Zadina vs. Hughes

[deca guard]

zadina has great edges and hands , ands an excellent passer . to me his problems hes hearing the foot steps of the big pro boys as hes not the rugged type = pretty boy . my solutions put him on long term development schedule , ahl all this and first half of next season . and during that time ive him off ice training like hudler did with a george st pierre type trainer making him a tougher person . then his talent fortified with a tougher body gives him way more confidence to operate out there . hes got a real high talent level , just needs toughening up

 

[MBH]

i wanted dobson on draft night. i thought that zadina as a winger was kind of redundant on this roster and what it needed....well, it wasn't a wrong pick at that time. But in Dobson everyone, experts and board members, saw pretty good potential and a real defensive anchor, and he probably would be on the wings roster right now, along cholowski and hronek.

when i see zadina, he looks like a talented player. But i dont think he'll be as good as everyone thought on draft night. I can even see him being traded in the next 2 years

EDIT: we kind of have a similar player to dobson in seider now, who seems to be an awesome pick right now. Lets hope zadina becomes a good top 6 player...having him, mantha, AA and larkin as potential 30 goal scorers would be pretty cool

Same. I liked Dobson. Had the size AND skating and skill.
Safer pick. But to me, while not as dynamic a talent as Hughes or Boqvist, has the package to be every bit as good or better
I don't see the Wings trading Zadina... unless he gets super hot and ups his stock price.
Right now, trading Zadina could blow up in your face. Value isn't as high as it could be.

 

[MBH]

What microscope? The kid has done nothing but be cocky and keep trading water. I'm sorry I expect more from a projected top 3 pick than what hes done. I have said from day one his go to move of walking off the half wall and ripping a slapshot was not going to work. Guess what is has not worked at all. I do see some improvement in him coming back, but hes still really slow about coming back out of the ozone. I know you can't say the truth here with out the butt hurt coming out.

He's not lived up to early expectations. That's a given.
But what if he improves that first and second step and gets stronger?

 

[Nemesis Prime]

Yep Bouchard was the pick if not Zadina. Khan said it shortly after the draft

This hurts my soul. I would have loved to draft Bouchard.

 

[Ezekial]

Edit: nm dude f*** it

 

[The Flying Octopus]

You guys are absolutely ridiculous when talking about a young buck who needed molding even before he was drafted. Give it time. What’s the point of him on the Wings right now?!? None!

 

[NickH8]

Just because Zadina isn't following the trend of kids making the NHL before they're 20 doesn't mean he's a bust. If he were drafted 16th instead of 6th we'd be going nuts about him. Give him time to develop and gain confidence, I'd be willing to bet he has a 30 goal season before he's 23.

 

[Goalie guy]

He's not lived up to early expectations. That's a given.
But what if he improves that first and second step and gets stronger?

That's the hope right? I simply asked one poster what he seen in him that makes him feel hes trending in that direction?

 

[Goalie guy]

Just because Zadina isn't following the trend of kids making the NHL before they're 20 doesn't mean he's a bust. If he were drafted 16th instead of 6th we'd be going nuts about him. Give him time to develop and gain confidence, I'd be willing to bet he has a 30 goal season before he's 23.

Who called him a bust? And he was not taken at 16 he some how fell to us at 6, are we now seeing why he fell to us at 6? But the question from the OP was Hughes VS Z and right now it's not even close like not at all. Ones in the NHL ones a 2nd line player in the AHL.

 

[MBH]

That's the hope right? I simply asked one poster what he seen in him that makes him feel hes trending in that direction?

That's a good way to earn a lecture on being a real fan

 

[Hen Kolland]

Who called him a bust? And he was not taken at 16 he some how fell to us at 6, are we now seeing why he fell to us at 6? But the question from the OP was Hughes VS Z and right now it's not even close like not at all. Ones in the NHL ones a 2nd line player in the AHL.

I forgot that the second week of the second season determines the entirety of their careers. Thanks for the reminder that rushing to conclusions is the proper way to handle these things.

 

[Goalie guy]

I forgot that the second week of the second season determines the entirety of their careers. Thanks for the reminder that rushing to conclusions is the proper way to handle these things.

WTF are you going on about? The entirety of their career? In case you can't read I asked who called him a bust! I know it's hard, slow down and re read things there bud.

 

[Hen Kolland]

WTF are you going on about? The entirety of their career? In case you can't read I asked who called him a bust! I know it's hard, slow down and re read things there bud.

You said “it’s not even close” when comparing them because one is in the NHL and one is in the AHL. As if where they are playing today makes a shred of difference as to what the players will ultimately accomplish in their careers.

Quit trying to be such a hardo, your posts are barely readable as it is.

 

[Goalie guy]

You said “it’s not even close” when comparing them because one is in the NHL and one is in the AHL. As if where they are playing today makes a shred of difference as to what the players will ultimately accomplish in their careers.

Quit trying to be such a hardo, your posts are barely readable as it is.

Good try at putting words in my mouth! I said right now it's not close and it's not. Sorry you don't like that but it's true. I never said anything about their future play any where lol.

 

[Hen Kolland]

Good try at putting words in my mouth! I said right now it's not close and it's not. Sorry you don't like that but it's true. I never said anything about their future play any where lol.

My point is “right now” or “two weeks into their second year” is not important in the slightest because their careers are still just getting started.

Neither Hughes or Zadina have done anything to distance themselves from one another. This debate really comes down to did you prefer a defenseman or a forward.

 

[Goalie guy]

I'm not saying at the time it was the wrong pick, we kinda had to take him. We all know we where not taking Hughes either way.

 

[BinCookin]

All I know for sure is this:
We were all looking at the D men available in that draft.

When Zadina fell to us to grab. Almost everyone on this board wanted Zadina. Just because he fell. People were saying we got the 3rd best player at 6, what a win.
This is how drafts go. Fans usually know almost nothing except the combined lists. And that number defines the player.

Detroit picked Zadina. But if HFBoards had a poll to see who we would have picked at 6... it would also have been Zadina.

P.S. Its too early to even judge Zadina, I reserve judgement for Sept 2020.

 

[2xJack]

I want to be clear that I'm not calling Zadina a bust. However, I've prepared myself for that conclusion. I believe all the signs are there. Yes, he does have elite skill and there are very good characteristics that explain why he was viewed as one of the best in his draft class. However, there are some very obvious signs that point to him being a bust. He plays smaller than he is, on the slow side and not strong. His game is very, very one dimensional. When teams scrutinized him, his stock fell. Did the Wings get a steal at 6, or did we just not pick up on what others saw? I'm thinking the latter. We probably should have passed and picked a D.

His whole start to this season has been poor, from training camp through five games in the AHL. We can include his games with the Wings last season as well as his first pro season in GR. The offensive potential hasn't yielded much in the way of results. He does not look dangerous out there, it is more like overwhelmed. Lots of mistakes and bad decisions. He's a defensive liability and the numbers show it.

It's still possible he figures it all out and goes on to be an impact player at the NHL level. I don't think it is going to happen, though. I think it is much more likely he plays out his ELC in GR and then moves over to Europe, where the bigger ice will give him the time needed for his abilities to create offense. Time he doesn't get here because everyone is so big and fast.

 

[NickH8]

I want to be clear that I'm not calling Zadina a bust. However, I've prepared myself for that conclusion. I believe all the signs are there. Yes, he does have elite skill and there are very good characteristics that explain why he was viewed as one of the best in his draft class. However, there are some very obvious signs that point to him being a bust. He plays smaller than he is, on the slow side and not strong. His game is very, very one dimensional. When teams scrutinized him, his stock fell. Did the Wings get a steal at 6, or did we just not pick up on what others saw? I'm thinking the latter. We probably should have passed and picked a D.

His whole start to this season has been poor, from training camp through five games in the AHL. We can include his games with the Wings last season as well as his first pro season in GR. The offensive potential hasn't yielded much in the way of results. He does not look dangerous out there, it is more like overwhelmed. Lots of mistakes and bad decisions. He's a defensive liability and the numbers show it.

It's still possible he figures it all out and goes on to be an impact player at the NHL level. I don't think it is going to happen, though. I think it is much more likely he plays out his ELC in GR and then moves over to Europe, where the bigger ice will give him the time needed for his abilities to create offense. Time he doesn't get here because everyone is so big and fast.

"I'm not saying Zadina is a bust"
"I think he'll play out his elc in the AHL then move over to Europe"
So you think he'll be a bust.
He's proven too much at a pro level at such a young age to be a true bust (not making the NHL). It's well within the realm of possibility that he isn't what the hype suggested, but I'm still 95% confident he'll be a 20 goal scorer, and about 50/50 on him being a 30 goal scorer.

 

[2xJack]

"I'm not saying Zadina is a bust"
"I think he'll play out his elc in the AHL then move over to Europe"
So you think he'll be a bust.
He's proven too much at a pro level at such a young age to be a true bust (not making the NHL). It's well within the realm of possibility that he isn't what the hype suggested, but I'm still 95% confident he'll be a 20 goal scorer, and about 50/50 on him being a 30 goal scorer.

To express my view with odds, this is how I see it:
50/50 that Zadina plays in 30+ career NHL games
10% chance that he scores 20 goals in a season.
2% chance he scores 30+ in a season.

So while I don't think he's a bust yet, I view him as a long shot. I don't value his stock any better than a 3rd round flier, basically. The reason I'm so pessimistic is because for someone who was right near the top of his draft class he's shown so very little to be excited about. Where is the dangerous shot? All I'm seeing are the flaws in his game. He has a ton of work to do before he merits another look in the NHL. I think he's presently behind several forwards in GR for a call up.

When I look at the development of players like Larkin and Rasmussen as teens, or even Seider, and I compare that to the track Zadina is on... well, it does not look good for Zadina. Maybe you still believe, but you have to admit he's under-performed to this point. The best thing going for him is perhaps history. I looked back over the last 10 or so drafts prior to 2018 and most of the forwards taken in the top 6 have played 2-3 seasons minimum in the NHL. I'll be very happy if Zadina can get there from where he's at presently.

 

[Claypool]

We probably should have passed and picked a D.

It ended up being a bad pick, but it happens to every team. The Red Wings are not immune to bad draft picks. It's something this fanbase will have to get over during a rebuild. When you start drafting in the top 10 every year, there's going to be some bad picks. The best you can do is acquire as many as you can and take a shotgun approach.

 

[ShanahanMan]

He’s a bust. I’m finally gonna say it.

 

[RedWingzz]

This thread should be closed. Zadina vs Hughes is absolutely laughable right now, and disrespectful to Hughes. Anyone who thinks these guys are remotely close right now are either A) biased, B) delusional, C) have special needs or D) are blind.

Hughes is on a different stratosphere. Zadina looks terrible in the AHL.

 

[TatarTangle]

"Just give Brendan Smith until 500 NHL games" (200 games in)

"Nyquist can still be as good as Datsyuk" (A YEAR AGO)

Benders gonna bend.

 

[ShanahanMan]

"Just give Brendan Smith until 500 NHL games" (200 games in)

"Nyquist can still be as good as Datsyuk" (A YEAR AGO)

Benders gonna bend.

People on here were celebrating the long term Ericsson signing saying he could “turn into” a top pairing defenseman.