Zadina

[Steve Yzerlland]

Necas is so depressing because we were so close to taking him. Ugh.

Naw i rather have Trashmussen (don't care that he scored today)

 

[Gniwder]

That is not remotely close to being on the same planet in terms of skill to execute...

Are you kidding? He picks a corner while skating full speed, Zadina couldn't skate that fast in his dreams.

3:30 Helm scores a breakaway
3:55 Single handedly kills 30 seconds on a PK, goes 1 on 4 and gets a shot on goal
Show me a single Zadina highlight that comes even close, Helm got a standing ovation for a penalty kill
6:52 Slapper from the top of the circle, harder than anything I've seen from Zadina
7:05 top shelf again
7:55 top corner on a breakaway
Next three goal sequences are nice too
10:15 we forget there was a time when this team could convert a 2 on 1
11:14 top corner again
12:47 deked a defender off his skates and scores top corner
Another one where I'd like to see a similar Zadina highlight that comes close
15:29 1 on2 during a PK, top corner again
16:10 Datsyuk goes between the legs, Helm gets the rebound (not really a Helm highlight but worth mentioning Datsyuk, lol)
19:51 booming slapper from top of the circle
21:37 top shelf from high slot

Darren Helm before his back injury was a different player. I watched the whole video because I remember being a Helm fan. Tenacious, fast, and physical. Booming hits, and "the best 3rd line center in the league" as Babcock said.

Most Wings fan thought he'd develop better scoring touch, instead that back injury turned him into what he is today. Shit happens I guess, but Zadina hasn't come close to displaying what Helm had in his younger days. His speed alone was a game breaker, Zadina can barely get by one defender, hasn't beat two yet.

 

[jaster]

Helm had some nice goals back in the day, but for the most part the guy has had hands of stone his whole career.

In those recently posted clips, the Helm goal is well below the Zadina goal in terms of degree of difficulty. The Helm goal was nice, not taking anything away from it. But that goal is not uncommon. Most NHLers can shoot at top speed without much issue. Not many guys can score the goal Zadina scored though. That puck was waaaay in front of him. To torque your body the way he did and get a shot off, never mind a top shelf shot hard enough to beat the goalie, is something not many guys can do. For anyone who's played hockey and aren't benders, you know. It's a flash of skill Helm has never shown. I suspect it's a preview of coming attractions with Zadina as he gets more comfortable.

 

[Gniwder]

Helm had some nice goals back in the day, but for the most part the guy has had hands of stone his whole career.

In those recently posted clips, the Helm goal is well below the Zadina goal in terms of degree of difficulty. The Helm goal was nice, not taking anything away from it. But that goal is not uncommon. Most NHLers can shoot at top speed without much issue. Not many guys can score the goal Zadina scored though. That puck was waaaay in front of him. To torque your body the way he did and get a shot off, never mind a top shelf shot hard enough to beat the goalie, is something not many guys can do. For anyone who's played hockey and aren't benders, you know. It's a flash of skill Helm has never shown. I suspect it's a preview of coming attractions with Zadina as he gets more comfortable.

The downward move is what flexes his stick. It's an interesting move that Zadina did, but it's not some great skill that's going to make him a big goal scorer. I mean how often is he gonna do that in his career where it's useful? I think you're just fascinated by the contortionist aspect, it's not really anything that's gonna make him a more valuable player.

I'd rather see Zadina skate full speed an slam home a slapper or a snap shot. If it's so easy, how come he hasn't done it this season? Yes, it's a more common NHL skill, because it's a MORE USEFUL NHL skill.

You should watch the whole video either way, reminds me of why he played in 2 Cup finals.

Edit: You should watch the segment at 3:55. He wasn't always hands of stone though somewhat inconsistent. I really think the back injury did him in.

 

[MBH]

Most Wings fan thought he'd develop better scoring touch, instead that back injury turned him into what he is today. Shit happens I guess, but Zadina hasn't come close to displaying what Helm had in his younger days. His speed alone was a game breaker, Zadina can barely get by one defender, hasn't beat two yet.

Look, Helm, at best, was going to be Kris Draper or Kirk Maltby - and that's pretty damn good.
I don't remember there ever being a time when anyone thought he'd be more than that.

 

[MBH]

Zadina has been good. Anyone saying otherwise is purely stat watching. The kid is zipping around out there. Of course more goals would be nice, but I'm ok with a PPG around 0.5, especially on a team with an anemic offense.

Last time he was on a line with Larkin, it didn't work, but they looked good yesterday.

Zadina has been pretty disappointing and anyone who says differently is untethered to reality.
Svechnikov has just tied him with 3 goals. 8 games for Svech. 29 games for Zadna.

Kid is zipping around out there????? Jesus.

The reason this team has an anemic offense is because our best players suck.
If Larkin, Mantha and Zadina were producing the way they should, our offense wouldn't suck.

Larkin should have 10 goals by now. So there's 4.
Mantha should have 13 goals. So there's 8.
Zadina should have 7. There's 12.

Still puts us below average, but a lot more respectable.
You look at some of our bottom sixers.
Erne, Glendening. Can't fault them.

Zadina really ain't that good.
He almost never shows any sort of game-breaking, game-taking-over ability.
He looks like a decent complementary player.

Hopefully, next year, a full season on North America, with a full camp in North America, helps him regain some swagger in his game.

 

[MBH]

His shot is predictable, but not weak. The biggest failure with Zadina’s powerplay usage is that Hronek is incapable of opening up and giving him a half decent pass in his wheel house. Predictable shots that Zadina has to labor to get off aren’t going to help.

I know you were conveniently absent when this goal happened, at least absent online.



But yeah, his shot is just weak and predictable and can’t beat goalies.

LOL.
Doing something once isn't a sign that you can do it regularly.


If his shot is so good, why can't he score?
Why does Zadina have 3 goals in 29 games?
Is this the part where you blame everyone else on the team for Zadina not scoring on all those one-timers he's positioned for?

Red Wings prospects would KILL for the opportunity Zadina gets every night and Zadina does f*** all with it.

 

[Gniwder]

Look, Helm, at best, was going to be Kris Draper or Kirk Maltby - and that's pretty damn good.
I don't remember there ever being a time when anyone thought he'd be more than that.

He had 32 pts as a 24 YO playing 3C on a checking line. Nobody expected him to be a goal scoring threat, but everyone expected his point total to increase and his puck skills to become more refined. Then the injury happened, and he's never looked the same.

To put things into perspective, Helm blew out his back right after he turned 25 which is about the same age Svech is now (24 1/2).

Edit: Also Helm at 24 pretty much matched Draper/Maltby at their peak, and Helm was faster than both. The expectation was that he would be a better version of Draper. How many players besides Mantha start regressing at age 25?

 

[jaster]

The downward move is what flexes his stick. It's an interesting move that Zadina did, but it's not some great skill that's going to make him a big goal scorer. I mean how often is he gonna do that in his career where it's useful? I think you're just fascinated by the contortionist aspect, it's not really anything that's gonna make him a more valuable player.

I'd rather see Zadina skate full speed an slam home a slapper or a snap shot. If it's so easy, how come he hasn't done it this season? Yes, it's a more common NHL skill, because it's a MORE USEFUL NHL skill.

You should watch the whole video either way, reminds me of why he played in 2 Cup finals.

Edit: You should watch the segment at 3:55. He wasn't always hands of stone though somewhat inconsistent. I really think the back injury did him in.

Taking a shot at high speed isn't more common because it's more useful, it's more common because it's easier, including easier to place it. 99% of the time in Zadina's case players just take that puck on their backhand and circle the net. With Zadina's goal, it's not that the move he made to score that goal will be replicated 50 times in his career. It's that it demonstrates an offensive ability that most guys don't have. An offensive ability that I believe can be employed in a number of different situations as his career unfolds.

I'm not guaranteeing that Zadina will be a star, I'm simply saying that he flashes abilities that indicate he has a star ceiling. Helm never had that. He had speed, and that's what created most of his offense. Most guys don't have that speed, including Zadina. So how useful Helm's goal was based on that speed doesn't really matter. It's a different skillset.

I liked Helm for a long time. When Babcock said he was the best 3C in the league, that was very likely accurate. And it wasn't because of any stellar offensive ability btw (it also didn't last as long as a lot of us had hoped; partly due to injury, yes). The problem with a highlight reel is you're only seeing the successes and not the plethora of failures. The guy is a 7.8% career shooter in 724 games. That's pretty bad. And while Zadina's career % is only 1 point higher, he's also only played in 66 games. I'd confidently bet that his shooting % will rise in the coming seasons.

 

[jaster]

LOL.
Doing something once isn't a sign that you can do it regularly.

Because Witkowski once scored a breakaway goal you think that's some kind of proof that Zadina's goal was a fluke and that he wouldn't be able to duplicate it? It's foolish if after watching that Zadina goal you think he just got lucky. That took a level of ability not even remotely required by a fighter or bender to score on a breakaway.

Look, you're hellbent on a mission against Zadina right now, fine, I get it. He's been disappointing. But don't go around telling others they are untethered to reality when you are posting junk like this.

 

[JoesuffP]

Zadina doesn’t have the booming shot but what makes him a great shooter is his ability to shoot in traffic quickly and get his shot off in all types of angles. Wings need better possession numbers and the scoring will go up. His skill level is way beyond anybody else on the team IMO you can see it in his zone entries. It’s just such a battle to get the puck in the offensive zone and spend any time there

 

[Gniwder]

Taking a shot at high speed isn't more common because it's more useful, it's more common because it's easier, including easier to place it. 99% of the time in Zadina's case players just take that puck on their backhand and circle the net. With Zadina's goal, it's not that the move he made to score that goal will be replicated 50 times in his career. It's that it demonstrates an offensive ability that most guys don't have. An offensive ability that I believe can be employed in a number of different situations as his career unfolds.

Whatever. So you're saying he can do tough moves but not the easy ones. So he's waiting for that perfect moment to show off mad skills and that's why he's only got 3 goals. Maybe he should simply his game then and score more goals.

 

[jaster]

Zadina doesn’t have the booming shot but what makes him a great shooter is his ability to shoot in traffic quickly and get his shot off in all types of angles. Wings need better possession numbers and the scoring will go up. His skill level is way beyond anybody else on the team IMO you can see it in his zone entries. It’s just such a battle to get the puck in the offensive zone and spend any time there

Almost mentioned the other day that I'd like to see Zadina used in the bumper/pivot spot on the PP because of this exact reason.

 

[Gniwder]

Zadina doesn’t have the booming shot but what makes him a great shooter is his ability to shoot in traffic quickly and get his shot off in all types of angles. Wings need better possession numbers and the scoring will go up. His skill level is way beyond anybody else on the team IMO you can see it in his zone entries. It’s just such a battle to get the puck in the offensive zone and spend any time there

He hasn't even gone to the high traffic areas until the last few games, which is why he doesn't have many goals. That's an area where I've seen some big improvement so I'm not going to criticize him much for that.

The goals will come soon, but you guys are overrating his abilities. His skating is going to limit any stick handling that he can do. He's gotta take a similar approach to Fabbri and start looking for open spots, be in the right place for his linemates to feed him.

 

[jaster]

Whatever. So you're saying he can do tough moves but not the easy ones. So he's waiting for that perfect moment to show off mad skills and that's why he's only got 3 goals. Maybe he should simply his game then and score more goals.

Ha. I'm saying he's a 21 year old kid in the NHL, is still developing, is on a shit team, and that he has shown abilities that indicate he is clearly capable of becoming better. Whether he does or not none of us can say. But while MBH continues his rampage about how bad Zadina has been, I'm choosing to be more patient with the kid. I've seen what he's capable of and I believe with some combination of more confidence, more consistency, and better talent around him he should be able to take his game to another level. That's it.

 

[jaster]

He hasn't even gone to the high traffic areas until the last few games, which is why he doesn't have many goals. That's an area where I've seen some big improvement so I'm not going to criticize him much for that.

The goals will come soon, but you guys are overrating his abilities. His skating is going to limit any stick handling that he can do. He's gotta take a similar approach to Fabbri and start looking for open spots, be in the right place for his linemates to feed him.

Well, I'm not overrating his abilities, so take that

I can agree with the last part. Finding soft spots on the ice is certainly an area where he can improve (very common among young players in the NHL). In the meantime, like any kid in the NHL, you watch the abilities they flash and you project that out to guess at what they'll become. Or at least what they are capable of becoming. That's all I'm doing with Zadina. I'm not saying he's an all-star right now.

 

[JoesuffP]

Also worth noting that the leading goal scorer on this team has a whopping 7 goals. Goal scoring has been an issue for the team in general and some of these guys are proven 30 goal guys. I have zero concerns about Zadina at this point of his career

 

[14ari13]

He had a beauty of a hit last night, a highlight hit.

 

[Gniwder]

Also worth noting that the leading goal scorer on this team has a whopping 7 goals. Goal scoring has been an issue for the team in general and some of these guys are proven 30 goal guys. I have zero concerns about Zadina at this point of his career

Not sure which team you're watching, but Fabbri has 10 goals and would probably have more if he had been playing with Larkin instead of playing 2C.

Fabbri knows where to go when he's with Larkin. Zadina hung around the FO dot for the first half of the season. The reason why Zadina doesn't have many goals is because he kept taking low percentage shots. The stats back it up. Now he's going into the high percentage area, so I expect his numbers to go up.

If you're going to argue, at least watch the games or look up stats for the right team.

 

[jaster]

Not sure which team you're watching, but Fabbri has 10 goals and would probably have more if he had been playing with Larkin instead of playing 2C.

Fabbri knows where to go when he's with Larkin. Zadina hung around the FO dot for the first half of the season. The reason why Zadina doesn't have many goals is because he kept taking low percentage shots. The stats back it up. Now he's going into the high percentage area, so I expect his numbers to go up.

If you're going to argue, at least watch the games or look up stats for the right team.

To be fair, the spirit of his point remains. Detroit does have the second worst offense in the NHL.

As an aside, Fabbri is a water bug. And when he really gets going he's a god damn honey badger. I love Fabbri. More Fabbri, please.

 

[jaster]

Power Play Points per 60 Minutes, among Red Wings with at least 30 minutes on the PP this season.....

1. 8.65 - Erne
2. 7.49 - Bertuzzi
3. 3.87 - Zadina

Everyone else is under 2.00.

FWIW.

 

[Oddbob]

I like so much of the way Zadina is playing, although not lying, I was hoping for a lot more than 3 goals in a 29 game stretch. I would like to see him at least at 8-10 in that stretch.

 

[Ezekial]

Because Witkowski once scored a breakaway goal you think that's some kind of proof that Zadina's goal was a fluke and that he wouldn't be able to duplicate it? It's foolish if after watching that Zadina goal you think he just got lucky. That took a level of ability not even remotely required by a fighter or bender to score on a breakaway.

Look, you're hellbent on a mission against Zadina right now, fine, I get it. He's been disappointing. But don't go around telling others they are untethered to reality when you are posting junk like this.

AA only has 1 point in 7 games so he needs to project.

 

[Frk It]

The goals will come soon, but you guys are overrating his abilities.

If he is half as bad as you say he is, the scouts should be fired for taking him top 10. Or since those scouts have moved on (weird they still have jobs), we should say the same for those that took Raymond top 5 (who you also love to shit on).

 

[Frk It]

Look, you're hellbent on a mission against Zadina right now, fine, I get it. He's been disappointing. But don't go around telling others they are untethered to reality when you are posting junk like this.

Right.