Casey Pierro-Zabotel joining Giants?

[RDRebelsfan]

think it's possible or just a bad rumour?

source: http://westerncollegehockey.blogspot.com/2007/10/whl-for-cpz.html

[GF71]

Highly possible. The Giants have been working on him since last year. His grades were not good enough to meet NCAA requirements to start the season. He has been listed by the Giants for quite a while now. We can only cross our fingers and hope. :D

[RDRebelsfan]

would be nice for your team if he does, help fill that void since Lucic is gone. What line would you figure he'd be on?

[dondo]

not familiar with him .. what's the story there?

and does Pierro-Zabotel fit on the back of a jersey? :D

[Priceisright]

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/casey_pierro-zabotel

Snippet on him. I have no idea who he is either until I googled. :D I love google.

[dondo]

just posted this on the forum on my site ... so I figured I'd copy paste it here, but priceisright might have beat me to it.

dig a bit of digging and here's what I found..

from hockey's future:
Casey Pierro Zabotel -- the skinny on the player (http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/casey_pierro-zabotel)


* Name: Casey Pierro-Zabotel
* Position: C
* Shoots: Left
* Height: 6-1
* Weight: 205 lbs
* Birthdate: 1989-01-01
* Eligible for Draft: 2007
* Drafted: 2007
* Hometown: Kamloops, British Columbia
* Acquired: 3rd round, 80th overall, 2007 by Pittsburgh
* Playing In: Junior

thanks priceisright -- here's the same link with some of the basic info quoted



Casey Pierro-Zabotel
Prospect Grade: 6.5 D (About Prospect Grades)

Profile Contributed By: Matt MacInnis
History

2004-05: Pierro-Zabotel scored just 12 points in 58 during his rookie season with the Merritt Centennials.

2005-06: With increased ice time came increased results for the big forward as he averaged nearly a point per game with 55 points in 60 games.

2006-07: He exploded offensively in his third year with Merritt, more than doubling his goal and point productions from the previous year. He scored 51 goals and 65 assists for 116 points putting him third in league scoring behind only super prospect Kyle Turris and 20 year old Tyler Bozak.
Talent Analysis

He’s a big body with very, very good scoring abilities. Pierro-Zabotel is a pure finisher who rarely fails to convert on a chance within 10 feet. In some ways he compares to Tomas Holmstrom in the sense that he’s willing to take some punishment in front of the net and he is very much an opportunist. He won’t create many chances himself, but he will take advantage of them when they come along.

His acceleration definitely needs improvement, although his all around mobility is good enough to get by on with what he does on the ice. Defensively he’s weak, but that aspect of his game can be rounded out in the future.
Future

He is scheduled to play for Michigan Tech starting in December 2007.

Stats
SEASON TEAM GP G A PTS +/- PIM
2005-06 Merritt (BCHL) 60 20 35 55 -- 29
2006-07 Merritt (BCHL) 55 51 65 116 -- 42

Profile Last Updated: September, 2nd 2007

[RDRebelsfan]

its been confirmed he will be joining.

[Priceisright]

:spineyes: link?

[Giants_24]

WHL.ca News Link (http://whl.ca/news/?id=8015)


The Vancouver Giants are pleased to announce Casey Pierro-Zabotel has agreed to join the Vancouver Giants.

yeehoo

Can't wait to see this kid play.

[Priceisright]

Hope he is a natural goal scorer cause we need it. clrkthj

[old_time_hockey]

If Hyphen can find chemistry with 2 other players that would give us 2 solid scoring lines rather than just the Bliznak line with whoever else steps up that night.

[hobster]

Must be nice too get any player you want. I think it really helps being in a big market city like Vancouver with the media and what not, is why these players pick vancouver too go to and not a team out east. This is the one reason why Vancouver will never have a sub %500 record.

[Trav]

maybe a little cash incentive under the table. Could be wrong but I dont think I'd be surprised if the league did do a investigation and found that cash incentives are made by some whl teams.

[Eye.Of.The.Tiger]

Must be nice too get any player you want. I think it really helps being in a big market city like Vancouver with the media and what not, is why these players pick vancouver too go to and not a team out east. This is the one reason why Vancouver will never have a sub %500 record.

You know what thats a little harsh to say, you can't blame a team for trying to improve. If you were Vancouver wouldnt you sign a good player if he was interested. Either way from what i've heard Pierro-Zabotel is a finnesse player he doesnt like to do the dirty work in the corners so hes gonna need a linemate that will provide that, also heard that he has excellent hands and a nose for the net. Bottom line is that the Giants want to win and they just keep continuing to improve. I think the fans of Vancouver will be impressed with this kid

[Dwight Schrute]

the rich get richer....
he couldnt score high enough on the test's to get into michigan tech. thats why he is going to the dub

[SectionNDeserter]

Must be nice too get any player you want. I think it really helps being in a big market city like Vancouver with the media and what not, is why these players pick vancouver too go to and not a team out east. This is the one reason why Vancouver will never have a sub %500 record.Its not uncommon for contending teams to list top NCAA prospects that they think could possibly both help their team and have a chance of forfeiting their NCAA eligibility to do it. The Giants certainly didn't have these guys beating down their doors in their first few seasons, and they probably didn't even have them listed. I recall the season before (or maybe the same season?) the Rebels won the Memorial cup, they had Dany Heatley listed, and just about had him convinced to join them. It is really more about how strong of a team, and whether or not they want to take a chance on wasting a spot or three on their 50 man protected list all season.

[dondo]

yeah its not like they signed him out of thin air -- he's been on their 50 player protected list since the summer of 2006. They took a chance and lucked out that he was not as academically inclined as initially thought.

He wasn't able to the make the grades he needed to report to Michigan Tech and the Giants managed to convince him to give up on his NCAA aspirations (as the first game he suits up for the G-Men will nullify his eligibility to play for a US college team) and play in the dub.

Its more a matter of being willing to take the chance that he might come around. The Giants took a similar chance with Turris, but he went the college route.

Looking forward to seeing this kid suit up though. Sounds like he might not be as speedy and needs Hayzer to improve his defensive play, but he goes to the net and is purported to be an opportunist and rarely fails to finish within ten feet of the net according to hockey's future. He'll give us a lot of what we lost, with Lucic unable to return to the team.

CPZ - VGHQ article (http://www.vancouvergiantshq.com/November_14_GiantsbkAcquirebkAbkNewbkPlayer_165.ht ml)

[Knuckles Muldoon]

Must be nice too get any player you want. I think it really helps being in a big market city like Vancouver with the media and what not, is why these players pick vancouver too go to and not a team out east. This is the one reason why Vancouver will never have a sub %500 record.

There's a lot of truth in this. Vancouver is a desirable destination for a number of reasons.

1. High profile market.
2. The players are treated extremely well.
3. Lots of scouts at the games.
4. As long as Don Hay is here, there is a guy with a proven track record of winning AND putting a lot of guys into the NHL. If you want to learn to be a good pro, the Giants is a good team to come to.

That said, the Giants management (Bonner and head scout Jason Ripplinger) have done a brilliant job of not only drafting, but signing walk-ons. Remember, none of Cody Franson, Milan Lucic or Spencer Machacek were taken in the bantam draft, and they've been great Giants and should be solid NHLers. In the past 5 years, the brass here have done a lot of things right, personnel-wise.

[Giantsfan]

Don't forget Big Snake left the team for family reasons, & he also couldn't handle the pressure of being the fan favorite in a large city.
Not all players can handle playing to large crowds especially some who come from reserves & don't like the lime light.

[Priceisright]

Hmm so the Giants drafted this kid correct? If so then kudos to them. It's not like this guy had a choice of what team to play with if he was indeed drafted by the Giants. So no ill will towards the Giants if this is the case. They used him as draft pick.

[Beaner]

Hmm so the Giants drafted this kid correct? If so then kudos to them. It's not like this guy had a choice of what team to play with if he was indeed drafted by the Giants. So no ill will towards the Giants if this is the case. They used him as draft pick.

Technically no they didn't draft him. They put him onto their 50 PPL list last year, with the hopes that he may join the team.

Anny other team in the league could have done this as well, but it does cost you a spot on your 50ppl.

[Swando]

For all those readers that say " the rich get richer" let me first of all say that the Giants probably spend more money on "education"/ tutoring/ training for thier draft picks than most teams. ...even up...(considering heavy lease payments at the PNE) They have decided to spend money this way so they can influence those fringe/type players that will opt for the US vs WhL...as a result from spending this risky $ they can either benefit from getting a good player or still losing a player (al Turris/Bertram)...can you imagine if both of these 2 would have been here the last 2/3 yrs???...SO when a player comes along like Casey..who was open to any WHL team putting him on their protected list..it is only a bonus that the Giants reputatation of icing a good team that will "attract" a Casey- Hyphen" type player. Money well spent!! You will never make money if you are not willing to risk..theory for ever!! Any team could have protected his rights a year ago by putting himon their 50 man protected list.


The Giants web site has listed Casey's # as 17.......... hope this not a jinx but there had to be some one to wear Brule's at last. Good luck Casey