AMERKS SIGN METSA TO TWO-YEAR DEAL
Defenseman recently captained Quinnipiac University to NCAA National Championship
Apr 13, 2023Rochester Americans General Manager Jason Karmanos announced today that the team has signed defenseman Zach Metsa to a two-year contract beginning with the 2023-24 season. Metsa will join the Amerks on a Professional Tryout (PTO) for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign.
Metsa, 24, comes to Rochester after completing a five-year collegiate career at Quinnipiac University (ECAC) from 2018-23. In 177 career games with the Bobcats, he registered 31 goals and 90 assists for 121 points while also totaling 360 shots on goal.
As a graduate student during his final collegiate campaign, he recorded a career-high 28 assists and finished with 37 points for the second straight year while leading the Bobcats to their first NCAA National Championship while also serving as team captain.
Following the 2021-22 season, Metsa received the ECAC Hockey award as the Best Defensive Defenseman after leading the nation with an on-ice rating of +38. In addition, he topped all Bobcats with 27 assists and 37 points in 42 games.
The 5-foot-9, 180-pound blueliner earned the first Quinnipiac Men’s Ice Hockey Michael Torello Award, which is presented annually to a Bobcat player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance and resiliency and the ability to overcome adversity.
The Delafield, Wisconsin, native spent three seasons in the USHL, amassing 24 points on four goals and 20 assists in 64 career games between the Waterloo Blackhawks, Sioux Falls Stampede, Youngstown Phantoms and Central Illinois Flying Aces from 2014-2018. Additionally, he skated in 57 contests with the Merritt Centennials of the BCHL, posting 27 points (3+24) in 2016-17.