By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
The National Collegiate Development Conference is proud to announce that the South Shore Kings’ Co-Captain Jason Zaccari has been named 2024-25 New England Division Defenseman Of The Year, as voted in by the division’s coaches.
“It’s a great honor to receive this award and I’m very grateful to all the coaches that voted for me. I couldn’t have done this without my teammates. They are the ones that pushed me every day to be the best version of myself at the rink and they allowed me to showcase what I can do during the season,” said Zaccari, a 2005-born native of Santa Ana, Calif.
Zaccari, who is committed to the NCAA’s Trinity College for next season, finished this past regular season with an 8-35-43 line in 48 games. With 73 points in 97 career games, he is the Kings’ all-time leading scorer at the defense position.
“I think I brought a two-way styled defenseman who likes to transition the puck from the defensive side to offense and looks to join the rush. I take a lot of pride in both sides of the rink and I believe that was key to our success the last two seasons,” said Zaccari. “We were such a fast team and when we played with pace, our game was as good as anyone’s and I’m just glad I could be a part of that for two seasons.”
He first joined the Kings in 2023-24, joining from the NAHL’s Lone Star Brahmas. He began to make an impact right away en route to helping the Kings to their first Dineen Cup Championship.
“South Shore has done so much for my development. Coach Tyler Holske and Coach Drew Omicioli have helped grow my skills so much and I’m very grateful I had them as coaches,” Zaccari added. “They taught me so much about both sides of the ice and how I can use my body to my advantage. Overall, South Shore was a great place for me to develop over the last two years and find out my game and what I’m good at.”
As fond as he is of his time with the Kings, he’s also greatly excited about his future as a Trinity College Bantam.
“I am super excited for the future and I’m very lucky that I get to spend those next four years at Trinity,” Zaccari added. “During my process, I was looking at at a place that had both the school and hockey aspect, and Trinity has exactly that. I can’t wait to get started this fall and I’m looking forward to playing in more meaningful games this upcoming season.”
With two years under his belt in the NCDC as he paved his Pathway To College Hockey, Zaccari is happy that he was able to take full advantage of everything the Kings and the NCDC had to offer.
“The NCDC is a great league for players to develop and find out their game. I would say the biggest thing is you learn about your strengths and weaknesses and in the off-season you are really able to focus on things you want to improve. I learned that a lot from my first year to my second,” Zaccari said. “I’m very glad I got to play in the league and for a team like South Shore.”
The NCDC congratulates Jason Zaccari on his New England Division Defenseman Of The Year Award.
The post NCDC 2024-25 Awards: South Shore’s Zaccari Named New England Division Defenseman Of The Year appeared first on USPHL – United States Premier Hockey League.
