While some will criticize reaches, my philosophy’s straightforward: If you like the player, you take them and care less about what the analysts think. Give it three seasons, and if your player excels, then those analysts are no longer talking. So, if the Detroit Red Wings reached for someone like Bill Zonnon, I’d be just fine with that.
I’ve already talked about prospects like Ben Kindel and Cameron Schmidt, two forwards who, despite projected to fall later in the first and maybe even into the early second round, play well enough of a game for the Wings to at least consider them. Especially Schmidt, whose small size is a knock on what’s otherwise an outstanding profile.
Then, there’s Bill Zonnon, projected to join the Winnipeg Jets if Tankathon’s June 18th mock draft holds water. The Jets hold the 28th pick and Tankathon’s got Zonnon ranked 28th, so it’d be a reach and a half if Steve Yzerman took him at 13. But when you look at Zonnon’s body of work, it’d be a pick I’d refuse to criticize.
Bill Zonnon’s got the size and production to go higher in the NHL Draft
No, size and numbers don’t tell the whole story, but it always helps. And Zonnon has both, standing at 6’2, 190 lbs, while he put up 83 points and 28 goals in 64 games. He’d also improved each season since joining the QMJHL in 2022-23 when he logged 16 goals and 39 points in 63 games for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
He followed that up with 18 goals and 58 points in 68 games for Rouyn-Noranda. With major improvements each season, he’ll take over the QMJHL in 2025-26, where he’s slated to play for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.
Now, the obvious downside is that Zonnon’s got hardly any experience at the international level, and that’s hurt his draft stock. Still, the improvements he’s made in the past speak volumes, and he’s one of those few players with enough size to compete at the NHL level tomorrow, even if that won’t happen for another few seasons.
Where’s Bill Zonnon headed next season and beyond?
Expect him back in the QMJHL no matter how well he performs in camp, where he’ll spend the 2025-26 season. From there, he’ll be eligible for AHL play, and, should he end up in a winged wheel, he’ll play for the Grand Rapids Griffins for two-plus seasons before he’s NHL-ready.
Like many prospects I’ve covered, this would move him up to the big club in 2028-29 at the earliest. But, if the Wings are already full of talent at the NHL level, players like Zonnon are also ideal to use in trade packages to bring in seasoned veterans from outside the organization. Something that will start happening when the Wings put their playoff spell in the rearview.
Either way, look for Zonnon to be a staple somewhere on the second line or, at worst, somewhere in the middle six once he's in the NHL. He may kick off his pro hockey career with modest production once he’s in the AHL, but, given his development so far in the QMJHL, it wouldn’t surprise me if he made leaps and bounds as time passed at the next levels.
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