Nolan Zajac (born August 1, 1992) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman who is currently playing for

Grizzlys Wolfsburg Grizzlys Wolfsburg are a professional ice hockey club of the German professional ice hockey league Deutsche Eishockey Liga. They play their games at Eisarena in Wolfsburg. History Wolfsburg earned their first promotion to the DEL in 2004. Howe ...

in the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

(DEL). Prior to turning professional, he played four seasons with the

Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey The Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Denver. The Pioneers are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conferenc ...

team. His older brothers Travis,

Kelly Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * Kelly (Kelly Price album) * Kelly (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap * "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland * ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadi ...

, and Darcy are also professional ice hockey players.

Early life

Zajac was born on August 1, 1992, in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, as the youngest son to parents Tom and Trish Zajac. His older brothers Travis,

, and Darcy are all professional ice hockey players. His father Tom also played collegiate hockey for the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

. Growing up, Zajac wanted to play

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

but was encouraged to become a defenceman by his older brothers. When reflecting on his childhood, he credited his family for his success.

Playing career

Growing up in Manitoba, Zajac played

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

with the Winnipeg Thrashers of the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League. While with the team, he competed in the 2009 Telus Cup where he was the top scorer. He also competed with Team Canada West at the

2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge The 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge was an international ice hockey tournament held in Campbell River, Courtenay, Duncan, Nanaimo, Parksville, and Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada between December 29, 2008 and January 4, 2009. The ven ...

. As a result of his play, Zajac was drafted 12th overall by the

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL). Before moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1999, the team was based in Mason City, where they were known as the North Iowa Huskies ...

in the 2009

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

(USHL) Draft. He played 101 games with the RoughRiders, recording 42 points, before being traded to the

Omaha Lancers The Omaha Lancers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team and are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Founded in 1986, the Lancers play at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena in Ralston, Nebraska. Previous ...

in exchange for Nathan Widman. Upon joining the Lancers, Zajac was selected for the 2011 USHL Mid-Season All-Star Team. Zajac completed his tenure in the USHL with 80 points in 154 games. While attending George Washington High School, Zajac announced his commitment to play with the

team.

Professional

Zajac completed his first professional season fifth among all ECHL defenders in scoring with 54 points. He also appeared in 11

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) contests with the

Iowa Wild The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, that began play for the 2013–14 season. The team plays at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, as the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The team was f ...

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

, and

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets o ...

. On August 4, 2017, he signed his first AHL contract with the

Lehigh Valley Phantoms The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey Lea ...

of the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

organization. While playing with the

Reading Royals The Reading Royals are a professional ice hockey team that currently plays in the ECHL. The team participates in the North Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Royals play their home games at the Santander Arena located in downtown Re ...

, Zajac was selected for the 2017–18 All-ECHL Second Team after ending the season tied for second among league blue liners. Following his season with the Royal, Zajac signed with the

IK Oskarshamn IK Oskarshamn is an ice hockey club from Oskarshamn in Sweden. The team plays in the top-tier league, SHL, after succeeding through the 2019 SHL qualifiers and thus earning promotion to the SHL. The 2019–20 season will be the team's first s ...

, who were then playing in the

HockeyAllsvenskan HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league, and the second-highest league in the Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system (after the Swedish Hockey League, SHL). Since the 2009–10 ...

. He recorded 31 points in 52 games before signing with the

Stavanger Oilers Stavanger Ishockeyklubb, commonly referred to as Stavanger Oilers, is a Norwegian ice hockey team based in Stavanger, Norway. They currently play in the Fjordkraftligaen, which is the top division in Norwegian ice hockey. As of 2018, it is the ...

of the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

Eliteserien league. Zajac returned to the IK Oskarshamn for the 2020–21 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zajac, Nolan 1992 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Omaha Lancers players Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Hershey Bears players Cedar Rapids RoughRiders players Grizzlys Wolfsburg players Manitoba Moose players Iowa Wild players IK Oskarshamn players Reading Royals players Timrå IK players