Stevenson’s Spieler speaks volumes with his game
Given motivation, Zach Spieler has delivered.
With goals and assists. And plenty of each.
Spieler, 17, a Stevenson senior right wing in his second season on the Patriots’ varsity, is one of the team’s top forwards, skating on the team’s top line along with center Grady Suerth and left wing Bobby Graff. Spieler had 9 goals and 15 assists in the Patriots’ first 26 games (16-7-3 record). His 24 points were fourth-most on the team. Suerth and Graff each had 28 points, while Tommy Schroeder led the Patriots with 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists, and 2 game-winning goals).
“Zach is the opposite of flashy, and he will be the first to tell you that,” said Stevenson assistant coach Tom Wood. “He is a hard worker and is always in the right spot, offensively and defensively. Zach likes to go to the areas in front of the net that people shy away from. He was our leading goal scorer last year and I don’t think he scored more than three goals from farther than two feet away (from the net). Zach isn’t pretty, but he is very effective.”
However, Spieler, a Buffalo Grove resident, wasn’t always the offensive answer.
Take, for instance, his freshman season, when he played for the junior varsity. Spieler started the season on the team’s third line, and admits he, “was upset about that.” So Spieler met with JV coach Tim Johannes, to express his displeasure.
Johannes challenged Spieler to step up his game, and the right-handed-shooting Spieler did just that.
By the end of his freshman season, he skated on the JV team’s top line.
Then as a sophomore, Spieler thought he’d be named a captain on the JV team, but wasn’t. So he again talked with Johannes, and Johannes again challenged Spieler to up his play.
In the first game after that sophomore year talk with Johannes, Spieler scored 5 goals against Warren. About a month later, he was named a team captain.
“Those two (challenges) really had a big impact on me,” said Spieler, who is still undecided on his college choice, but, as a national honors society member, he has plenty of options.
“Those two (challenges) helped give me a lot more confidence as a person, not just as a hockey player; they really motivated me to keep working hard.”
Last season, as a junior, Spieler scored two of Stevenson’s biggest goals all season: game-winning tallies in the Metro and state playoffs, both times against York.
“Those were exciting goals,” he said.
“Zach always seems to be in the right place at the right time,” Wood said. “A lot of Zach’s success comes from his linemates. Zach and Grady have great chemistry. Grady is a patient finesse player who does a nice job distributing the puck to Zach and Bobby. Bobby is a complete player who can dig the puck out, pass, and at the same time, chip in with some scoring when he needs to. They seem to always know where each other is at and each knows his role on that line. We expect a lot from them this year and so far they have done very well.”
The Patriots lost in the semifinals of their own annual, 16-team, 3-day Stevenson Thanksgiving tournament, held in Buffalo Grove. Stevenson lost 1-0 in the semis to the co-op Rockford team, which then defeated Glenbrook North 2-1 for the championship.
“We’ve been playing well; we’re really coming together of late,” Spieler said. “Personally, I’ve been pretty happy with my play. I think I’ve been working well with my line, making a difference out there.
“I think our line plays so well together because each of us brings a different style of play. We’re consistent; that’s a key for our line. The thing with our line is, we’re always looking for each other. We know each other’s playing style, so we know when to pass, when to look for passes. We’re always looking forward to making plays as a unit as opposed to as individuals.”