Braehead Clan defender Zach Sullivan says it’s impossible not to have learned from his experienced teammates during his two years at the club.

The 21-year-old re-signed for Clan earlier this week on a two-year deal and he believes he’s learned the intricacies of the defensive game from the players he’s lined up alongside on the blueline.

“I feel like I’m improving every year at Braehead and I found the Elite League was much faster than what I’d been used to in the EPL when I first arrived,” said Sullivan.

“It would be hard not to improve with the calibre of the ‘D’ men that we’ve had in the last couple of seasons. Ric Jackman won a Stanley Cup and you can’t help not picking things up from him.

“I learned a lot from guys like Chris Frank and Zack Fitzgerald in my first year then Jackman, Nathan McIver and all the players last year.

“I loved playing alongside Nathan last year and I could always count on him to do the right thing, make sure I was in the right place and always talking to me.

“I feel like I’m learning different aspects of playing defence rather than just defending and attacking. It’s definitely more than that.”

Sullivan said he was happy to extend his contract with the club and has targeted the league title after falling short in the last couple of years.

He added: “It’s not a case of third time lucky, it’s going to be third time getting it done.

“It was a pretty straightforward decision for me and now my next step is to try and break into the GB team and be part of that amazing core of British ‘D’ men. It’s going to be a good year.”

(Image permission: Al Goold Photo)