Jason Zucker looking for a bounce-back season

After a less-than-stellar campaign for the Penguins last season, Jason Zucker is looking for a bounce-back year.

While speaking with the media earlier this week, Zucker was up-front about not having a great year last season.

“Last year was awful, to be honest. I didn’t like my game at all. I thought there were some really good points and some really bad points. For me, it was a good summer for me to adjust my game and feel really good coming into this year,” Zucker said.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan spoke about Zucker’s performance as well, saying that one of the reasons he was acquired by the team was because he ‘plays a straight-ahead game.’

“I don’t think I shot the puck nearly as much as I had in years past. I’d be shocked if it was even 50% of my normal total shooting the puck. I don’t know if it was passing the puck too much in general, or just trying to make plays in general. I’ve never been known to be a playmaker, I’m a shooter and a goal-scorer. So that was a big thing, and something I’m definitely going to focus on more for this year,” Zucker said.

Last season, Zucker scored 9 goals and registered 9 assists in 38 games for the team.