Jack Ziliotto commits to RPI
The '05 forward is a potential NHL draft pick in 2023
On Thursday, RPI picked up a commitment from Jack Ziliotto. Ziliotto is an ‘05 forward listed at 6’1” and 182 LBs who is currently playing for the Mississauga Chargers in the OJHL. He has been having an outstanding year with 10 goals, 17 assists and 27 points in 26 games. He leads the team in scoring despite being only 17 years old, and he is actually 2nd in the entire league in scoring among all ‘05 players. His skill set is one that should excite.
Ziliotto has a great offensive toolkit with size, speed, and skill. One evaluator called him “a highly skilled forward that can excel in many different situations.” They continued on to praise his vision and said he “has a strong shot that is both hard and accurate.” Another evaluator lauded his skating saying, “He has quick feet and a powerful stride. He is also able to maintain his speed going east and west allowing him to maximize time and space on zone entries.” His size is obviously a strength, and he uses it well to protect the puck. When you combine all of that with “great puck skills both stickhandling and also controlling the puck” and his abilities at “fending off players while still maintaining control of the puck”, it’s easy to get excited about Ziliotto and his offensive upside.
We aren’t the only ones excited about Ziliotto as he was a C-rated skater on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary list. This means he is projected to be a 4th-6th round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, showing how big of a recruiting win this is for RPI. A lot can change between now and the draft, but it’s worth watching how his ranking changes over that time period.
Ziliotto was also selected to Team Canada East for the World Junior A Challenge. This is a well-known competition with a lot of prestige behind it, and you have to be a top player playing Junior A to be invited to play in it. This is a heavily scouted competition too, so his draft stock could be affected a lot by how he plays there.
Additionally, as the tweet says, Ziliotto was selected in the OHL draft in 2021 by the Oshawa Generals. He went to training camp that year and did not make the team, but with his recent play, I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to bring him in. Luckily for us, he has chosen RPI and the NCAA over going there, but there’s always a small possibility he changes his mind. There is nothing to worry about with that right now, though.
Overall, Ziliotto looks like he has an extremely high ceiling with the ability to be a very impactful player for the Engineers over his career. NHL prospects are always exciting, and there appears to be a lot of substance in Ziliotto’s rating with his great offensive tools. Taking all of that and his age into account, we project that Ziliotto will play one more year in juniors, moving up to either the BCHL or USHL, and then enrolling at RPI in 2024. Until then, we look forward to watching his progress and development. Congratulations to Jack and his family!