sba
....
great, now we have to worry about him being abducted by the Russian mafia for slighting the KHL
He's going to play extremely well, considering how ****ing heated he was when told about being sent down (thanks Mrs. Yuri).
“Actually, I wasn’t nervous at all,†says Zadorov. “No, seriously. I’d been waiting for that moment for such a long time, why would I be nervous? I’ve played hockey for 15 years. Why would I be nervous if I love the game?â€
It may sound implausible but every NHL player will tell you the same – it’s easier to play on the big club rather than in the minors. Zadorov is no exception.
“It is easier to play in the NHL,†he assures. “For instance, in the OHL you often have nobody to pass the puck to – nobody’s open. Usually the guys just don’t know what to do or where to go. In the NHL, though, everybody’s making themselves available. You have a billion of options to whom you may pass.â€
Needless to say junior hockey players don’t just turn pros over night. It’s a learning process and coaches need to guide their young guns through it.
“Mostly I was told that I skate too much in my own zone,†says Zadorov. “They wanted me to play more of a positional defence. Every defenceman has his own sector and that’s what he’s responsible for. You shouldn’t go around and chase everyone trying to get the puck away from them. Instead, you should pay attention to your sector. Although, I think it’s something you learn through the games. I felt a big difference between my first NHL game and the ones after it.â€
“I paid attention to defencemen – Tyler Myers, Christian Ehrhoff,†says the Moscow native. “These guys have played in the NHL for a few seasons. I also followed defencemen from the other teams. For example, when we played the Kings I watched Drew Doughty and Slava Voynov. I took notes and tried to learn something from them. In the NHL you can learn something new after every game.â€
@SabresProspects
Zadorov playing his game. Clearing out net front, standing up vs rush. He just put London teammate Max Domi on his back at the RUS blueline
@SabresProspects
Zadorov steals puck in own zone, takes three strides and springs Shiksatdarov on a breakaway. Russia takes 3-2 lead on Team OHL.
He was awesome, and his two assists on the non-empty net goals were both excellent and crucial. He sprang a shorthanded breakaway goal to go up 3-2, and then served up a nice pass to the front of the net on the 4 - 2 goal.
Watched him instead of the Sabres tonight other than switching over to Buffalo during Subway Sriracha commercials and he looked good. The OHL team this year is really slow and Zadorov feasted on that. There was one sequence where he lead the rush, passed off the puck and circled around the face-off circle and was still able to cut off the OHL rush the other way.
I think I sprang my Shiksatdarov once and was lucky to avoid traction.
This test brings us circuitously back to London and what might have been. That is, what the Knights would be if they were able to pencil into their line-up two defencemen, former first-rounders, who are these days plying their trade in the NHL: Ollie Matta with Pittsburgh and Nikita Zadorov with Buffalo. While the NHL scouting directors said that they thought both players could benefit from another season in the OHL, they were more adamant about Zadorov.
“Buffalo is a train wreck and I have no idea what they’re doing,†one scouting director says. “Bringing four teenagers onto a team that must be an awful environment. You could just ruin them. Whatever the case you could make for the other players, Zadorov is the plainest one. I’m not even sure he would be on your top pair in the OHL if you’re talking about a team that wins a championship and takes a run at the Memorial Cup. I say all this and I liked Zadorov last year (his draft year). It’s not that he’s a long-term project but he needs the benefit of a couple of seasons here, maybe time in the AHL.â€
I think I have a tear in my eye.Nikita Zadorov is always happy to play for his country, even if it means getting the call late the night before. Zadorov, who was just sent back to the Ontario League’s London Knights by the Buffalo Sabres, suited up for Russia at the CHL-Russia Super Series in Oshawa, Ont., last night. His inclusion was so sudden that his No. 16 sweater didn’t even have his name on the back. But in the end, it wasn’t necessary: Everyone knew who the 6-foot-5, 220-pound mountain of a defenseman was, especially when he put up three assists in Russia’s 5-2 victory over the OHL contingent and blew up 6-foot-4, 217-pound Aaron Ekblad with a big hit.
Though the affable 18-year-old was recently sent down by new Sabres coach Ted Nolan and president of hockey operations Pat LaFontaine, Zadorov wasn’t mad.
“I’m happy because it’s London,†he said. “That’s the best place to play junior hockey and we host the Memorial Cup. It was a great experience for me, I got to play seven games in the NHL with the best of the best in the world. Now back to junior to do my job, try to be a leader on the team and play in the world juniors and Memorial Cup.â€