Zadina vs. Hughes

[Killerjas]

Just wondering, do you think we have made a mistake picking Zadina over Hughes? I still believe Zadina will be a great player, but I have the feeling that Hughes will be a 1st line D while Zadina will be a 2nd line winger at best.

What do you guys think? Hindsight is 20/20 but Hughes looks really good.

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[kliq]

Just wondering, do you think we have made a mistake picking Zadina over Hughes? I still believe Zadina will be a great player, but I have the feeling that Hughes will be a 1st line D while Zadina will be a 2nd line winger at best.

What do you guys think? Hindsight is 20/20 but Hughes looks really good.

I feel that the bold contradicts a bit. A "great" player doesn't have a ceiling as a top 6 forward. Nevertheless, I think Holland made the right move in picking Zadina, at the time I dont think a single analyst had Hughes over Zadina on their draft board. Sure its a little discouraging that Zadina hasn't jumped right into the NHL and made an impact, or even lit up the AHL, but the kid is only 19 and once he adjusts to the pro game I think will be a top line winger for the Wings, or a top 6 at worst.

My concern with Hughes was always his size, I could see being a top pairing guy being a challenge for him. With that said, I hope he proves me wrong. I'm sure people never thought Krug had a shot as a top 4 guy.

 

[ShanahanMan]

Ironically, press said we would have actually taken Boqvist, not Hughes, if Zadina was off the board.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

On the one hand, I feel EXTREMELY vindicated, because Hughes is definitely ahead of the rest of the defensemen in his class not named Dahlin, and that season, the debate over whether to take him, Boqvist, Bouchard, and Dobson was heated. I absolutely was hardcore Team Hughes, and everyone should listen to Cyborg Yzerberg about everything.

However, Zadina seemed like the third best player of the draft, and it's hard to pass on that at 6. He may still be. Everyone needs to chill.

 

[Lampedampe]

On the one hand, I feel EXTREMELY vindicated, because Hughes is definitely ahead of the rest of the defensemen in his class not named Dahlin, and that season, the debate over whether to take him, Boqvist, Bouchard, and Dobson was heated. I absolutely was hardcore Team Hughes, and everyone should listen to Cyborg Yzerberg about everything.

However, Zadina seemed like the third best player of the draft, and it's hard to pass on that at 3. He may still be. Everyone needs to chill.

I refuse to listen to Cyborg Yzerberg, Dobson will easily surpass this Hughes guy in a couple of years!

In the same spirit I think it would be wise for people to chill when it comes to Zadina, it's only been one season and development isn't linear. Zadina may end up not even going top 20 in a re-draft 5 years from now, or he might go 2#oa if he starts putting it all together, because he certainly has the tools for it. We just have to wait and see really.

 

[Nut Upstrom]

I still say that Ty Smith was the way to go, but I fault no one for going with Zadina and I still have faith in the kid.
To quote a very wise man, "everyone needs to chill."

 

[raymond23]

I wanted Hughes but can’t blame Kenny at all thfor drafting Zadina. Hughes is showing more promise at the moment but there’s plenty of hockey to be played.

 

[izlez]

I was leaning towards Dobson or Kotkaniemi before the draft, but as soon as picks 6 and 7 happened I had this bad feeling that we missed out on Hughes and realized he was the guy I wanted.

But I don't think any one in the top 10 is swapping their guy for Zadina today, so yeah I think we missed out

 

[Hen Kolland]

I would be interested to see what Yzerman would have done in 2018 at #6 for the Wings. He's obviously focused on the back end at these early stages with Seider, Tuomisto, Johansson in the first two rounds of 2019. Is he a believer in the Hughes or Boqvist mold? I tend to think not with how Tampa's defense was outfitted towards the end with Hedman, McDonagh, Sergachev; that's some pretty solid size, but also complete defensemen. Does he go with a forward like Zadina? Does he go with the complete defenseman like Dobson? How does that trickle down to 2019?

Personally, I had Dobson up near the top for a number of months leading up to draft night, and that's still where I would have gone in hindsight. Still think there is a path for Zadina to be a success, but it's just going to take some time for him to learn how to best implement his game into what works. Early viewings of Mantha in his 6th year of professional hockey, he's doing things that he would rarely attempt even 3 years ago. For a majority of D+1 players we are talking about even 2-3 years before they even show a glimpse of being able to do what Zadina did in his first year, so the worry I think is probably a bit overdone at this point. Based on everything we have seen, and all the things that have changed since, I think I would still take Zadina over Hughes

 

[Jon Cusack]

Ironically, press said we would have actually taken Boqvist, not Hughes, if Zadina was off the board.

I thought the talk had us taking Bouchard

 

[steafo]

On the one hand, I feel EXTREMELY vindicated, because Hughes is definitely ahead of the rest of the defensemen in his class not named Dahlin, and that season, the debate over whether to take him, Boqvist, Bouchard, and Dobson was heated. I absolutely was hardcore Team Hughes, and everyone should listen to Cyborg Yzerberg about everything.

However, Zadina seemed like the third best player of the draft, and it's hard to pass on that at 6. He may still be. Everyone needs to chill.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

I'm writing off Zadina he is almost 20. He should have scored at least 50 goals in the NHL by now, what a bust.

 

[TCNorthstars]

I'm writing off Zadina he is almost 20. He should have scored at least 50 goals in the NHL by now, what a bust.

Exactly. The Captain needs to call up Kenny and get a deal done. Zadina and a 5th rounder for Teletubbie.

 

[Pavels Dog]

Hughes is skilled as hell but he's also got his size as a pretty big obstacle towards being a top-pairing D. I feel like a lot of these small, offensively gifted D get hyped when they enter the league and put up points, but eventually they start getting exposed as defensive liabilities. Zadina is currently not quite developing like we have hoped, but in the end I wouldn't be surprised if both of these kids end up at a similar value.

 

[tfong]

Maybe. Hughes looks really good.

 

[Claypool]

Can we not?

 

[Hammettf2b]

Ironically, press said we would have actually taken Boqvist, not Hughes, if Zadina was off the board.

Wings writers had us picking Bouchard

 

[TheMule93]

Picking Zadina was absolutely the right decision at the time. Pointless to argue about it now.

 

[izlez]

Picking Zadina was absolutely the right decision at the time. Pointless to argue about it now.

You can't just say that. If he's a massive bust, and it's not due to injury or some other unknown freak circumstance, it was the wrong pick at the time.

...not to say this isn't pointless to bring up now and does not deserve it's own thread

 

[Flowah]

Wings writers had us picking Bouchard

I remember plenty of posters here talking about Hughes before the draft. I don't keep up with that stuff enough to have even heard his name on my own. The only reason I'd know about him is because people here kept talking about him. Seems they might have been right.

 

[TheOtherOne]

!remindme 5 years

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

I think most know where I had Hughes and how I feel about him as a player. I dropped an expletive when we made the pick.

Filip Zadina is a very talented hockey player. He is learning to round out his game and how to find and capitalize on space in NA pro hockey. He has gotten a lot better, development takes longer than most seem willing to admit. I don't get a lot out of these threads. Even I have made the what about Hughes but I just love his game, but seriously Zadina has the abilities to be a massive part of this organization. People need to and I hate quoting that ******* in GB, but RELAX!!!

 

[Retire91]

So incredibly early for this discussion. Think of Mantha's path to the pros and how often people got shakey on him, even management released some statements during his development. The only difference now is Holland's veterans are clearing out the log jam so we can see these guys earlier. A lot of players you don't know what you have until 22,23,24 y.o. You need top 5 draft picks to sniff elite NHL ready players. Give the guy a chance, and by a chance, I mean like 2 more years.

 

[MBH]

Just wondering, do you think we have made a mistake picking Zadina over Hughes? I still believe Zadina will be a great player, but I have the feeling that Hughes will be a 1st line D while Zadina will be a 2nd line winger at best.

What do you guys think? Hindsight is 20/20 but Hughes looks really good.

Way too early to say.
But in general, yes.
I think we needed defense. It was a defense rich draft.
I had Dobson ahead of Hughes, Bouchard and Boqvist - but I think the smart move would have been taking any of those four.

 

[HisNoodliness]

I personally would have taken Boqvist. And had Zadina next. After that I think Hughes but I don't remember exactly, I also liked Dobson. Regardless, I think Zadina was more than an acceptable choice. No matter how the chips fall eventually, at the time, he was a great selection. Sometimes prospects don't live up to expectations. That's not the case yet, this thread is three years too early even if we're willing to use hind sight on this one.