Prospect Info: #113 Amadeus Lombardi, 2022 Draft

[Detroit Knights]

If Zadina doesn't improve to at least 3rd line levels in 2023-24 he's waiver fodder. I'm very skeptical about him as a player though.

Veleno also needs to have a big season as well but I think he's at least got trade value. He is someone I can see catching on and developing into a 3C with another organization if he can't hack it in Detroit.

Veleno just doesn't have hockey iq in tight spaces. When he has no time, the puck choices he makes are head scratchers sometimes. I would much rather just waive zadina and veleno or at least make it known that their jobs are in jeopardy in training camp to guys like mazur/hanas/lombardi/etc. (i love hanas.

I absolutely hate to be reminded that we chose zadina over hughes. When zadina was dropping, how did holland and company not sit back and say wait a minute, why does he keep dropping? Hughes was a michigan man, is a defensemen that we needed...All I remember is when it was our pick, they all got up almost immediately to go get zadina. Wish he panned out but what a waste of a 6th overall.

 

[RED WINGS STOMP]

Veleno needs to stop being so soft if he wants to have a successful NHL career. Doesn't like to hit and can be easily taken off the puck.

 

[Detroit Knights]

Veleno just doesn't have hockey iq in tight spaces. When he has no time, the puck choices he makes are head scratchers sometimes. I would much rather just waive zadina and veleno or at least make it known that their jobs are in jeopardy in training camp to guys like mazur/hanas/lombardi/etc. (i love hanas.

I absolutely hate to be reminded that we chose zadina over hughes. When zadina was dropping, how did holland and company not sit back and say wait a minute, why does he keep dropping? Hughes was a michigan man, is a defensemen that we needed...All I remember is when it was our pick, they all got up almost immediately to go get zadina. Wish he panned out but what a waste of a 6th overall.

and don't get me started on picking lindstrom A PICK BEFORE ROBERTSON. my god.

 

[norrisnick]

At least we know who hurt you and when, but that doesn't make it Zadina's fault. He's a middle 6 guy. And paid appropriately.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Veleno just doesn't have hockey iq in tight spaces. When he has no time, the puck choices he makes are head scratchers sometimes. I would much rather just waive zadina and veleno or at least make it known that their jobs are in jeopardy in training camp to guys like mazur/hanas/lombardi/etc. (i love hanas.

I absolutely hate to be reminded that we chose zadina over hughes. When zadina was dropping, how did holland and company not sit back and say wait a minute, why does he keep dropping? Hughes was a michigan man, is a defensemen that we needed...All I remember is when it was our pick, they all got up almost immediately to go get zadina. Wish he panned out but what a waste of a 6th overall.

Oh I fully agree. I had hoped Zadina would be a 30-30-60 kind of guy with solid 2-way play but as the team has very slowly gotten better it appears like Zadina has actually gotten worse. It's like the guy does zero offseason training to get stronger.

Veleno isn't the smartest player of the bunch but I don't think he's necessarily dumb either. He shows good defensive instincts and hustles a lot harder than the average guy. Consistency and confidence have been 2 things I've harped on Veleno about. He showed a great deal of promise in December and January but then disappeared from February until now. Then as soon as Soderblom and Berggren were off his wing it was back to the usual 10 minutes a night, try not to get caved style.

I think it's possible that Veleno develop along the lines of guys that are 2 and 3Cs that took about 3-4 seasons before they fully hit their stride. What he can do to earn the trust of Fester and the rest of the coaching staff is become better on faceoffs. Better linemates would certainly help, too.

Think of guys like Scott Laughton, Morgan Frost, Calle Jarnkrok, Frederick Gaudreau, Nicolas Roy all took some time to get to where they are. Or guys like Adam Lowry that are defensive specialists. I think that's more along the lines of Veleno's ceiling right now. Not cornerstone pieces but a good depth add for just about any team.

 

[jaster]

I can see Veleno as the type of guy who kinda pops at like age 27 and becomes a player with some actual value. A classic late-bloomer. But right now he's damn near worthless. He's a warm body and only separates himself from the dozen quad-A players on this roster because he's young and he's an investment the organization made (and a center, I guess). He's got a bit more rope. Similar to Zadina. And despite Zadina getting harped on waaaaaay more around here (and I get it, he's a 6th, vs Veleno as a 30th), Veleno is also a pretty big disappointment, given how he was thought of when he was drafted (our next 2C!).

My expectation of Veleno at this point is to ride out his Detroit career as a 4C who gets traded or signs elsewhere once he gets to UFA.

 

[Hen Kolland]

I can see Veleno as the type of guy who kinda pops at like age 27 and becomes a player with some actual value. A classic late-bloomer. But right now he's damn near worthless. He's a warm body and only separates himself from the dozen quad-A players on this roster because he's young and he's an investment the organization made (and a center, I guess). He's got a bit more rope. Similar to Zadina. And despite Zadina getting harped on waaaaaay more around here (and I get it, he's a 6th, vs Veleno as a 30th), Veleno is also a pretty big disappointment, given how he was thought of when he was drafted (our next 2C!).

My expectation of Veleno at this point is to ride out his Detroit career as a 4C who gets traded or signs elsewhere once he gets to UFA.

Yeah, based on what we've seen from both of them, there's actually less of a resume for Veleno than Zadina. Anyone portraying Zadina as waiver fodder and Veleno as approaching his last chance is a little misinformed. Factoring in Larkin, Kasper, Copp, Rasmussen, and Suter, Veleno's position as a center isn't actually worth anything right now. If the team was healthy and playing their best players, Veleno is at best a 4th line winger, a la Svechnikov, the late years.

There are presently some significant issues with Veleno's game. He's not particularly defensively aware, he's not improved on the dot, he's not thinking the game any faster. There's been more growth in Zadina's game than there has been Veleno, and that's saying something.

There's no rush for us, however, the pressure coming from behind them is mounting. That goes for Zadina, Veleno, and Berggren. You can't stand still for as long as they have. I know people were excited about Berggren to start this year, but outside of that 3 game dead cat bounce to start April, it's still scary bad. 7 points, -12 in his last 25 games. Excluding those three games, it's 3 points, -17 in 11 games.

Zadina, Veleno, and Berggren were supposed to be the ones to supplement and improve from Mantha, Bert, and Athanasiou who were supposed to improve from Nyquist and Tatar who were supposed to replace Datsyuk and Zetterberg.

And each wave has actually been worse than the one before it.

Eventually that trend was/is bound to stop, and the next wave was going to be actually better than the previous ones. Well here come Raymond and Kasper and Mazur and Lombardi and more. The time will reach a point where the 2018 class just doesn't get the benefit of the doubt anymore, and it's a lot closer than it felt last year.

 

[Detroit Knights]

At least we know who hurt you and when, but that doesn't make it Zadina's fault. He's a middle 6 guy. And paid appropriately.

If your responding to me, i didn't bring up his pay...and I rather don't care when middle 6 guys, true middle 6 guys that can actually play a hell of a lot better with size, could take his spot on our roster rather easily. (and i don't see him as a middle 6 either, he is a 4th liner that has to be put on the 3rd because we drafted him to score and has more likely chance to score on the 3rd than 4th)

He was drafted with the expectation of "filling up the nets". He was a goal scorer only. So, he has not lived up to expectations whatsoever. He is dangerously close to taking a roster spot from someone in AHL because of his draft position. You could argue that Cross Hanas has the exact same structure as zadina and I would wager that hanas would perform better than zadina.

 

[norrisnick]

If your responding to me, i didn't bring up his pay...and I rather don't care when middle 6 guys, true middle 6 guys that can actually play a hell of a lot better with size, could take his spot on our roster rather easily. (and i don't see him as a middle 6 either, he is a 4th liner that has to be put on the 3rd because we drafted him to score and has more likely chance to score on the 3rd than 4th)

He was drafted with the expectation of "filling up the nets". He was a goal scorer only. So, he has not lived up to expectations whatsoever. He is dangerously close to taking a roster spot from someone in AHL because of his draft position. You could argue that Cross Hanas has the exact same structure as zadina and I would wager that hanas would perform better than zadina.

Part you, part Ogee.

Size is woefully overrated.

Being mad about draft position should mean Rasmussen gets dumpstered as well. He's certainly not a top 10 guy...

 

[Detroit Knights]

Oh I fully agree. I had hoped Zadina would be a 30-30-60 kind of guy with solid 2-way play but as the team has very slowly gotten better it appears like Zadina has actually gotten worse. It's like the guy does zero offseason training to get stronger.

Veleno isn't the smartest player of the bunch but I don't think he's necessarily dumb either. He shows good defensive instincts and hustles a lot harder than the average guy. Consistency and confidence have been 2 things I've harped on Veleno about. He showed a great deal of promise in December and January but then disappeared from February until now. Then as soon as Soderblom and Berggren were off his wing it was back to the usual 10 minutes a night, try not to get caved style.

I think it's possible that Veleno develop along the lines of guys that are 2 and 3Cs that took about 3-4 seasons before they fully hit their stride. What he can do to earn the trust of Fester and the rest of the coaching staff is become better on faceoffs. Better linemates would certainly help, too.

Think of guys like Scott Laughton, Morgan Frost, Calle Jarnkrok, Frederick Gaudreau, Nicolas Roy all took some time to get to where they are. Or guys like Adam Lowry that are defensive specialists. I think that's more along the lines of Veleno's ceiling right now. Not cornerstone pieces but a good depth add for just about any team.

Again, Veleno, another pick that was supposed to go top 10 I believe and we picked him up at 30 or 31 or w.e. Obviously not terrible with the information they had at the time but we probably were going to pick Sandin and he was picked the pick before us, so maybe he was on the BPA list at that point.

I won't question his hustle because a lot more often than not, he looks like he is trying to outwork everyone. Not a bad thing, but I have always said that you could work hard, work smart, or work hardly smart. Seems like he is trying to work really hard with no real purpose or trying to row a canoe in quick sand.

The guy that responded to you made a good point off of what you said too. When he is like 27-30 he will probably be a great 3rd liner, but we don't need him then, we need him there now.

 

[Detroit Knights]

Part you, part Ogee.

Size is woefully overrated.

Being mad about draft position should mean Rasmussen gets dumpstered as well. He's certainly not a top 10 guy...

I think Rasmussen was just BPA at the time. Hindsight being 20/20 and all, yeah I would of rather had robert thomas or Necas, but here we are.

I also didn't comment on his zadina's size, so I am assuming Ogee did.

Man, just looking back at veleno/zadina/rasmussen draft years, we 100% had a drafting problem with holland lmao.

Then again, maybe yzerman is just getting lucky................

 

[Hen Kolland]

I think Rasmussen was just BPA at the time. Hindsight being 20/20 and all, yeah I would of rather had robert thomas or Necas, but here we are.

I also didn't comment on his zadina's size, so I am assuming Ogee did.

Man, just looking back at veleno/zadina/rasmussen draft years, we 100% had a drafting problem with holland lmao.

Then again, maybe yzerman is just getting lucky................

Spoiler, everyone drafted by the team was BPA when they picked them. Maybe not on an individual list, but on the Wings list. That includes Zadina.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Again, Veleno, another pick that was supposed to go top 10 I believe and we picked him up at 30 or 31 or w.e. Obviously not terrible with the information they had at the time but we probably were going to pick Sandin and he was picked the pick before us, so maybe he was on the BPA list at that point.

I won't question his hustle because a lot more often than not, he looks like he is trying to outwork everyone. Not a bad thing, but I have always said that you could work hard, work smart, or work hardly smart. Seems like he is trying to work really hard with no real purpose or trying to row a canoe in quick sand.

The guy that responded to you made a good point off of what you said too. When he is like 27-30 he will probably be a great 3rd liner, but we don't need him then, we need him there now.

And the guys I compared him to are all realgud 3rd liners. Most became realgud around ages 24-25. Veleno is just 23. I think we have another year or two before we see what he's capable of.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I think Rasmussen was just BPA at the time. Hindsight being 20/20 and all, yeah I would of rather had robert thomas or Necas, but here we are.

I also didn't comment on his zadina's size, so I am assuming Ogee did.

Man, just looking back at veleno/zadina/rasmussen draft years, we 100% had a drafting problem with holland lmao.

Then again, maybe yzerman is just getting lucky................

I didn't comment on Zadina's size. I commented on his lack of athletic ability and commitment to be better. A guy his size can 100% make it in the NHL if they put in the work. Zadina is being lapped by our other prospects.

And anyone who thinks he's a middle 6 NHLer is drinking the silly sauce. Middle 6 wingers in the NHL can score the occasional goal and can play fair to middling defense. Zadina can do neither.

 

[Hen Kolland]

I didn't comment on Zadina's size. I commented on his lack of athletic ability and commitment to be better. A guy his size can 100% make it in the NHL if they put in the work. Zadina is being lapped by our other prospects.

And anyone who thinks he's a middle 6 NHLer is drinking the silly sauce. Middle 6 wingers in the NHL can score the occasional goal and can play fair to middling defense. Zadina can do neither.

Let's cool it on the claims that he's not committed to getting better. There's very little evidence to support that claim. In fact, management and coaching tends to be awkwardly complimentary of how hard he works.

When it comes to any discussion on Zadina, you have really become no different than MBH.

 

[norrisnick]

Metric and on ice events-wise Zadina is one of our best defensive performers. Low event hockey has been thoroughly drilled into his head and he excels at it.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Let's cool it on the claims that he's not committed to getting better. There's very little evidence to support that claim. In fact, management and coaching tends to be awkwardly complimentary of how hard he works.

When it comes to any discussion on Zadina, you have really become no different than MBH.

I'm so sorry I disparaged this player who has shown OBVIOUS improvement every year since being drafted.

But seriously, there was talk of his lack of athleticism in his draft year and we're not seeing him able to battle his way through checks or to the front of the net which makes him almost strictly a perimeter player without a perimeter game. There was talk about an "elite" shot and stickhandling that he clearly doesn't have. We're also seeing how soft Zadina is when he skates by two players locked up in the corner or when he takes the long way to an opposing defenseman and lets them skate up ice and make a play rather than move in to forecheck effectively.

Are the wings coaching staff supposed to blast Zadina publically for this? Or do you think that maybe they're putting in the effort to teach him to play the right way? I'd bet money that's what they're trying to do and they're hoping he's going to get better. I would also like him to get better but don't have much hope it will happen.

Zadina is just not very good as he is now. You stating otherwise or comparing me to MBH doesn't change this fact.

 

[jkutswings]

I really think there's a high probability we have a player with him. Even if he doesn't become this team's Brayden Point type of steal we could use a solid 3rd line center with wheels.

So Helm with (Helluva Set of) Hands?

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

At least we know who hurt you and when, but that doesn't make it Zadina's fault. He's a middle 6 guy. And paid appropriately.

It's a little old. I don't have access to JFresh's Patreon anymore so I'm not sure what the updated one looks like, but this is the opposite of realgud.



EDIT: I found one from when he signed his deal!

 

[NickH8]

Amadeus Lombardi is pretty neat.

 

[Stony Curtis]

And the guys I compared him to are all realgud 3rd liners. Most became realgud around ages 24-25. Veleno is just 23. I think we have another year or two before we see what he's capable of.

Yep. I remember thinking that his learning curve in Juniors showed that we might have to give him a little longer development path. Didn't really pop until his 4th year, and that was 4 yrs after being the first guy to ever be granted "exceptional" status in the Q.

 

[BSHH]

Wasn't Veleno as a prospect once showered with praise here like Lombardi is now? That's not meant as a knock on Lombardi, by the way.

Gruß,
BSHH

 

[Holden Caufield]

Amadeus Lombardi is pretty neat.

Please stay on the topic of Zadina and Veleno and Rasmussen.

Lol is this commentator on cocaine? Lol every play is world class unbelievable? Ahahahahha

Volunteer play by play guy, calling a playoff game 7, between division rivals. How dare he get excited.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

If your responding to me, i didn't bring up his pay...and I rather don't care when middle 6 guys, true middle 6 guys that can actually play a hell of a lot better with size, could take his spot on our roster rather easily. (and i don't see him as a middle 6 either, he is a 4th liner that has to be put on the 3rd because we drafted him to score and has more likely chance to score on the 3rd than 4th)

He was drafted with the expectation of "filling up the nets". He was a goal scorer only. So, he has not lived up to expectations whatsoever. He is dangerously close to taking a roster spot from someone in AHL because of his draft position. You could argue that Cross Hanas has the exact same structure as zadina and I would wager that hanas would perform better than zadina.

Hanas and his heavy boots wouldn't get off the bench if you put him on an NHL roster tomorrow. Zadina being bad does not make Hanas good.

 

[Hen Kolland]

I'm so sorry I disparaged this player who has shown OBVIOUS improvement every year since being drafted.

But seriously, there was talk of his lack of athleticism in his draft year and we're not seeing him able to battle his way through checks or to the front of the net which makes him almost strictly a perimeter player without a perimeter game. There was talk about an "elite" shot and stickhandling that he clearly doesn't have. We're also seeing how soft Zadina is when he skates by two players locked up in the corner or when he takes the long way to an opposing defenseman and lets them skate up ice and make a play rather than move in to forecheck effectively.

Are the wings coaching staff supposed to blast Zadina publically for this? Or do you think that maybe they're putting in the effort to teach him to play the right way? I'd bet money that's what they're trying to do and they're hoping he's going to get better. I would also like him to get better but don't have much hope it will happen.

Zadina is just not very good as he is now. You stating otherwise or comparing me to MBH doesn't change this fact.

Oh no, there’s just a difference between effort bearing no fruit and not putting in the effort. It’s not fair to say he’s not committed to getting better. We might just be looking at a case study of guy who had the perfect blend of insurmountable shortcomings.

That being said, coming back to the original point, if Zadina is a lost cause, Veleno beat him to that point. Veleno doesn’t actually do anything and he has improved to the eye test less than Zadina has. Both are just about out of time to earn a spot in a lineup in Detroit.

We can only hope that the next wave actually hold up their end