MAITLAND, FLA – The dictionary definition of leadership is “the action of leading a group of people or an organization”. In the world of sports, it is the ability to bring together a group of athletes to focus on a single goal or objective.
Sean Zimmerman (Photo courtesy of Orlando Solar Bears)
Becoming a leader takes a combination of a number of different qualities: personality, skill, experience and the willingness to put the needs of the group ahead of personal goals being just a few. Athletes who can take over a leadership role and guide his or her team to success are a coach’s dream.
Sean Zimmerman is one of those dream players.
Zimmerman, 30, was one of three players from the 2017 ECHL Kelly Cup  champion Colorado Eagles that Orlando Solar Bears head coach Drake Berehowsky sought out during the off-season to bring to Central Florida. Zimmerman possesses all of the qualities listed above – and then some.
“I’m quiet, humber, lead by example,  show up every day and be professional, do things the right way all the time and being that example that guys can look to, especially with a younger  team,” Zimmerman explained when asked what makes him such a good leader. “This is a job for everybody so just being an example that way and leading by example is the way I like to do it.”
To say that Zimmerman is a sum of his life experiences would be an understatement. Born and raised in Denver, he literally grew up with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche (the team relocated to Denver from Quebec when he was eight years old). His parents bought season tickets and both Zimmerman and his sister were hooked.
Zimmerman’s real hockey “education” began at age 12. That was when he moved to Vancouver for three years to begin playing junior hockey before heading to Spokane where he joined the junior B Spokane Braves. From there, he was drafted by the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. He said that being out on his own was at times difficult but in hindsight it was an important learning experience.
“I look back on it now and it’s something that I’m grateful that I went through. I remember at the time being a young kid [that] it was difficult,” he said. “There were definately a lot of homesick nights and stuff like that. I appreciate it now that I went through it because it kind of made me a little bit more independent and a stronger person.”
Zimmerman’s skill and determination paid off in the summer of 2005 when he heard his name called in the sixth round of the NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils. Although it was more than a decade ago, he fondly remembered how exciting – and nerve wracking – it was.
“I knew I was going to get drafted at some point, I just didn’t know when. So you’re just sitting there waiting, waiting, waiting. It was just a waiting game,” he recalled. “It was a stressful day but exciting. It’s pretty cool to know that I was drafted into the NHL at one point.”
There was still one more life experience before Zimmerman turned pro. During his last season in Spokane (2006-07), he was invited to participate in the training camp for USA Hockey’s Under-20 team that was preparing for the IIHF World Junior championship. What started out as a simple invite to fill practice spots became a roster spot, a trip to Sweden and a bronze medal.
“The only reason I was invited to the training camp in the summer was because Erik Johnson and Jack Johnson didn’t want to go to camp. I was just kind of thrown in there just to fill bodies, be a number out there,” he said. “I had a really good camp, they liked me a lot and liked the way I was playing [during] the first half of the season. When I found out about actually making the team, it was surreal. A lot of guys don’t get the opportunity to represent their country that way and then to bring home a bronze medal, it was awesome.”
Although Zimmerman got a taste of being a pro in 2006 during an amateur tryout with the Albany River Rats, it was not until the spring of 2007 when he joined the Lowell Devils as a full time professional. He stayed in the Devils organization until 2008 when he was traded to the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes. That transaction started a run of three years where he was dealt to different teams no less than four times with three coming during the same season in 2010-11.
Zimmerman admitted that it was a tough time for him but he fought through it, coming out on the other side better for the experience.
“I started with New Jersey and was building my way up in the ranks. Then you get traded and you kind of almost start over at 21, 22 [when] you’re still really young. Then it happened again and again. I think it got to me a little bit,” he said. “When you get traded a few times early in your career, it was mentally tough. I hated it at the time a little bit just because you’re moving around constantly and as a young kid, it’s just like what’s going on here. I’ve learned to appreciate that stuff now and I’m glad  it happened the way it did.”
During the NHL lockout year of 2012-13, Zimmerman found himself without a team to play for. Then an opportunity came up that he could not refuse.That season, the Central Hockey League welcomed a new team, the Denver Cutthroats. Zimmerman jumped at the chance to go home and play.
“I said you know what, I’ll spend a little time in Denver and play hockey. I was excited about that,” Zimmerman said. “I ended up loving it so much that when the lockout ended, I had a couple of offers from a couple of places [but] I was having so much fun playing at home even though the money wasn’t as great. It was worth it to me to stay home.”
When the Cutthroats folded, Zimmerman hound another home in Loveland with the Colorado Eagles. He spent three seasons with the Eagles, culminating last year when as captain, he skated with the ECHL’s most coveted trophy. Being a hometown player who had followed the franchise’s fortunes, the championship meant a lot because of what the team meant to the community.
“Knowing that team [from] growing up in Colorado, they have a great reputation in northern Colorado,” Zimmerman said about the Eagles. “They do things tight, they run things really well. They’re just a classy organization.”
Zimmerman said he was not expecting to leave Loveland after winning the Kelly Cup but a parting of the ways occurred. He was contacted by Berehowsky and now that he is in Orlando, he is excited about the potential he has seen in the roster that the Solar Bears staff has put together.
“I’m super excited to be here in Orlando now and enjoying the weather and [being around] the guys around the locker room,” he said. “It’s exciting because we have a great team here,we have a really good team. It’s going to be a process. It’s a brand new team (roster wise) too as well so it’s going to be a little bit of a building process and getting everybody on the same page and everybody seeing the same vision but I’m excited about it.”
Due to off-season surgery, Zimmerman is starting the season on the injured reserve list. Just because he is not on the ice on game night does not mean he is sitting back. This is a time when leaders lead and Zimmerman is doing so by being in the locker room as a teacher and mentor – playing in 622 career professional games in three different leagues and eight cities and holding a championship ring and a bronze medal from international play means that he has a lot of wisdom to impart on those just joining the pro ranks.
“I put myself in the perspective of when I was younger and 20 years old and first turning pro. That’s the way I think of it – what I was going through mentally. You’re maybe you’re not where you want to be if you’re a Toronto guy. It’s frustrating and I get that and I understand that,” he said. “Showing those guys that if you want to move up, you [need to] win. Teams want winners and teams want that character trait in their players. Being a team guy and doing things the right way and winning as a team – that’s what we want to bring here and I think we can do that. It’s not going to be easy – guys will get frustrated about stuff like that and they should be. They’re mad that they’re not where they want to be and that’s a good thing. We’ve got to use that in the right way.”
If the young players on Orlando’s roster listen and learn what Zimmerman is teaching, the sky’s the limit for what this Solar Bears team could accomplish.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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