Admirals Scoring Leader Zachary L'Heureux Thriving in Debut Postseason Run: 'Whatever You Need Me To Do - I'm Able To Do It'

The man they call ‘Happy’ is living up to his moniker. And how could he not be?

Leading the Milwaukee Admirals in scoring after a thrilling, three-game comeback over the Texas Stars in the Central Division Semifinals, rookie forward Zachary L’Heureux is thriving in his debut Calder Cup Playoffs run.

“I've loved it,” he said after team practice Tuesday. “Last year, having that run that I had in Juniors and making it all the way [to the QMJHL Championship] was special and I was able to learn a lot about myself and what it's like to be a leader in the playoffs. So I just wanted to do the same thing here and lead the boys in the right direction. I know as a young guy, it's not always easy, but I just wanted to make sure I was doing everything I could to help the team win.”

Set to face the Grand Rapids Griffins in the upcoming Central Division Final, the confidence in the Admirals’ locker room - and for No. 68 - is naturally high after erasing a two-game deficit and winning three straight to keep their postseason alive.

“There was never a doubt that we couldn't do it,” L’Heureux said. “We knew coming home, we'd have to win three in front of our own fans. The skill and the talent we had, I think we were able to showcase that in Game 2, and the way that game went we thought we kind of deserved better. So, I think it was just that extreme confidence that our group had.”

That confidence was no doubt easier to find for the team that recorded a 19-game winning streak midway through the regular season, both the longest in Milwaukee’s history and the second-longest in AHL history.

“Coach [Karl Taylor’s] message was, ‘What’s winning three in a row? We did it six times in a row,’” L’Heureux said. “All those ups and downs that we had throughout the season just helped us grow as a team and be ready for anything that was thrown at us. And it was maybe a bit of a curveball from what we’d expected, going down two in the first round. But like I said, all those little moments throughout the year just prepared us for it.”

The series-deciding victory in Game 5 became the first time in franchise history the Admirals overcame a 0-2 series deficit to ultimately win the series.

Of course, L’Heureux was an instrumental piece of the team’s success, scoring twice in the first minute of play to kickstart an eventual 5-3 win over Texas and punch Milwaukee’s ticket to the division final.

“I think it’s just that competition, the emotions,” L’Heureux said. “When you're playing in the playoffs, when you're playing for your season, everything that you did all season is for these moments. When it comes down to do-or-die for both teams, it’s who's going step up, who's going to be the guy, and I think that mindset of wanting to be the hero, wanting to be the guy that that can put the team over the top and send us to the next round is just the mindset I play with. And you try to play with that mindset all the time.”

L’Heureux’s impact wasn’t exclusive to Game 5. After his first five career Calder Cup Playoffs outings, he leads the Admirals and owns a share of the league lead in goals (5) and has the joint second-most points (9).

His debut AHL campaign was no different.

After skating in 66 games, L’Heureux concluded his season second among his Milwaukee teammates in points (48), goals (19) and assists (29), and fifth among AHL rookies in points.

Helping him along in his rookie journey were teammates Juuso Parssinen and Egor Afanasyev, who skated on a line with L’Heureux for much of the 2023-24 season and into the postseason.

“They’re two great players,” L’Heureux said. “They’ve played in the National Hockey League, and they're two guys that are knocking on that door. They’re just highly skilled and always getting in the right position. And I think for me, I’m just a compliment to them with my game, my style. I'm not a guy that needs the puck the whole game, so it's easy for me to just be in the right positions and feed it to them, and bring some energy to the line with some grit and some hard work and some battles in the corner and then getting them the puck… So I think all three of us complement each other really well. And the way we've been able to dominate and take over games has been special. I think we’re still just finding that groove, but I feel like our confidence is really high and we know that we have a pretty special opportunity, so we just want to keep doing what we’re doing.”

L’Heureux was also aided in his development by a demanding 11 forward, seven defensemen configuration Milwaukee’s bench boss has run with for much of the year.

With less forwards available on a nightly basis, everyone - L’Heureux included - gets battle tested in virtually every game scenario.

“I’ve been given a great opportunity from day one and I think it's shown that whatever you need me to do, whenever we need to win, I'm able to do it,” L’Heureux said. “For a young guy, it's not necessarily easy to be thrown into all these big situations, but I think I've done a really good job managing that, managing my emotions and making sure that when the moments came and coach needed you, you're ready to be relied upon.”

Managing emotions and staying out of the box has of course been key for L’Heureux’s development during the postseason.

Ending the regular season with 197 penalty minutes - the most among AHL rookies and the second-most among all league skaters - L’Heureux has played smarter and much more disciplined hockey thus far, staying out of the box for all but six minutes of play.

“Any little mistake, any little thing you do that's going to hurt your team could be it, could be the reason you lose,” L’Heureux said. “I feel like mentally I'm able to step up and be even sharper, even smarter and do everything I can to help the team. I think I've done a good job, and it's pretty upsetting, my six minutes - I thought I should only have two. So I'm going to try to just keep it up. And I know [Grand Rapids] are going to try and get under my skin and poke me, and I think I just need to keep doing a good job and focus on scoring goals more than getting in the box.”

L’Heureux will look to keep his hands hot during Milwaukee’s upcoming best-of-five series against Grand Rapids, a decidedly tough opponent who the Admirals posted a 4-3-1 record against during the regular season.

“We know that they're a good team, and they got better all throughout the year,” L’Heureux said. “We've had our share of games not go our way against them, but I think at the end of the day, we’ve just got to be worried about ourselves. We know we're the best team in the league, we're able to beat anybody and we've proven it all year.”

Game 1 starts Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Fans can catch all the action by purchasing a streaming subscription to AHLTV or by following @MKEAdmirals on social media.

See below for the full series schedule:

Game 1: Grand Rapids at Milwaukee, Wednesday, May 15 at 7 p.m. CT

Game 2: Grand Rapids at Milwaukee, Monday, May 20 at 7 p.m. CT

Game 3: Milwaukee at Grand Rapids, Wednesday, May 22 at 6 p.m. CT

*Game 4: Milwaukee at Grand Rapids, Friday, May 24 at 6 p.m. CT

*Game 5: Grand Rapids at Milwaukee, Sunday, May 26 at 5 p.m. CT

*if necessary