I wouldn't go to the lengths he has gone to in arguing with people, but if anyone suggested Zadina would score 10 goals (over a full 82 game season) in his +3 year I think most would consider that disappointing. I get that people don't want to hear that, but it doesn't change the fact Zadina is not the goal scorer we had all hoped he would be when he was drafted. Now I don't blame Max for writing an article on how Zadina is doing the "little things" that are part of being a pro, that's fine. He has to write articles and there isn't a lot to write about right now. So I appreciated the article while understanding that Zadina ins't the offensive player we had hoped we were getting. Maybe that will change and it will be great if he can become the 30 goal scorer we all hoped we were getting.
I guess the question is what player do you think he is, the one who was scoring at a 23 goal/44 point pace last year or the one scoring at a 10 goal/35 point pace this year? Obviously I am not thrilled with the output that we have seen this year, but I also don't think that his output is representative of his ability either. I think he's a better athlete, more well rounded, and all around just better player than he was last year, and I can see a lot of things that lead me to that conclusion. I think numbers are coming, but it might not be this year just given the state of the team.
Things contributing to the low production would be inconsistent support with Bertuzzi being out causing a lot of shuffling of the deck, Ryan and Fabbri have both been in and out of the lineup with injury, Mantha has been up and down in terms of his play, and Larkin has been snakebit himself. A defensive first structure, not always highlighting offensive creativity, with his enhanced focus on the defensive side of the puck is something that cuts into offensive production (look at Larkin's first 3 years: 0.56 ppg, 0.40 ppg, 0.77 ppg). Call it a sophomore slump if you want, but when players have some success and follow it up trying to be a more complete player, offensive production can stagnate. Lastly, and this is something that has been alluded to, some people think the powerplay is designed to flow through Zadina as the shooting threat, but it really hasn't been operating that way since it started having some success. Teams have consistently placed their PK presence leaning towards the right wing side of the ice to limit the time and space for Zadina and Mantha when they line up over there (even though Mantha has flipped sides now). Arguably Hronek's
only true flaw offensively is his struggle to open up and deliver consistent passes to that side, and when PK units are going to shade that side it's going to make it increasingly difficult to come across clean, dangerous scoring chances. The powerplay has had most of it's success looking off Zadina and moving the puck to Larkin on the left wing half wall and letting him move his feet and move the PK; sure some of that success includes passes across to Zadina, but the team lead for powerplay goals is still Adam Erne and Tyler Bertuzzi...two guys who make noise in the slot and net front...not from a shooting position on the faceoff dot.
