Bill Zonnon's efforts to be recognized will soon bear fruit
Updated Draft Buzz for the 2025 NHL Draft
The upcoming 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles keeps things interesting with the fresh, decentralized format. Unlike the past years, the draft hype is on the quieter side due to the drastic cut in invited prospects, barely scraping forty candidates expected to be drafted in the first two rounds.
Three Quebec natives made the trip to LA: Caleb Desnoyers, Justin Carbonneau, and the enigmatic Bill Zonnon. Desnoyers and Carbonneau seem all but guaranteed to go in the first round, but uncertainty lingers around Zonnon. Projections favor him remaining optimistic, though the possibility of slipping to the second round isn't entirely out of the question.
At the recent draft combine in Buffalo, Zonnon held meetings with a whopping 27 teams, leaving him in the gray area for the draft. Despite this, he remains calm and composed. "I'm quite relaxed in my everyday life, so I don't expect to be too anxious. I'll just sit and wait for my name to be called," he mentioned, inspecting his checked luggage upon arrival.
The strange game of the draft leaves nothing certain, but Zonnon is used to uncertainty. As a testament to this, he recalls his teenage years when he left for an American preparatory school where he had to wrestle with English and being away from home for the first time.
Adversity is no stranger to the Zonnon family either. Zonnon's parents left Togo at the beginning of the 2000s and settled in Quebec, eventually founding a family and witnessing their son master a sport they knew nothing about. Numerous financial sacrifices were made to help him ascend the hockey ladder, culminating in the doors of the NHL, his dream since childhood. Both parents accompanied their son to LA, as did their daughter Keshia, who is also a hockey player.
Zonnon embodies determination and character on the ice, constantly striving for improvement. His blend of size, speed, and high-intensity playing style makes him an adaptable forward, capable of both offensive production and defensive responsibility. This tireless work will soon pay off, as Zonnon prepares to hear his name called, no matter whether it's in the first or second round.
Bill Zonnon, the enigmatic Quebec-born hockey player, remains hopeful despite uncertainty surrounding his draft position in the 2025 NHL Draft. Despite meeting with 27 teams at the recent combine in Buffalo, he remains in a gray area for the draft, much like the unpredictable nature of his teenage years when he left for an American preparatory school to grapple with English and homesickness.
