Dean’s creativity with the puck on his stick is immediately evident and his puck skills really enable him to create some great offensive chances for his team. He’s able to see the play well and can anticipate his opponents that it opens ups some good opportunities to showcase his high-end passing abilities. Those passing abilities…
| DATE | PLAYER | NAME | LEAGUE | AUTHOR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 25/22 | Dean Zach | 24380 – Switzerland vs. Canada | WJC-20 | by Joey Fortin Boulay | View Report |
| Sep 18/22 | Dean Zach | 24132 – Kings vs. Golden Knights | PROSPECTS | by Douglas Larson | View Report |
| Apr 8/21 | Dean Zach | 21906 – Gatineau vs. Blainville-Boisbriand | QMJHL | by Dylan Galloway | View Report |
| Mar 15/21 | Dean Zach | 21799 – Sherbrooke vs. Gatineau | QMJHL | by Josh Bell | View Report |
| Feb 3/21 | Dean Zach | 21672 – Gatineau vs. Chicoutimi | QMJHL | by Andy Lehoux | View Report |
| Dec 22/20 | Dean Zach | 21491 – Gatineau vs. Victoriaville | QMJHL | by Dylan Galloway | View Report |
| Dec 5/20 | Dean Zach | 21423 – Gatineau vs. Victoriaville | QMJHL | by Olivia McArter | View Report |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PPG | +/- | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | Springfield Thunderbirds | ahl | 27 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.15 | -10 | 16 |
| 2022-2023 | Gatineau Olympiques | qmjhl | 50 | 33 | 37 | 70 | 1.4 | 39 | 53 |
| 2021-2022 | Gatineau Olympiques | qmjhl | 47 | 21 | 31 | 52 | 1.11 | 19 | 50 |
| 2020-2021 | Gatineau Olympiques | qmjhl | 23 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 0.87 | -4 | 20 |
| 2019-2020 | Gatineau Olympiques | qmjhl | 57 | 18 | 28 | 46 | 0.81 | -18 | 22 |
Dean’s creativity with the puck on his stick is immediately evident and his puck skills really enable him to create some great offensive chances for his team. He’s able to see the play well and can anticipate his opponents that it opens ups some good opportunities to showcase his high-end passing abilities. Those passing abilities in combination with some solid deception with his toes, agile skating and good, speedy directional changes make it difficult for his opponents to pin him down. Dean is an excellent skater on the offensive side of the puck. He has quick feet and his fast recovery time allows him to get a high number of pushes which helps him accelerate to his top speed in short order, launching himself through the neutral zone and attack the defender quickly at the blue line. This also makes him agile and his starts and stops can help him maneuver fairly well through traffic. Dean is a fierce competitor along the wall, combining the mobility in his quick feet and hands to either protect his puck or challenge a rival. He utilizes his edges to create separation by stopping on a dime or cutting a different direction. He enjoys getting his body involved and working with intensity in corners, flashing excellent competitivness. Although lacking a bit of consistency, Dean is willing to put the defensive effort in too, getting on the backcheck with an active stick or supporting his defensemen down low. He doesn’t need to lay any hits, or even improve his physicality, but he could engage in more board battles, use his quick hands to dig that puck out and make a smart outlet pass. He does need to continue to build strength though, as he can get outworked in faceoffs and struggle to gain entry to the center lanes of the ice, consistently kept to the edges of the ice when in possession of the puck. He can tend to take the path of least resistance through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone, sticking to the perimeter of the ice. Ensuring that he continues to drive the center of the ice in the offensive zone will also be very important for Dean. While Dean missed a large portion of the season due to injury, he impressed more and more with each game played, earning first-round consideration.
