Three-year vet Zinner hoping to keep improving, move to college hockey
Three-year vet Zinner hoping to keep improving, move to college hockey
By Matt Mackinder
Bo Zinner came to the Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks in 2010 as a raw 16-year-old rookie.
In his time with the organization since then, the South Euclid native has grown his game and developed into what he hopes will be a future NAHL or college-level forward.
If hard work earns promotions, Zinner is well on his way.
“My short-term goals are to become stronger and faster in hockey,” said Zinner. “I would like to get bigger in size, but not sure that's going to happen. My long-term goals are to play Division III hockey if I can make it, but if I'm unable to, I would like to play Division I club at a good school.”
Standing just 5-foot-8 and tipping the scales at 150 pounds, Zinner has learned to use his size to his advantage.
“I use my size advantage to beat out players to the puck with my speed, as well as skate around players,” explained Zinner. “I also use my size to hit players. My favorite part of the game is hitting. I'm not as big as other players, but I'm not afraid to make a hit or get hit. I've been like that since I first started hitting.”
After his 2009-10 season at Benedictine High School, Zinner took a look at junior hockey. Turns out, junior hockey, more specifically the Jr. Jacks, were looking at him as well. Zinner played for the Jr. Jacks’ ’94 team in both seventh and eighth grade, so he knew the organization, but the extent of what he knew was limited at best.
“I was a junior in high school looking for a team to play with and coach Bob (Jacobson) talked to me and told me to come try out and see how fast the junior level would be like,” said Zinner. “After tryouts, coach Bob and coach (Jason) Dickey offered me a contract to play with the Jacks and I accepted the offer. I honestly didn't know much about the Lumberjacks and the NA3. I didn't know juniors that well and I wasn't sure how it worked. Coach Bob told me colleges usually want players to play juniors before they play college hockey. Other than that, that's all I knew.”
”What made me decide to play with the Jacks was that I wanted to improve my game play and I knew playing with them will help me do that. I also have known coach Bob for several years and I felt comfortable playing for him.”
Another aspect of feeling in a comfort zone has to do with the way the Cleveland organization is ran, according to Zinner.
“Part of what makes the Jacks successful each year is the coaches recruiting players,” Zinner said. “They pick the right guys for certain jobs they want them to fulfill. Coach Dickey and coach Jack (Behan) do a great job of matching lines with other teams. Both coaches also do a great job with our power play; we’re one of the top teams with a high percentage on the power play.”
Personally, Zinner wants to finish this season strong and see what happens in the offseason.
“Last year, we had a great start with a 20-2 record going into our Thanksgiving break,” said Zinner. “This year, it was harder due to the other teams being better. This season, I had a bad start compared to last year, but I've worked hard to be where I should be now.”
