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The Chisago Lakes Hockey Association celebrated the life and memory of Zac Bartz on February 11, 2025, by awarding the 11th annual ZacStrong award. The award is a tribute to Zac and his passion for life, the sport of hockey and the Chisago Lakes community. Each year, the coaches of CLHA nominate athletes during the season that demonstrate six of the virtues which Zac lived his life by - courage, strength, bravery, humility, faith and love.

At the close of each season, coaches nominate one athlete that has excelled throughout the season for their positive attitude, work ethic, and the spirit with which they embrace hockey.

These athletes for the 2024-2025 season included players from each team that overcame challenges, made great improvements through hard work, and deserve recognition for the encouragement and support they gave their teammates.

This year's team nominees were:  Ryder Danielson & Keegan Linhoff from the Bantam teams, Brody Thorvaldson and Carter Kasal from the PeeWee teams, Jack Howe, Jacob Paulson and Barrett Siedow from the Squirt teams, Kennedy Wasson from the U8 Team, and Nicoli Angeloni, Matthew Colbeth, Hudson Hagen & Eddie Hewes from the Mite teams.

The overall winner of the ZacStrong award this year is Bantam A player Ryder Danielson.  Ryder overcame an early season injury to come back stronger than ever, and brought a great attitude and support to the team even when he was sidelined.

Zac’s sister, Lexie, and parents, Nathan and Carol Ann, were on hand to award medals to the finalists and the ZacStrong trophy to Ryder. The Chisago Lakes Hockey Association would like to thank all of this year's winners for their contributions to hockey and the Chisago Lakes community, and encourage all athletes to live the ZacStrong way!

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