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Behind the Bench -- Bill Zaniboni

By Nexlevel Hockey, 12/06/20, 9:00AM EST

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Nexlevel Hockey Sits Down With Seahawks Head Coach and General Manager

SOUTH DENNIS, MA -- The 2020-21 hockey season has brought with it many new partnerships for the Eastern Hockey League (EHL) and the Eastern Hockey League Premier (EHLP). Nexlevel hockey is one of these new partners, and the advising agency offers a qualified, experienced staff of advisors to help players navigate Junior and Collegiate hockey.

NL: Why do you think the EHL is a good option for an aspiring player that wants to play NCAA Hockey or advance to a higher level of Junior Hockey?

BZ: The EHL has a great group of coaches and leadership that have proven to put player advancement to the forefront of the league, the players are in a spot to be seen on a number of occasions by scouts and a coaches at a ton of different levels.

NL: Can you talk about how gratifying it is as a Head Coach when one of your players commits to an NCAA Program? It must feel good knowing your program develops players for the next level & a player reaches a personal goal?

BZ: I feel this is the main reason we do what we do as coaches. As former players, now coaches we all had coaches that took the time to get to know us as people as well as a player and had the best intentions for our future. Now seeing a player in our locker room get to reach his goal of finding an academic fit as well as athletic is very gratifying.

NL: You played College and Professional Hockey. After a playing career that brought you to levels most kids dream of…. what advice would you give a player that wants to accomplish what you have?

BZ: Control where you are rather than where you think or want to be. There are so many things that are uncontrollable, but being your best where you are will continue to make you the best of your ability.

NL: What is your process in the off-season when building your teams? Do you have try-out camps? Do you have scouts that find you players?

BZ: We do have a tryout (usually in April) but we are also in a great area for scouting year round and getting to see players more than once for the most part. This season was a lot of live barn and HockeyTV and such to gather as much information as possible. We do have scouts in a few different areas and with my travels as a player, I’ve met some great people that will help send me information on players. 

NL: What is the best part of coaching in the EHL?

BZ: The league is very competitive which on a personal level makes us (coaches) have to be prepared and think and get better, so that’s always exciting. Also, working with the group of coaches with a common goal of helping players , no matter what team they are on, to help advance is a great thing to be a part of. We all want to win but we understand that putting kids in a competitive league will prepare them to make that jump to the next level.

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