If you saw Zach Pochiro in street clothes and didn't know him, you wouldn't think he was a hockey player.
Tall and string-bean lean, Pochiro doesn't appear like he's built to take the punishment of being in close proximity to opposition goal creases, where WHL defencemen who outweigh him by 60 pounds are waiting to try to pulverize him for his efforts to score.
But with that six-foot-two, 160-pound body, Pochiro has consistently been one of the top forwards for the Prince George Cougars, producing at nearly a point-per-game pace, which is exactly what the St. Louis Blues envisioned when they drafted him in the fourth round, 112th overall in the 2013 NHL entry draft.
Pochiro, a 19-year-old native of St. Louis, returned to the Cats' lineup Tuesday night after missing six games with a concussion. The Cougars lost 3-1 to the Kootenay Ice but it wasn't for lack of effort from Pochiro. Centring a line with left winger Aaron Macklin and right winger Tyler Mrkonjic, Pochiro and his linemates generated a handful of great scoring chances but like the rest of the Cougars suffered the consequences of not cashing in on those close plays.
"His timing was a bit rusty but I liked his energy," said Cougars head coach Mark Holick. "I thought he was on the puck hard and fast and he moved well, but he looked a bit rusty and that's understandable. He missed a couple weeks and was only on the ice for a handful of days.
"He did some good things and once he gets a little more comfortable out there it will be a bit easier for him."
Pochiro admitted he was looking over his shoulder a bit more often in Tuesday's game than he normally would. He got hurt after taking a shot on goal at full flight and was checked head-first into the boards midway through the third period Nov. 22 in Calgary. Pochiro finished the game but was later diagnosed with the first concussion of his career.
"Something didn't seem right and with it being my head I was very cautious about it," said Pochiro, who makes his off-season home in Las Vegas. "Some of the conditioning I need to get back and just little things like catching pucks across the middle. I kind of looked up a couple times my first game back, not wanting to get crushed. Towards the end of the second and in the third [period} I was good to go."
Pochiro collected 15 goals and 39 points last year in his first WHL season and was an obvious choice as the Cougars' rookie of the year. His quick feet, accurate shot and intelligent playmaking abilities earn him plenty of power-play shifts. Before he got hurt, Pochiro had been playing right wing on a line with Alex Forsberg and Jansen Harkins. In 26 games he has 10 goals and 22 points along with 54 penalty minutes. On Tuesday, Pochiro was paired for the first time with Aaron Macklin and Tyler Mrkonjic.
"I wasn't sure of the minutes [Pochiro] could log, being away for so long, and so he ended up with two physical guys who can clear some room for him and I thought they did well," said Holick. "We'd like to Zach get some weight on him, that's something we've been trying and I know the club that drafted him wants him to do that. He's a small slight guy but he's determined. He's pretty driven. His intensity level is there nightly and sometimes he gets a little too fired up, he's on the referees or on the players. When he's focused on his play, he's dynamite."
The Cougars start the weekend eight points behind the Tri-City Americans and Vancouver Giants. They play in Tri-City tonight and will be in Vancouver on Sunday night, following a game Saturday in Spokane. With 29 games left, the Cougars will need Pochiro to put up big numbers if they hope to make it into the playoffs.
"I feel I could definitely bring more to the table, I don't think it's a bad start but I don't think it's a good start," Pochiro said. "I usually always have a better second half. My last two years I've tripled my points in the second half. I'm not saying I'll do that but I'll at least do fairly well."
