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Pittsburgh, PA • United States • 0 Years Old • Male

The case for Zach Sill

Posted 5:55 PM ET | Comments 6
Young fourth-line forward Zach Sill gets a lot of criticism. Why? Because he isn’t a goal scorer. Instead, he is a tough, forechecking, winger that plays well along the boards and can kill penalties. So he isn’t a scorer. Don’t the Penguins have enough of those already? Let Zach Sill be who he is, not the entertaining, stat-filling player that every hockey fan wishes every player was.

Grinders are a dying breed in the NHL. As the number of fights continue to decrease, the need for grinders has significantly gone down. After all, not a whole lot of fights occur in the playoffs. Well, Zach Sill is the new kind of grinder. His goal is not to agitate the other team. It is to be productive along the boards and be a two-way forward. And he does that well. The points will come. Maybe not 20-goal seasons, but eventually, he will score sufficient amounts of points. But he will always be a fourth-line mainstay for the Pens.

For the longest time, the Penguins have always had a need for one thing: A tough, checking forward that has the ability to play solid defense. Not somebody that just goes out and takes penalties. Somebody that will play a role in keeping the other team from scoring. Well, Zach Sill fills that need. Yeah, Craig Adams is there, but he can’t do it by himself, and he can’t create chances as well as Sill. Adams can kill penalties, but not much else. Zach Sill can do that, plus he is the best board player on the Penguins (aside from Sidney Crosby), and he can help create offensive chances. So it is about time Zach Sill gets some respect for who he is.
Filed Under:   Zach Sill   Pittsburgh Penguins  
February 24, 2015 12:00 PM ET | Delete
You should have saved this for April 1st.
February 24, 2015 2:47 PM ET | Delete
February 24, 2015 2:48 PM ET | Delete
I have to disagree/ Honestly as a Pens fan I would rather see someone like Farnham or Rust than Sill. Sill has went LONG stretches with not only no points, but also terrible advanced stats. He is a borderline AHL player on a team with Stanley Cup expectations. We need better.
February 25, 2015 4:19 AM ET | Delete
really? are you stoned? have you seen Sill play more than once? This guy might be nice but hockey-wise he´s totally useless
February 26, 2015 7:25 AM ET | Delete
"The Suitcase for Zach Sill"
February 27, 2015 1:09 PM ET | Delete
Zach Sill can now play for the Toronto Marlies.
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