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Prospect Info: 6th Overall Pick: Pavel Zacha

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I feel like this will be like Larsson's training camp. He looked GREAT in the pre-season, and we had nothing else going on at defense so it was like 'why not?'.

Depends on what happens in free agency, I guess. Maybe we make a trade or sign a guy as a stopgap, though with Gomez being let go I'm not sure if that'll happen.
 
I don't mind giving him the 9 games to see what he can do and a chance to play with Elias. But he has to really earn to stay beyond that in my humble opinion.
 
From everything Shero and Hynes have been saying, I am fairly confident they aren't going to shoehorn him into the lineup if they don't think it's the right decision for his development.

Hynes was on ESPN's hockey podcast this weekend, and while his comments were mostly pretty boilerplate, if you read between the lines a bit it seems his first focus this season will be on player development. Probably logical if you want to give a bunch of young players a shot. So if after camp, preseason, and the nine game grace period you think Zacha can hang, why not keep him where he can be coached by an NHL staff?
 
If we had drafted Marner or Strome I would be completely against them being in the NHL next season. Zacha even before we drafted him, I felt he could be an NHL player next season. If you don't count his first 5 games where he was adjusting to the ohl he had 32 points in 32 games on a team that had one player over 1ppg. Korolstelev had 55p in 53 games. All of these have to be factors. Again I'm usually totally against rushing an 18 year old but I just feel a little different about this guy same way I felt with Larsson. Zacha has a man's body, what is he 6'3" 210? He's got size, speed, skill, grit, and an above average defensive understanding for someone his age.

It all comes down to how he plays in camp but I think he has better than a 50/50 chance of making this a team. And if he makes the team and looks terrible in the first 9 games then we send him back and lose nothing.
 
Zajacs Bowl Cut said:
I am pretty sure the new CBA changed that to 5 games. I could be wrong.
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That was only for the shortened 2012-13 season. It's still the 10th game that activates a contract year. Sam Reinhart played 9 games for Buffalo last year before they sent him back.
 
Can't remember where I read or heard it, but...

Apparently the details of the game still elude PZ. On the ice, he still intuitively goes to the places you would go on the larger ice surface.

Work on these things at the rookie camp.

Keep working on them at training camp.

If progress on these issues is seen, put him in exhibition games.

If he's progressed enough, try him in regular season games.

Then, send him back to Sarnia. Use the Detroit model and let him get 'over-ripe.'

To me, this seems like the best plan going forward.
 
Regardless of whether he goes back to Sarnia or stays in NJ (and Shero and Hynes seem to be open to both possibilities, so I think that's wise), I don't think it would do any harm to give him a taste of the NHL for about nine games. If he was sent back to juniors after that, he'd have a feel for what the NHL is like (and how it's different from any other level he'd ever played), what he would need to improve on to do well in the NHL, and a hunger to get back there. Nine games could probably only do him good.
 
Drewr15 said:
I don't mind giving him the 9 games to see what he can do and a chance to play with Elias. But he has to really earn to stay beyond that in my humble opinion.
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from a maturity and strength standpoint you can tell he is ahead of many of the other draft picks, just by looking at his physical development i would not be surprised to see him start in NHL and stay
 
kiwidevil said:
https://twitter.com/katiekindrachuk/status/615307327999209472

Bet Lou don't like this
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dM6JAuv.gif


Love the kid already. :laugh:
 
i've been listening to Zacha interviews and watching video and man this kid has me very excited. Great frame, great skills, great head on his shoulders. When all is said and done, I think he has the potential to be the 3rd best player from the draft after McDavid and Eichel.
 
halyndon said:
i've been listening to Zacha interviews and watching video and man this kid has me very excited. Great frame, great skills, great head on his shoulders. When all is said and done, I think he has the potential to be the 3rd best player from the draft after McDavid and Eichel.
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There are probably ten teams saying that about one of their prospects.
 
GhostofKenKlee said:
I think the plan is Zacha on the team. Why would Hynes/Shero trout him out like that?
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I think trotting Zacha out in front of the season-ticket holders and all over twitter has way more to do with being the first thing for this franchise to be excited about (prospect-wise) in over 10 years. I don't doubt he'll get a couple looks in camp; his strength, skating, and shot are already NHL-level. But it's everything else about his game that isn't, and the bottom-6 of an NHL team playing 10 minutes a night is not the way to work on that.

Basically I'm fine if he forces his way on the team, as FMASC mentioned. But I'm more worried about him scoring a nice goal in preseason against Mackenzie Skapski and the New York Wolf Pack, spending the next 30 games on the roster, coming in and out of the lineup, before finally getting sent back to Juniors and burning an ELC year over a misread of his readiness.
 
Hockey Sports Fan said:
I think trotting Zacha out in front of the season-ticket holders and all over twitter has way more to do with being the first thing for this franchise to be excited about (prospect-wise) in over 10 years. I don't doubt he'll get a couple looks in camp; his strength, skating, and shot are already NHL-level. But it's everything else about his game that isn't, and the bottom-6 of an NHL team playing 10 minutes a night is not the way to work on that.

Basically I'm fine if he forces his way on the team, as FMASC mentioned. But I'm more worried about him scoring a nice goal in preseason against Mackenzie Skapski and the New York Wolf Pack, spending the next 30 games on the roster, coming in and out of the lineup, before finally getting sent back to Juniors and burning an ELC year over a misread of his readiness.
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Well our biggest prospect since Larsson anyway, though people are probably more excited for Zacha cause he's a forward, and a more outgoing personality too.

Zacha almost certainly will play his nine games plus preseason so he'll be on the team for the better part of a month and a half at least. But yeah I do worry about the scenario you outline...I could definitely see him having a big preseason and pumping expectations through the roof.
 
halyndon said:
and wasn't he in the conversation for the top pick last year or the year before or did i dream that?
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There was a time early on some thought he could compete to be in the top 5 behind the obvious first two.

If he had a full and great season at Sarnia numbers wise I think he definitely would of competed with Strome and Marner to be picked top 5.

I don't think its an accident that despite the lower numbers Bob had him ranked 6th.
 
NJDevs26 said:
Well our biggest prospect since Larsson anyway, though people are probably more excited for Zacha cause he's a forward, and a more outgoing personality too.

Zacha almost certainly will play his nine games plus preseason so he'll be on the team for the better part of a month and a half at least. But yeah I do worry about the scenario you outline...I could definitely see him having a big preseason and pumping expectations through the roof.
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I do trust this coaching staff on player development then the old staff though so even if he stays I believe that through practice and whatever time he gets he will be learning exactly what he needs to succeed.
 
ForeverJerseyGirl said:
Regardless of whether he goes back to Sarnia or stays in NJ (and Shero and Hynes seem to be open to both possibilities, so I think that's wise), I don't think it would do any harm to give him a taste of the NHL for about nine games. If he was sent back to juniors after that, he'd have a feel for what the NHL is like (and how it's different from any other level he'd ever played), what he would need to improve on to do well in the NHL, and a hunger to get back there. Nine games could probably only do him good.
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Agreed. sure seemed to work for Niedermayer
 
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