Zellweger Named CHL Defenseman of the Year

Anaheim Ducks prospect Olen Zellweger of the Kamloops Blazers (WHL) was named the Canadian Hockey League Defenseman of the Year, the top defenseman among players in the OHL, QMJHL and WHL. With the announcement, Zellweger becomes the first Ducks prospect to win the award.

Zellweger, 19 (9/10/03), was named the WHL's Defenseman of the Year last month for the second straight season, becoming the sixth defenseman in WHL history to be named Defenseman of the Year in consecutive seasons after receiving the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy in 2021-22. He was also named to the WHL First All-Star Team (B.C. Division) each of the last two seasons.

Selected by Anaheim in the second round (34th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft, Zellweger led all WHL defensemen in goals, game-winning goals (6) and points per game (1.45) after scoring 32-48=80 points in 55 games. His 32 goals were the most by a WHL defenseman since 2011-12 (Brad Ross, 42), while he recorded the two highest point-per-game seasons by a WHL blueliner since 1992-93 (1.45 points in 2022-23 and 1.42 in 2021-22). He is the only WHL defenseman since 2000-01 with consecutive 75-point seasons after scoring 78 points in 2021-22. Since the start of 2021-22, Zellweger led all CHL defensemen in points (46-112=158), goals and assists.

In the WHL Playoffs, Zellweger scored 11-18=29 points with a +18 rating in 14 games. Despite being eliminated in the semifinals, he became one of two players to score 29 or more points in a WHL postseason since 1999 (also Derrick Pouliot in 2013-14). Zellweger ranked second among all WHL postseason leaders in points (11-18=29) and shots (92), third in goals, power-play assists (9) and plus/minus (+18), and tied for fourth in assists. He led all WHL defensemen in playoff points, goals, assists and shots. He was named WHL Player of the Week for the week ending April 23, recording 3-6=9 points in two playoff games, including a seven-point performance (3-4=7) April 20, 2023, tying the WHL playoff record for single-game points by a defenseman (also Darryl Sydor in 1991). He also scored 1-3=4 points in four Memorial Cup games this season.

Zellweger is third all-time among WHL defensemen in points per game (2.07; min. 10 games), ranks tied for fourth in goals (11) and is tied for sixth playoff points (11-18=29). He was four points shy of matching the all-time WHL playoff record for points by a defenseman, and two goals shy of the record by a WHL defenseman. In 180 career WHL games with Kamloops and Everett, Zellweger has scored 50-133=183 points with a +100 rating. He also recorded 13-25=38 points with a +22 rating in 20 career WHL Playoff games.

A native of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Zellweger helped Canada to back-to-back gold medals at the 2022 and 2023 World Junior Championship, and also helped his country earn gold at the 2021 U-18 World Championship. Among Canada's all-time World Junior Championship defensemen, Zellweger ranks second in career points (2-15=17) and assists, trailing only Ryan Ellis in both categories (5-20=25). He ranks second in assists and fifth in points among all-time tournament defensemen despite playing at least six fewer games than the other leaders.

Three Ducks defense prospects were finalists for the CHL Defenseman of the Year award, including Pavel Mintyukov (Ottawa, OHL) and Tristan Luneau (Gatineau, QMJHL), with Anaheim becoming the first team in NHL history to have a prospect named Defenseman of the Year in each of the three Canadian Hockey Leagues in the same season. Only two NHL clubs had previously had two prospects named a Defenseman of the Year in the same season, including Nashville in 2008-09 (Jonathan Blue, WHL; Ryan Ellis, OHL) and Edmonton in 2000-01 (Christian Chartier, WHL; Alexei Semyonov, OHL).