A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Deer Lakes’ Zachary Nacey

By: Anthony DiFilippo
Monday, March 4, 2024 | 11:54 AM

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Last year, Deer Lakes’ hockey team made it all the way to the semifinals in the PIHL’s Division 2, but Ringgold, the eventual champion, got the best of it.

This year, Deer Lakes clinched a playoff yet again with high hopes to advance to the title game.

Senior center Zachary Nacey explained what the key is to reach a more favorable outcome this time around.

“I think it’s just sticking to our roles,” Nacey said. “With some of the roster changes going into this year, our team has done a really good job of adjusting and finding their role.”

The season was not all positive for the Lancers, but after starting 4-3, they were able to finish 7-3-1.

Nacey described the season as very up and down.

“I think as we’ve hit the second half of the season, we’ve really hit our stride,” Nacey said.

“We’ve definitely been playing our best hockey as of late, even in the loss to Bishop Canevin. They were playing great hockey.”

Up and down would be a good way to describe Nacey’s season personally as he’s had to battle back from two concussions.

The team’s captain gave credit to his teammates for helping him battle those injuries.

“My teammates have been helping me out,” Nacey said. “I’ve been playing with Ryan (Grunden) and (Giovanni Porco) a lot, and they always have found a way to get the puck in the offensive zone and cycle it well.”

The best numbers for Deer Lakes have come from the back end, with the team ranking in second in save percentage and goals-against average.

Most of the credit from Nacey was directed towards Aaron Haney, the starting goaltender.

“Playing behind Ben (Korol) last year, he tried to learn a lot, and I think he’s put that into practice,” Nacey said. “He takes his role as our starter extremely seriously. He’s somebody that’s always coming ready to play.”

Team defense is coach Jonathan Merlo’s department.

“Since he played defense in high school, that’s something he takes very seriously,” Nacey said. “Even though we have a bunch of really skilled forwards, he always makes sure that our defense comes first, and that we’re able to do our job in the D-zone so that we get more chances offensively.”

Nacey has not decided on a college yet, but he’s planning on playing American Collegiate Hockey Association hockey and studying mechanical engineering or biomedical engineering.

This week, Nacey took some time for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:

How did you get started with hockey?

My mom, she played hockey in college, so she taught me how to skate from a pretty young age. Then I joined Little Pens at the age of 5. That’s kind of what got me started.

What kind of an honor is it to be captain, and what has your leadership role looked like this year?

It’s a huge honor. It’s something that I’ve strived to do. Being a captain for this squad’s really easy. They make it easy on me. There’s no issues in the locker room ever. It’s a bunch of close-knit guys. Even though we go to different schools, I’d say we’re really close. With Coach Merlo, he’s obviously a pretty intense coach that’s a great leader for us. I just try to get the guys in the right frame of mind before the game.

Something I’ve been trying to strive through recently is to get them more excited. At the beginning of the season, I felt like we were just going out there and playing, not tentatively, but it didn’t seem like we had a real excitement to play. The second half of the season, I’ve just tried to get the guys going before the game. Even if someone’s having a rough game, people can sometimes get on them. We try to stick away from being hard on (people). I’m not saying we can’t provide (constructive) criticism, but I try to talk those guys up, tell them to take it one step at a time and just be supportive for everybody.

How would you describe your personal game and role on the team?

I try to pride myself on playing a 200-foot game. Playing center, no matter what type of player you are, you have to have some type of defensive aspect to your game. The defensemen and Aaron (Haney) make it really easy for me in the D-zone. But I try to support my defensemen very well, even block some shots, get in the lane sometimes. The guys that I play with, Ryan and Gio, they make it easy for me in the offensive zone. I know if I can get to the net, they’re obviously going to be grinding on the forecheck and get me the puck wherever I’m calling for it or whenever I need it. I just try to play a 200-foot game and get them the puck whenever I have the opportunity to.

Is there a player in the NHL you try to emulate your game after?

Someone who’s game I tried to emulate a lot when I was younger was Patric Hornqvist whenever he was playing for the Pens. I loved his game because he was always on a wing with (Sidney Crosby). You could just see how much he cared for the game and how much effort or energy he brought to that line and to that team. But currently, now that I’m starting to play more center, I like watching Brady Tkachuk. Even though he jumps between center and wing a lot, he can really do anything on the ice. He gets into scrums and fights. He’s kind of a grinder but has a real touch for scoring as well. I really like his all-around game.

What’s one thing that people may not know about you?

I’d say a lot of people don’t always realize the hockey IQ that I try to play with. You can find a lot of skilled hockey players, but I think the players that find the most success are the people that are smart about it, not only in the classroom but smart athletically as well. I try to watch people, watch my game, and I’m able to see the spots on the ice that I need to get to. I think that kind of comes from hockey IQ and reading situations. Situationally I’d say I try to pride myself in being one of the smarter players on the ice, because I think that using your brain is another advantage you can have. I’d say that’s something that I try to do.

Tags: Deer Lakes