Zadina probably starting out in GR

[Ezekial]

I'm not at all worried that he didn't make the NHL. I always thought that the AHL would be best for his development and was always what I expected the team to do.

I'm worried, that I personally, don't like what I have seen out of him in the limited chances I've had.
And perhaps that we are looking at him to "grow exponentially", it's ok to have a tiny bit of concern?

I watched the prospects camp, prospects tournament, and plenty of preseason, I have very little concern.
I have a slight disappointment because I thought he would flash more and force himself into the team, but watching him he wasn't physically ready. His skill is immense he needs to find a way to translate that skill to the professional level, the AHL is great for that. I have no doubts he will, but to what degree?
I think he's going to be a premier winger in this league, he hasn't done anything yet to show he's not the level of prospect he was drafted to be.

 

[Ezekial]

BTW

theahl.com has free viewing this opening weekend, Oct 5-8. Just make a free account.

 

[lhsgolf19]

 

[The Flying Octopus]

I'm not at all worried that he didn't make the NHL. I always thought that the AHL would be best for his development and was always what I expected the team to do.

I'm worried, that I personally, don't like what I have seen out of him in the limited chances I've had.
And perhaps that we are looking at him to "grow exponentially", it's ok to have a tiny bit of concern?

There is absolutly nothing that can show he wont be an elite winger for years to come. A few Youtube videos and a shotty interview really has you that swayed, egh?

I suggest you take advantage of theahl.com free weekend preview and watch both of his games.

 

[Goalie guy]

7 min left in the game 0 shots for him and a -1 not a good start. And we had 7 PP.

 

[Christien]

7 min left in the game 0 shots for him and a -1 not a good start. And we had 7 PP.

Griffins haven't really played good tonight and it's only the first game. I wouldn't read much into it.

 

[TheMule93]

7 min left in the game 0 shots for him and a -1 not a good start. And we had 7 PP.

yeah I watched the game he wasn't good, the entire team couldn't generate any offense past the first period tho

 

[Mijatovic]

Zadina is more of a game-breaker than Tatar.

top speed: even
quickness: Zadina

If that's based off his preseason, I didn't see those 2 attributes being even close to Tatar let alone being better than

 

[Goalie guy]

yeah I watched the game he wasn't good, the entire team couldn't generate any offense past the first period tho

I was just giving a up date guys nothing good or bad to say either way.

 

[MBauer]

Besides his not so great debut, I'm not quite sure why the coach has him on the left side on the PP, he needs to be on the right so he can shoot.

 

[The Flying Octopus]

I am watching the Griffins game on theahl.com , and they look awful. No one can give Zadina the puck. Down 0-2 in second. Lets hope they look better for rest of game.

 

[Henkka]

Besides his not so great debut, I'm not quite sure why the coach has him on the left side on the PP, he needs to be on the right so he can shoot.

Imo, these are good times to educate him to be more complete player. We all know already he can shoot from the right side. That will never be a question. But to become a complete player, some playmaking stuff from the "wrong" side does nothing but good for him on the long run.

Patrik Laine managed to create a weapon shooting on the top front corner, when he had some stints on his "wrong" right side a a righty. Just find a way. Smart player will find.

Just want to remind, that using a 18-year old kid only on his strengths and comfort zone could lead to 1-dimensional player. That's why they put guys all the time everywhere on "wrong" positions. Same with Mantha at net-front etc etc. It's a learning process towards a more complete player. This is happening in other teams and fans are furious "why is coach so stupid" etc.

Crazy to read that kind of stuff why some coach is always an idiot, when in reality, they are really doing just a valuable work on educating those kids to be better in the future.

 

[MBauer]

Imo, these are good times to educate him to be more complete player. We all know already he can shoot from the right side. That will never be a question. But to become a complete player, some playmaking stuff from the "wrong" side does nothing but good for him on the long run.

Patrik Laine managed to create a weapon shooting on the top front corner, when he had some stints on his "wrong" right side a a righty. Just find a way. Smart player will find.

Just want to remind, that using a 18-year old kid only on his strengths and comfort zone could lead to 1-dimensional player. That's why they put guys all the time everywhere on "wrong" positions. Same with Mantha at net-front etc etc. It's a learning process towards a more complete player. This is happening in other teams and fans are furious "why is coach so stupid" etc.

Crazy to read that kind of stuff why some coach is always an idiot, when in reality, they are really doing just a valuable work on educating those kids to be better in the future.

Or coaches are sometimes just bad/wrong, they're not infallible. Mantha isn't used as a net- front to make him a more complete player, it's because that's were coaching staff thinks hes best suited, it's really that simple.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Or coaches are sometimes just bad/wrong, they're not infallible. Mantha isn't used as a net- front to make him a more complete player, it's because that's were coaching staff thinks hes best suited, it's really that simple.

Mantha is a big body with fantastic stick control in small spaces. There is literally no reason that he shouldn't play closer to the net. Hell... if you are a wing and you don't have the puck, you should probably be trying to drive the net to pick up the pieces from a rebound. Especially if he's going to be on a line with Larkin and Nyquist. That would make sense that he'd be the muscle up front to let those two dance around and keep the puck moving.

You know who else was pretty fantastic at net front? Brendan Shanahan.

****, net-front doesn't mean you just stand like a statue trying to screen the goalie. Tomas Holmstrom played it like that because he was a below average skater and playmaker outside of his elite hand-eye coordination and toughness. Watch literally any power forward. Watch Todd Bertuzzi in his peak. Lucic before he started getting beaten down.

Mantha is being used net front because it's what his frame suggests he should be best at. He should be able to be similar to prime Bert. Big boy with soft hands. He doesn't have to only do that and the fact that he's got a laser shot is amazing. Use it like Shanny used his. Mantha should be physical and a load to move around while being skilled.

Hell, even look at what a guy like Fedorov did in his career. He scored a good number of goals by being in the right position by the side of the net to get easy tap-ins. It wasn't what he did best or anything, but every player should really know net front positioning

 

[Dotter]

Sounds like Zadina didn't have a good showing in GR so far. He seems to be more of a project that we all thought. I still can't believe he fell to us, but now it might be making more sense why he did.

 

[Invictus12]

Or coaches are sometimes just bad/wrong, they're not infallible. Mantha isn't used as a net- front to make him a more complete player, it's because that's were coaching staff thinks hes best suited, it's really that simple.

Yep and fans can be just as bad or wrong... Is it wrong in anyway to think he'll be ab effective presence as a net front? He's big, he's good on rebounds and tight spaces...

 

[LittleBitofDat]

Sounds like Zadina didn't have a good showing in GR so far. He seems to be more of a project that we all thought. I still can't believe he fell to us, but now it might be making more sense why he did.

I think most players are more projects than most fans want to realize. Zadina has a tool set suggesting he will become one hell of a player.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Sounds like Zadina didn't have a good showing in GR so far. He seems to be more of a project that we all thought. I still can't believe he fell to us, but now it might be making more sense why he did.

While that could be the case, it’s also literally been a game or two.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

Sounds like Zadina didn't have a good showing in GR so far. He seems to be more of a project that we all thought. I still can't believe he fell to us, but now it might be making more sense why he did.

He is 18 years old. Played 2 games so far....

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Sounds like Zadina didn't have a good showing in GR so far. He seems to be more of a project that we all thought. I still can't believe he fell to us, but now it might be making more sense why he did.

He fell to us because Arizona and Montreal fell in love with Cs and Ottawa is Ottawa and wanted Brady Tkachuk.

I will be right now that we will be happier with Filip Zadina than either Montreal or Arizona will be with Kotkaniemi and Hayton. I've always been kind of wary of Kotkaniemi (or really any guy who happens to shoot WAY up the rankings list late in the draft year) and/or more okay about taking a guy who didn't have a material thing change about him but scouts nitpick him down and down.

I admit to not knowing as much about prospects as many others do, but there is just something I don't trust about a guy skyrocketing from one fantastic tournament or falling because of some intangible.
Had we taken Bouchard, Dobson, Boqvist, Tkachuk, Wahlstrom, etc. They'd not have had a prayer of starting the year in Detroit and they'd be even longer term projects. Zadina did. Hell, Svechnikov is on the 4th line in Carolina.

There are like two guys in any draft who can walk into the locker room first night and play in the league. Zadina isn't McDavid or Matthews who were ready right away. So, how about we give him a little time?

 

[jkutswings]

He fell to us because Arizona and Montreal fell in love with Cs and Ottawa is Ottawa and wanted Brady Tkachuk.

I will be right now that we will be happier with Filip Zadina than either Montreal or Arizona will be with Kotkaniemi and Hayton. I've always been kind of wary of Kotkaniemi (or really any guy who happens to shoot WAY up the rankings list late in the draft year) and/or more okay about taking a guy who didn't have a material thing change about him but scouts nitpick him down and down.

I admit to not knowing as much about prospects as many others do, but there is just something I don't trust about a guy skyrocketing from one fantastic tournament or falling because of some intangible.
Had we taken Bouchard, Dobson, Boqvist, Tkachuk, Wahlstrom, etc. They'd not have had a prayer of starting the year in Detroit and they'd be even longer term projects. Zadina did. Hell, Svechnikov is on the 4th line in Carolina.

There are like two guys in any draft who can walk into the locker room first night and play in the league. Zadina isn't McDavid or Matthews who were ready right away. So, how about we give him a little time?

All fair, but (not necessarily the same people within) this board has simultaneously harped on Zadina for a small sample size and praised Rasmussen for a small sample size (and now some are questioning Ras based on another even smaller sample size).

Late risers are definitely worth questioning. But just as only a couple of kids within a draft can walk right into the NHL...most kids from a given draft will need 2-3 years to really know if they're on the right track to panning out.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

Had we sent him back to Halifax (like everyone else his age) he would be scoring buckets of goals and people would still be drooling. Regardless of how talented you are, the jump from the Q to the AHL is massive for an 18-year-old.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Are other sports fans this impatient?

Give him a second, will ya?

 

[PuckLife]

I think when a fan base carries on like they drafted a God and that the guys who got picked ahead of him are crap, you are asking for a little criticism when the God doesn’t light it up at first. Zadina will be fine - you are just getting a little told-you -so.

 

[SuperScript29]

I think the problem is during the draft, a lot of people ranked him at #3, and many even laughed at picks taken ahead of him not named Dahlin or Svechnikov. We need to be more patient here, the kid is not even 19 yet, give him a year or two to develop then pass your judgment.