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Prospect Info: 6th Overall Pick: Pavel Zacha

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just looking at him in the face, he reminds me what I thought of when I saw MacKinnon. Young looking for sure... but a man's build. Looks more like a man than most of the other kids drafted.

I think he 'could' play in the NHL, but not necessarily be effective. It sounds like he clearly needs development time.
 
We're not making the playoffs next season (barring some serious Shero magic), so there's no reason to rush him to the NHL unless you really, really want to let him play with Elias.
 
if they dont let Zacha play at LEAST 6 games with Elias then thats a crime to the poor kids hopes.

you can almost be assured he will get NHL time this year; and if he shines I think he stays. he has the size and tools to at least be productive. and if not send him back to juniors for a year.
 
Shero said he will be at camp and have a shot and was a part of the reason Gomez isn't coming back (along with letting JJ play a larger role).

So ya that is happening.
 
If we don't assign him a number, that will be a big change for this organization. :laugh:
 
Do NOT want him in the NHL next year. He's fast, physical, and a good shooter. That's a great set of tools, but he needs to work on the toolbox. It's a lot of work to put those things together and learn when to leverage all of those different talents.

He is definitely not yet at the point where he has nothing left to prove in the OHL.

I want to take our time with this kid. He could be a monster if groomed properly.
 
Classic Devil said:
We're not making the playoffs next season (barring some serious Shero magic), so there's no reason to rush him to the NHL unless you really, really want to let him play with Elias.
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Team probably needs a net improvement of +40 goals so Palmieri, Larsson, Henrique, and Severson really need to take a big step forward. And SChneider needs to be even better (.930+ SV%) for us to have a shoot at the playoffs.
 
Give the kid his 6/7 games at least. Don't burn off a ELC year if he's not ready, but if he is, roll with him. Pastrnak was a Czech kid who played pretty well coming out of his draft year. Boston's deeper, so it's easier to protect his development, but then again Zacha was a much higher touted player. I'm sure Hynes knows a thing or two about developing players, so I'd trust Zacha under his guidance.

I wouldn't hold him up too long if he's clearly not ready though. Edmonton kind of mismanaged Draisaitl this year. If the kid is showing that he needs more time to develop then send him back, let him tear up the OHL and get another chance to represent his country at the WJC.
 
One thing to remember is that our Coaching staff is build to teach. I mean thats the reason a lot of them got there jobs.

If the kid even remotely shows he belongs you have to wonder if you would want someone else teaching him or our staff.

Its all on him in my eyes. He comes in and shows something then im fine with him making a jump right away. If not then i understand send him back. But i think its silly to just go into the season and send him down regardless.

Something else i found interesting was Shero mentioning how Staal came in and played LW his first season and scored 29 goals but they still viewed him as a center. It may be that Zacha makes the roster as a winger and moves to center next season.
 
Awesome pick. Best forward prospect we have had since Parise. I wanted Barzal, followed by Zacha for the longest time, but I started leaning more towards Zacha in the last two weeks leading up to the draft. After reading more about him and watching highlights of him. I think I was guilty of stat watching when it came to Zacha, which is what the sheep on the main board seem to judge Zacha on. Also his combination of size/skill and that shot of his is just nasty. Good feeling about this pick and if he has a good camp I'd like to see him get a 9 game look. It's still 9 games before you lose a contract year, right?

Does he have to play two more years of juniors? Or can he go to the AHL?
 
Adam Larsson said:
Awesome pick. Best forward prospect we have had since Parise. I wanted Barzal, followed by Zacha for the longest time, but I started leaning more towards Zacha in the last two weeks leading up to the draft. After reading more about him and watching highlights of him. I think I was guilty of stat watching when it came to Zacha, which is what the sheep on the main board seem to judge Zacha on. Also his combination of size/skill and that shot of his is just nasty. Good feeling about this pick and if he has a good camp I'd like to see him get a 9 game look. It's still 9 games before you lose a contract year, right?

Does he have to play two more years of juniors? Or can he go to the AHL?
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Juniors. Isn't AHL eligible until he is 20.
 
No, no, no, no. Back to Juniors with him. He's terrible defensively, his positioning needs work and, he's not an NHL center in that he couldn't beat me in the faceoff circle (his technique is horrible).

That said, he can have a long look in training camp. 7 games in the preseason is a long enough look.
 
It's a fair point about the staff being a teaching staff. I would like to see him sent back. However, it's not like the kid is going to be banished to the suites a la every young kid that made a single mistake under Pete. He might just be better taught under this staff than in juniors. I still want him back in Sarnia though.
 
Right now, I'd prefer him sent back to junior because I think there are still things he can refine there and I don't want to rush his development, but hopefully whatever decision Shero and the coaching staff make after seeing him in training camp (and potentially a couple of NHL games, which I think could do no harm even if he was sent back to juniors after them) will be the best one for Zacha's future.
 
TheUnseenHand said:
It's a fair point about the staff being a teaching staff. I would like to see him sent back. However, it's not like the kid is going to be banished to the suites a la every young kid that made a single mistake under Pete. He might just be better taught under this staff than in juniors. I still want him back in Sarnia though.
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It is an interesting debate that we will have for the rest of the summer. Really depends on how looks at development camp and training camp and the few games he will get.

Having a stress free year in juniors to continue to develop might be best. Having him in our system right away so we can teach him what WE want him to learn might be best.

I think no matter what he has to stay for a few games so if we do send him back to Sarnia he knows what we want him to work on to have a better chance of making the team the following year.
 
I don't like the idea of burning a year of Zacha's ELC with junior eligibility remaining, but at the same time if he comes in and shows that he's ready to be an NHL player, than let him rip. His play could be a catalyst for other guys to up their own production because Zacha is dynamic and has the skill set to make some noise. It all depends how he's utilized and if he shows he's ready. I dont hold him back simply based on his age. More than a few guys have made immediate impacts. If he plays into a roster spot, he should be here.
 
Listening to Shero, sounds like he wanted 1 of 2 specific players to trade up for and after they went off the board he made the Palmieri trade instead. Since it was rumored that we were targeting Montreal's spot or Anaheim's, I'm betting it was Boeser and maybe Roslovic. After he couldn't move up to get a young RH sniper in the draft he quickly changed gears and acquired the type of player he wanted, albeit older but with experience and still some upside.

I thought before the draft that we'd be targeting Boeser, he fills an obvious need and his accounting of his interviews with NJD made it seem like we wanted him. The Palmieri trade went down not long after he was picked.

I would've liked to have both Boeser and Zacha as part of the new core here, but I like Palmieri. I'm
Also impressed by Shero's planning, aggressiveness, and flexibility. I think he's going to build a strong roster here.
 
I wasn't expecting the praise for his maturity that he was getting. They seemed really impressed with his interviews.

Man I wish we could get Lou's take on him as well. Would be interesting.
 
MichaelJ said:
Listening to Shero, sounds like he wanted 1 of 2 specific players to trade up for and after they went off the board he made the Palmieri trade instead. Since it was rumored that we were targeting Montreal's spot or Anaheim's, I'm betting it was Boeser and maybe Roslovic. After he couldn't move up to get a young RH sniper in the draft he quickly changed gears and acquired the type of player he wanted, albeit older but with experience and still some upside.

I thought before the draft that we'd be targeting Boeser, he fills an obvious need and his accounting of his interviews with NJD made it seem like we wanted him. The Palmieri trade went down not long after he was picked.

I would've liked to have both Boeser and Zacha as part of the new core here, but I like Palmieri. I'm
Also impressed by Shero's planning, aggressiveness, and flexibility. I think he's going to build a strong roster here.
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I like hearing he had plan A, It fell through and he quickly went to plan B and executed. We ended up with 2 solid players last night.
 
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