ZACH GIUTTARI LOOKING TO BUILD ON "STEADY" FIRST FULL PROFESSIONAL SEASON

Aug 11, 2022

In a season filled with taxi squads, countless changes, and transactions on what seemed like a daily basis, opportunity knocked at the door for many players on the Hartford Wolf Pack roster during the 2021-22 campaign. One of the players who got a knock on the door was Zach Giuttari, the Rhode Island native entering his first full season of professional hockey. Not only did Giuttari answer the door, but he grabbed the opportunity and ran with it.

Giuttari found himself as a trusted option of head coach Kris Knoblauch, and some nights found himself inside the Wolf Pack’s top four defensemen in terms of ice time. He also caught the eye of Wolf Pack General Manager Ryan Martin, who re-signed him to a one-year deal earlier in the off-season.

“Zach was a guy that not only made the team out of camp, but he was challenging NHL contracted players for ice time,” Martin said. “He’s just a real safe, steady, consistent defenseman that coaches really like. He’s a really good player to have in the mix when you have some young defensemen down there.”

Giuttari himself also used the word steady to describe his first full professional season, but still believes he has a lot more to offer the club moving forward.

“I would not consider last season to be my breakout campaign, but rather a steady first full season,” Giuttari said. “I feel that I have a lot more to offer the team and can’t wait for the season to start. I was able to become a reliable presence in the defensive zone and on the penalty kill, while also being able to produce offensively at times.”

The honest assessment of his game isn’t the only thing Giuttari is taking from his first full season of professional hockey. He’s also taking with him lessons about how to handle the grind of a full season and the ups-and-downs that come with it.

“The last five years, including the shortened 2020-21 season, I’ve only played 25 to 30 hockey games a year, which is not very many,” Giuttari pointed out. “Having said that, I learned during this longer season that it’s important to break the full season up into shorter segments as a way to manage the season. Setting goals during short stretches allows you to hit your larger goals in the long run without feeling overwhelmed.

“Being in the right headspace is very important too,” he continued. “Some days you are in the lineup, while other days you are scratched. If you make a bad play, you need to be able to get over it quickly so that it doesn’t compound. On the other end of that, you need to be making sure your teammates are feeling good about themselves too. Confidence is so important to playing well.”

With lessons learned both on and off the ice, Giuttari and the Wolf Pack are looking towards the 2022-23 season. Like any player, Giuttari has both team and personal goals in mind for the new season.

“I would like to develop into a player who can shut down opponents’ top lines and find a way to chip in more on the offensive side of the ice as well,” Giuttari proclaimed. “As a team, we obviously have the long-term goals of making the playoffs, winning our division, and ultimately winning the Calder Cup. We’ll add many more short-term goals as the season approaches, but I know one we will have all season is to win the next game.”

Still, a look at the future cannot be done without a check back to the past. While Giuttari and the Wolf Pack have the goal of making the Calder Cup Playoffs in 2023, there is the constant reminder of how the 2021-22 season ended.

“The end of the season was a surreal feeling as a player,” Giuttari admitted. “It felt like nothing was going our way and we had no way to correct it. It goes without saying that everyone involved with the team was embarrassed with what happened.”

Perhaps that old hockey adage, you have to first lose to learn how to win, is at play with this young group. One thing is for certain, though, the harsh lessons at the end of the 2021-22 season have fed the fire for the new campaign.

“There is certainly a sense of unfinished business after missing the playoffs,” Giuttari admitted. “Although none of the players have been around for the entire playoff drought, we would all like to be a part of the team that puts Hartford back into the playoffs.”

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ABOUT THE HARTFORD WOLF PACK: The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the American Hockey League since the team’s inception in 1997. The Wolf Pack are the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and play at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers newest faces including Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil, and Ryan Lindgren. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.