Rookie defenseman now one of 32 finalists for the 2023-24 Yanick Dupré Memorial Award
Apr 11, 2024
The Rochester Americans are proud to announce that defenseman Zach Metsa has been named the team’s winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the year award for his outstanding commitment and contributions to the Rochester community during the 2023-24 season.
Metsa established an immediate connection to the Rochester community, spearheading several of the team’s community outreach efforts in his first full season with the Amerks.
After joining the team for its extended playoff run last spring, Metsa made his formal introduction to Amerks fans at the season kick-off party back in October.
A few weeks later, Metsa and the Amerks brought back the ever-popular Reading Power Play Program for its remarkable 18th season. The Amerks Reading Power Play program, presented exclusively by Wendy’s, involves players stopping by local libraries, reading to kids and giving a hockey demonstration and allows the kids to learn about the game of hockey and the shows the importance of reading. Through the support of Metsa and his teammates, the four-month program enjoyed its most successful season since its inception with more than 670 participants reading more than 2,000 books.
As the holidays approached, Metsa was among a full-team outing as all 25 Amerks players, in addition to head coach Seth Appert, visited two Rochester-area hospitals in the same day to deliver gifts, visit with patients and help spready holiday cheer.
The Amerks once again partnered with New York’s 529 College Savings Plan for another season of the Amerks Jr. Reporter Program and Metsa helped provide once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to local kids that won the chance to interview him and get a tour of the Amerks locker room afterwards as well as watch an Amerks practice.
Following the new year, Metsa, who captained Quinnipiac University to a NCAA National Championship in 2023, was one of several Amerks to volunteer at Foodlink’s distribution center to sort the donated food the team collected during its annual holiday Food Drive in December. A longtime partner of the Amerks, Foodlink is a Rochester-based nonprofit dedicated to ending hunger and building healthier communities by addressing both the symptoms and root causes of food insecurity. The organization serves as the hub of the emergency food system across a…
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