Zach Dean

Zachary Dean (born January 4, 2003) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the first round, 30th overall, by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2021 NHL entry draft.

Playing career Dean played minor ice hockey in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador. On August 19, 2019, Dean signed with the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). During the 2019–20 season he was named to the QMJHL All-Rookie Team. Dean was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights with the 30th overall pick in the 2021 NHL entry draft, and signed a three-year, entry-level contract on December 2, 2021. While playing with the Olympiques in the 2022–23 season, Dean was traded by the Golden Knights to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Ivan Barbashev on February 26, 2023.

During the 2022–23 season of the QMJHL, Dean was a finalist for the Guy Carbonneau Trophy as defensive forward of the year.

International play

Dean appeared for the Canada Black team at the 2019 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, recording five points in seven games.

On December 12, 2022, Dean was named to Team Canada to compete at the 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. During the tournament he recorded one goal and two assists in seven games and won a gold medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2019–20 Gatineau Olympiques QMJHL 57 18 28 46 22 — — — — — 2020–21 Gatineau Olympiques QMJHL 23 10 10 20 20 4 1 1 2 2 2021–22 Gatineau Olympiques QMJHL 47 21 31 52 50 7 2 5 7 6 2022–23 Gatineau Olympiques QMJHL 50 33 37 70 53 13 10 16 26 10 2023–24 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 49 9 5 14 24 — — — — — 2023–24 St. Louis Blues NHL 9 0 0 0 6 — — — — — 2024–25 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 11 1 3 4 2 3 1 0 1 0 2025–26 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 36 4 10 14 28 12 2 1 3 16NHL totals 9 0 0 0 6 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2019 Canada Black U17 8th 5 3 4 7 0 2023 Canada WJC 7 1 2 3 33Junior totals 12 4 6 10 33

Awards and honours Award Year QMJHL All-Rookie Team 2020