finally came so I'm quite proud of myself and I'm quite happy."

After having the opportunity to mull over a number of other offers he had received, Shapiro explained that a visit to the Clarkson University campus in Potsdam, New York to meet the Golden Knights' coaching staff of Head Coach George Roll and Associate Coach Greg Drechsel along with some of the current Golden Knights' players left a lasting impression on him because of the warmth and the inviting atmosphere that he felt.

"The people there are really great; Coach Roll and Coach Drechsel are both great people and great coaches, they really made the decision a lot easier for me," said Shapiro. "They were very warm and very kind and even the players, when I went down for a visit, were really great as well."

Once Shapiro attended a game at Cheel Arena on that same campus visit, he had no trouble making up his mind on where he wanted to play in the future.

"I went to attend a game and just when I was at the game, I thought to myself, ‘wow, I want to be here and feel what it's like to be on the ice'," recalled Shapiro.

Coming into Junior A hockey as a sixteen year old, Shapiro put up impressive numbers from the blueline for a rookie defenseman in 2008-2009 registering six goals and twenty one assists in fifty one games. Though his numbers have dropped slightly in his sophomore season with the Junior Canadiens scoring two goals and eleven assists through forty games, Shapiro has refined his defensive game and has turned himself into a very reliable shutdown defenseman.

"I'm a more defensive defenseman, I do have an offensive upside to me but I play more of a shutdown kind of role," explained Shapiro. "Coach (Dan Cameron) usually sends me out to keep the other team's top players under control. If we're playing a team like the Burlington Cougars, for example, I've played a lot against a guy like Greg Carey. I do play a bit offensively but my main focus has been in a shutdown role."

Shapiro's reliability defensively, his penchant to play physically in his own zone and his ability to move the puck out of his zone with efficiency was what drew the attention of the Clarkson University hockey staff.

"When they came to watch me, they saw that I played physical and well defensively and was able to move the puck and they liked that kind of style of game," said Shapiro, when asked what about his play drew the interest of Clarkson University. "I do rush a few times in a game and they seemed to like that as well so I'm not just a one way defenseman, I can play both ways so I guess that stood out for them."

The 5'10, 170lbs defenseman will spend one more season at the Junior A level before beginning his NCAA career in the fall of 2011. During that time, Shapiro said that he will put a lot of focus on getting stronger and adding some muscle to his frame with work in the weight room along with continuing to cultivate the offensive side of his game.

"I want to develop my offensive game a bit more and work on my speed and of course, just spend time in the gym getting bigger and stronger because I'll be playing against guys much older than me in the NCAA," said Shapiro. "That's a big goal for me just getting bigger and stronger but also trying to get faster. From my standpoint, I see my offensive game as pretty strong and I've been shutting down players pretty well but I want to get more of an opportunity to get more offensive and be more of a threat in the offensive zone."

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