News Article: WIIM: Filip Zadina Deserves Better...

[dragonballgtz]

Just like Troy Terry didn't score more than 0.37 per game pace before his 24th birthday. Zadina is ahead of that pace with his 0.42 career scoring.

And now, since turning 24, Terry is scoring point per game. He is 3 years older than Zadina.

This season is nothing like a final chance for Zadina, and next isn't either.

People still won't get that, only thing wrong with Zadina, is everybody's expectations. Wrong expectations.

Terry's shot percentage is almost triple what it was last year. Unless that is the new norm for him one should expect him to come back down. What his new normal is will be hard to guess but shooting at 28% seems like a tall task to maintain.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Terry's shot percentage is almost triple what it was last year. Unless that is the new norm for him one should expect him to come back down. What his new normal might will be hard to guess but shooting at 28% seems like a tall task to maintain.

He's giving new life to Ryan Getzlaf as a playmaker. His average will come back to earth eventually but Terry is looking like the real deal this year. The dude is eating up the pacific division.

Troy Terry 2021-22 Splits | Hockey-Reference.com

 

[GMR]

The conversation is on the assumption(S), Veleno is really good and we signed Hertl and the worst out come of that situation.

In realty. Veleno is a rookie you know not much about and Hertl is on the Sharks.

Are you being snarky about the European thing? My whole situation was hypothetical to begin with and you choose to comment about Veleno. Obviously he's here, doesn't mean he's good enough to be the 2nd line center. Also doesn't mean he can't be and again, if he is and Red Wings signed someone else anyways... whats the harm? You mad they went and signed a good player? Doesn't even have to be Hertl he's just my example and who I like.

Idk what the European soccer thing was about really... They having free agency right now?

I wasn't sure if you were privy to information about Hertl. In European soccer, players and coaches frequently announce midway through the season that they're going to play for a different club the following season. The new club is usually named. That's unheard of in North America.

 

[Invictus12]

Honestly, I think Zadina sucks at positional play... He always gets the puck where he imminently has protect and play the puck against 2 or more defensmen surrounding him... This happens all the time which tells me he's not good at getting into areas where he could use his strengths to his advantage... He's not big, he's not strong... He'd be better off being a perimeter player.

 

[Bench]

He's giving new life to Ryan Getzlaf as a playmaker. His average will come back to earth eventually but Terry is looking like the real deal this year. The dude is eating up the pacific division.

Troy Terry 2021-22 Splits | Hockey-Reference.com

BENCH MENTIONS THE STARS WARNING

And I think Roope Hintz falls into that category as well. Age 22 and 23 he was a 0.46 PPG. That's pretty dang close to Zadina's 0.42.

Then at age 24 he broke out with 43 points in 41 games. This year, just turning 25, he's sluggish starting coming off his hip injury, but picked up pace with 5 points in his last 4 games (and points in all of those games).

And that's why, while I'm not seeing "the next Hossa" in Zadina, it's still way too early to give up on him. If he was a 2nd rounder, I think we'd all be happy with his progress. It sucks we're not getting a top goal scorer out of the gate with a #6 pick, but there's enough there it doesn't look like a bust at all. He may yet develop into a key player for the future of this franchise, even without meeting his draft expectations.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

BENCH MENTIONS THE STARS WARNING

And I think Roope Hintz falls into that category as well. Age 22 and 23 he was a 0.46 PPG. That's pretty dang close to Zadina's 0.42.

Then at age 24 he broke out with 43 points in 41 games. This year, just turning 25, he's sluggish starting coming off his hip injury, but picked up pace with 5 points in his last 4 games (and points in all of those games).

And that's why, while I'm not seeing "the next Hossa" in Zadina, it's still way too early to give up on him. If he was a 2nd rounder, I think we'd all be happy with his progress. It sucks we're not getting a top goal scorer out of the gate with a #6 pick, but there's enough there it doesn't look like a bust at all. He may yet develop into a key player for the future of this franchise, even without meeting his draft expectations.

I remember watching Roope Hintz with the Texas Stars in 2017-18 when I lived in Austin and he was notably better than others on his team. The stats weren't mind blowing but you could see he was the type of player whose game produces more at a higher level when paired with more skilled guys.

That said, Zadina ain't Hintz.

 

[Bench]

I remember watching Roope Hintz with the Texas Stars in 2017-18 when I lived in Austin and he was notably better than others on his team. The stats weren't mind blowing but you could see he was the type of player whose game produces more at a higher level when paired with more skilled guys.

That said, Zadina ain't Hintz.

I'd imagine Zadina would look pretty damn great in the AHL right now, I guess is what I'm saying. That's were Hintz was at Zadina's age up until this point. And he's matching Hintz's first two season output so far.

Obviously I love Hintz's game more too, but just providing some perspective on how different the conversation is around guys taken in the top 10 versus 2nd round. I get the idea of expectations and draft pedigree, but ultimately the goal is to find a useful top 6 player. That's still really obtainable here for Zadina.

And I still think he's mega snakebit and has no puck luck right now, even though he's not making his own luck enough.

 

[ThankGord]

I think mentioning guys like Terry and Hintz is important. Not to say Zadina is a similar player to them, but to illustrate that every player has a different development curve. 22 years old is too early to claim a player has reached their peak. Bert's first real NHL action was at 22. Zadina is just under a microscope due to making the big leagues early and being a high draft pick.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I'd imagine Zadina would look pretty damn great in the AHL right now, I guess is what I'm saying. That's were Hintz was at Zadina's age up until this point. And he's matching Hintz's first two season output so far.

Obviously I love Hintz's game more too, but just providing some perspective on how different the conversation is around guys taken in the top 10 versus 2nd round. I get the idea of expectations and draft pedigree, but ultimately the goal is to find a useful top 6 player. That's still really obtainable here for Zadina.

And I still think he's mega snakebit and has no puck luck right now, even though he's not making his own luck enough.

I think he's snakebit because he's shooting from poor angles and far out. Look at his shot map. And it's already been mentioned by a few posters here that they are noticing that line's possession usually ends on Zadina's stick.

I'd even go as far as saying his CF% is as high as it is because he's often taking terrible shots that are from far out and missing the net or getting blocked, not because the 2nd line is maintaining the zone and putting real pressure on the opposition.

 

[Bench]

I think he's snakebit because he's shooting from poor angles and far out. Look at his shot map. And it's already been mentioned by a few posters here that they are noticing that line's possession usually ends on Zadina's stick.

I'd even go as far as saying his CF% is as high as it is because he's often taking terrible shots that are from far out and missing the net or getting blocked, not because the 2nd line is maintaining the zone and putting real pressure on the opposition.

All that true but it doesn't change he's had a few golden chances that just didn't go in for one reason or another. A handful of bounces can change the narrative of an 8% shooting percentage quite a bit this early in the year.

 

[Hen Kolland]

Honestly, I think Zadina sucks at positional play... He always gets the puck where he imminently has protect and play the puck against 2 or more defensmen surrounding him... This happens all the time which tells me he's not good at getting into areas where he could use his strengths to his advantage... He's not big, he's not strong... He'd be better off being a perimeter player.

The second Zadina becomes a perimeter player is the same second this fan base officially writes him off permanently. It’s easy to say these things knowing you’ll never see it, but this fan base hates perimeter players with every fiber of their being. Big or small, strong or weak. People hate perimeter players

 

[ThankGord]

Z with the Back Hand Luke Special

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I think mentioning guys like Terry and Hintz is important. Not to say Zadina is a similar player to them, but to illustrate that every player has a different development curve. 22 years old is too early to claim a player has reached their peak. Bert's first real NHL action was at 22. Zadina is just under a microscope due to making the big leagues early and being a high draft pick.

My problem with that is that every player has flashes in the pan while developing. These are the glimpses of what they can become, and if they're developing well it's because they are having those flashes more and more. Roope Hintz, Troy Terry, Alex Tuch, Jakub Vrana as examples.

The guys that backslide in their development are the kinds of guys that show those flashes less and less in the pro game. Guys like Brendan Smith, Tomas Jurco, Evgeny Svechnikov (to a lesser degree), Teemu Pulkkinen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Logan Brown.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

The second Zadina becomes a perimeter player is the same second this fan base officially writes him off permanently. It’s easy to say these things knowing you’ll never see it, but this fan base hates perimeter players with every fiber of their being. Big or small, strong or weak. People hate perimeter players

It's because in the minds of some "perimeter player" means soft as goat cheese left out on a hot summer day. Wojtek Wolski, Christian Huselius, and guys like that. THESE are the kinds of guys that were weak perimeter players.

Berggren and Nyquist are perimeter players but that's the part of their game as playmakers that makes them effective. They draw people to them and it opens up play in the middle for others. The Sedins were the same way as perimeter players but had really successful careers.

Being a perimeter player alone isn't a kiss of death. It's being a perimeter player while also refusing to take a hit to make a play that pisses people off here.

 

[ThankGord]

My problem with that is that every player has flashes in the pan while developing. These are the glimpses of what they can become, and if they're developing well it's because they are having those flashes more and more. Roope Hintz, Troy Terry, Alex Tuch, Jakub Vrana as examples.

The guys that backslide in their development are the kinds of guys that show those flashes less and less in the pro game. Guys like Brendan Smith, Tomas Jurco, Evgeny Svechnikov (to a lesser degree), Teemu Pulkkinen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Logan Brown.

Yeah I'd agree the flashes have been few and far between but you could potentially chalk that up to unskilled linemates or Blashill drilling him to be a strong two-way player (which has paid off in the best possession numbers on the team behind Mo, for what that's worth). He definitely has some work left to do.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Yeah I'd agree the flashes have been few and far between but you could potentially chalk that up to unskilled linemates or Blashill drilling him to be a strong two-way player (which has paid off in the best possession numbers on the team behind Mo, for what that's worth).

I wouldn't blame his linemates. He's not dragging around the corpses of Abdelkader and Nielsen.

Fabbri has been toughly a 0.6ppg player in Detroit. Solid 2nd line production. Suter has been hot lately and produced solid 2nd line/middle 6 numbers in Chicago last year.

 

[ThankGord]

I wouldn't blame his linemates. He's not dragging around the corpses of Abdelkader and Nielsen.

Fabbri has been toughly a 0.6ppg player in Detroit. Solid 2nd line production. Suter has been hot lately and produced solid 2nd line/middle 6 numbers in Chicago last year.

This season, sure. What do you think of Fabs and Suter as passers/playmakers though?

EDIT: I wonder how Zadina and Berggren could work together. Bergs skating circles around the zone with his great passing vision freeing up space for Z to find a shot.

 

[Leadzedder]

Zadina is gonna be a nice player to have in our top 9. And that’s cool.

 

[Czechboy]

I wanted more from him offensively. However, he's right about where he should be in his draft class. He's the 7th best scorer. Farabee has passed him but he passed the 5th pick.

He does all the little things well and maybe the scoring will come. Zacha took a little while and has led the Devils in scoring last season. It's a nice TOp 6 being built and hopefully he can help it out!

 

[Hen Kolland]

It's because in the minds of some "perimeter player" means soft as goat cheese left out on a hot summer day. Wojtek Wolski, Christian Huselius, and guys like that. THESE are the kinds of guys that were weak perimeter players.

Berggren and Nyquist are perimeter players but that's the part of their game as playmakers that makes them effective. They draw people to them and it opens up play in the middle for others. The Sedins were the same way as perimeter players but had really successful careers.

Being a perimeter player alone isn't a kiss of death. It's being a perimeter player while also refusing to take a hit to make a play that pisses people off here.

You know how the narratives work here.

He should use his skills and be a perimeter player.
*goals still aren’t scored*
The reason he doesn’t score goals is because he doesn’t get to the dirty areas, he’s always on the perimeter watching things happen.

 

[Czechboy]

Another very good Czech that took a little while was Vrana! Necas and Chytil too.

Might be a Czech thing.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInDetroit]

EDIT: I wonder how Zadina and Berggren could work together. Bergs skating circles around the zone with his great passing vision freeing up space for Z to find a shot.

I've been saying all year that I want to see the 2018 line: Zadina - Veleno - Berggren

 

[GreytWun]

Another very good Czech that took a little while was Vrana! Necas and Chytil too.

Might be a Czech thing.

My fav international poster!

Agreed just give it some time and see what Zadina turns into. He is still very young.

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

Another very good Czech that took a little while was Vrana! Necas and Chytil too.

Might be a Czech thing.

What's the perception on Chytil now? Is he a buy-low candidate yet? (or near it)?

 

[Invictus12]

The second Zadina becomes a perimeter player is the same second this fan base officially writes him off permanently. It’s easy to say these things knowing you’ll never see it, but this fan base hates perimeter players with every fiber of their being. Big or small, strong or weak. People hate perimeter players

Perhaps all true but the only way I see him becoming a player worthy of his draft pedigree is by being a perimeter player. He's just not good in tight spaces and I think it's very unlikely that he'll improve in that department. I think the fanbase would come around if he's racking up points and is generally productive... As it stands, play dies on his stick because he taking on more than he can chew.