Casey Pierro - Zabotel Casey Pierro - Zabotel ( born November 8 , 1988 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is currently playing for the Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL . He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft , 80th overall , out of the British Columbia Hockey League ( BCHL ) . Playing major junior with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League ( WHL ) , he set franchise single - season records in 2008 – 09 with 79 assists and 115 points , en route to a Bob Clarke Trophy as the league ' s leading scorer . Playing career . Undrafted by a WHL team , Pierro - Zabotel began his junior hockey career with the Merritt Centennials of the Junior A British Columbia Hockey League ( BCHL ) in 2004 – 05 . He produced at a near point - per - game pace in his second season with the Centennials before dominating the league in 2006 – 07 , his draft year , with 51 goals , 65 assists and 116 points in 55 games . Going into the 2007 NHL Entry Draft , Pierro - Zabotel was ranked 75th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting , up from 87th in their mid - term rankings . He would be taken in the third round , 80th overall , by the Pittsburgh Penguins . Set to make the jump from Junior A to college hockey for Michigan Tech in 2007 – 08 , he was deemed ineligible to play for the first semester by the NCAA for academic reasons . As a result , Pierro - Zabotel instead signed with the Memorial Cup defending champions , Vancouver Giants of the WHL , in November 2007 . He scored his first WHL goal on November 24 against the Medicine Hat Tigers and tallied 48 points in 49 games for the Giants in his major junior rookie season . Beginning the 2008 – 09 season on the top line with Evander Kane , Pierro - Zabotel was named WHL Player of the Week on October 5 after recording 7 points in 2 games . Just 44 games into the season , he set a Giants single - season record with his 54th assist as part of a 5 - point game on January 17 , 2009 , in a 9 – 3 win against the Red Deer Rebels . The team mark was previously set by Darren Lynch , who recorded 53 assists in 70 games in 2002 – 03 . A little over a week later , on January 25 , Pierro - Zabotel tied the Giants ' franchise mark for single - season points set by Gilbert Brule in 2004 – 05 with his 87th point of the season . He broke the record the next game against the Medicine Hat Tigers , on January 28 , with an assist in a 4 – 3 win . His record - setting January was capped off with a WHL Player of the Month recognition after tallying 28 points in 15 games . Pierro - Zabotel completed his second WHL season with a league - high 115 points ( 36 goals and 79 assists ) to become the first Giants recipient of the Bob Clarke Trophy . He was also named co - team MVP with captain Jonathon Blum and was unanimously selected to the WHL West First All - Star Team . After eliminating the Spokane Chiefs in the second round of the playoffs , Pierro - Zabotel was named the Western Conference ' s nominee for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as top WHL player . The award was given to Eastern Conference finalist Brett Sonne of the Calgary Hitmen . In game two of the semifinals , he scored the game winning overtime goal to defeat the Kelowna Rockets 4 – 3 and tie the series 1 – 1 . The Giants were , however , eliminated in six games . Pierro - Zabotel completed the post - season with 17 points in 17 games . A week after Pierro - Zabotel ' s final WHL season ended , the Penguins signed him to a three - year , entry level contract on May 4 , 2009 . He was subsequently assigned to the American Hockey League ( AHL ) to join the Pittsburgh ' s minor league affiliate , the Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Penguins for their 2009 playoff run . Pierro - Zabotel began the season on the Penguins ' ECHL affiliate , the Wheeling Nailers , but was assigned to Wilkes - Barre / Scranton on January 21 , 2010 . At the time of his re - assignment , he was second in team scoring with 33 points in 38 games . . In February 2011 , Pierro - Zabotel ' s wife Levi criticized the Penguins organization on Twitter , unhappy that her husband was not giving more opportunities to play at the AHL level . Shortly afterwards Pierro - Zabotel was recalled to the Wilkes - Barre Scranton Penguins on February 10 , 2011 . Several hours later , it was announced that he was loaned to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL , who are not affiliated with the Penguins . International play . Following his second season in the BCHL , Pierro - Zabotel competed for Canada West at the inaugural 2006 World Junior A Challenge in Yorkton , Saskatchewan . Playing Canada East in the final , Pierro - Zabotel scored the game winning goal on the powerplay to win the gold medal by a 4 – 3 score . He finished with 9 points in 4 games , second in tournament scoring behind teammate and tournament MVP Kyle Turris . The next year , Pierro - Zabotel was named team captain for Canada West for the 2007 World Junior A Challenge in Trail , British Columbia . He led his team past Belarus in a 7 – 4 quarter - final win with a natural hat trick in the third period , scored in just 4 minutes , en route to a second straight gold medal win against Canada East in the final . He finished with 7 points in 5 games , tied for second in team scoring behind tournament MVP Mike Connolly . Personal life . Pierro - Zabotel married his long - time girlfriend , Levi , daughter of Kamloops Indian Band chief Shane Gottfriedson , in December 2008 in his hometown Kamloops .