One of Yellowknife's young hockey guns is off to play post-secondary hockey next season and he's hoping to use it as a platform to bigger and better things.
Zach Zorn will suit up with the men's team at Concordia University in Montreal next season after committing to the program earlier this month.
Zorn said he's happy to be going to what he called a great team.
"They did really well last season," he said. "It was my first choice when it came to U Sports (formerly Canadian Inter-university Sport) and I'm excited about getting the chance to play with them."
Zorn did have his heart set on playing college hockey in the U.S. but wasn't able to get certified by the NCAA Clearinghouse, which determines the eligibility and amateur status of athletes who register.
He's not too concerned, though, as he said he always planned on playing post-secondary hockey somewhere in North America.
"I always said if I was still playing, I would be going to university for hockey," he said.
Zorn spent the last three seasons playing with the Merritt Centennials of the B.C. Hockey League, where he tallied 33 goals and 38 assists over his 156 games with the club.
Not too bad for someone who walked onto the team after getting the chance to try out.
"I went to the main camp in 2015 and played well enough to get a spot," he said. "Those three seasons were the best experience of my life. The coaches, my teammates, the trainers, everything was awesome. It was an honour to play there and honestly, I wouldn't have wanted to play anywhere else."
The club itself was happy to see Zorn move on up as well.
In a press release, Joe Martin, the club's head coach and general manager, said he's glad another player from the team is moving on with a strong showing in their final year of junior hockey.
"I'm proud of Zach, I'm sure all the Centennial family is," he said. "He is a great competitor, great teammate and his impact on the dressing room will be missed. Concordia did very well."
Zorn was a product of the 2014 Arctic Winter Games midget boys hockey team that suffered a heartbreaking 5-4 overtime loss in the gold ulu game that year in Fairbanks, Alaska.
He said the loss was tough to take but he still keeps in touch with some of his teammates from that squad.
"They aren't playing competitively anymore but they're still playing and they always will," he said.
Zorn is planning on using his university days as a way to impress some professional scouts along the way and get the chance to make a living out of the sport.
"School is the best option for me at this point but I want to make hockey my career," he said. "I'd like to stay in North America if I could but there's lots of good hockey in Europe so that would be a good option as well."