Tuesday, December 5, 2017 - Submitted by Courtesy RockyView Weekly
It may have been a long and unconventional path, but Balzac’s Zachary Cox has finally achieved a major goal by cracking a Western Hockey League (WHL) roster.
Cox’s path to the WHL required two seasons of midget AAA hockey with the CFR Chemical Bisons and a season of junior hockey in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, but now he is a WHL player and Cox couldn’t be more pleased.
“The hard work over the years has final paid off. Now that I am actually here it’s all about keeping that work ethic to stay in the lineup,” Cox said. “Since the day of the (2014 WHL) Bantam Draft, this has been my goal, it’s taken a while but it has all paid off.”
Cox was originally selected by the Regina Pats in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft and spent two years as a prospect for the team before being released following the 2015 pre-season.
Following his release, Cox said he began to wonder how he would make it to the WHL, but was determined to improve his skills and finally make the jump when he was ready.
“After getting sent home (by Regina), it opened my eyes and made me realize this is the next level up and I have to work even harder now,” Cox said.
Coming into the 2017-18 season, Cox was invited to the Vancouver Giants’ pre-season camp where he said he felt he had a strong camp even though he only appeared in one pre-season game – a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds Sept. 1.
Cox was cut by the Giants soon after and was assigned to the Nipawin Hawks in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL).
The forward said being cut was a difficult pill to swallow but was focused on letting the disappointment motivate him to perform well in the SJHL to get back on another WHL team’s radar.
In five games with the Hawks, Cox had six points (2g, 4a) and tacked on eight penalty minutes.
It didn’t take long for the 18-year-old to get the call from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He signed with the team Sept. 28 and made his WHL regular season debut Sept. 29 against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Although he didn’t spend much time in Nipawin, Cox said he thoroughly enjoyed his time with his new team and appreciated it helping get him to the WHL.
Since making the jump to the WHL, Cox has earned three assists in 17 games, but has taken on a much different role from what he was used to in Nipawin and last season as a member of the Drayton Valley Thunder.
Cox went from being a top-six forward, where he was expected to produce offensively and was successful in that role, to a bottom-six role expected to grind out the hard minutes.
“It was different coming from a top-six role, but you need to adapt,” Cox said.
“It’s just one of those things where you need to keep working hard and playing tough.”
