F Filip Zadina (2018, 6th, DET) Part 2

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

This is going to be the story of his career as an under appreciated player, even more so playing out in the desert.

He has had 2 really solid WJHC in the 2 years from his draft and a solid D+1 year along with the slow acclimation to the NHL last year with a really good stint in the AHL given his age.

Don't get me wrong, I think Hayton will be a decent NHLer. But I also think he's going to be a complimentary top 6 piece, not the play driving top 6 piece that makes his teammates better.

Zadina and Tkachuk make their linemates better by driving offensive possession. Lafreniere and Cozens were making Hayton better at the WJC as well by doing the same. They drew the toughest defensive coverage during that tournament which is what allowed him to slip by mostly unnoticed. I think as an NHLer he'll have his best career if that's how it plays out on the ice moving forward.

 

[grewalwings]

Y'all should follow his twitter page

 

[topshelf15]

Glad too see this guy starting to come around....Too many good tools on this kid for him not to be a good player soon

 

[wings5]

Loan to Extraliga is finished as Zadina is recalled by Detroit. Finished with 8+6 , 14 pts in 17 gp.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Kinda fizzled out towards the end of the loan.. Also wasn't on the 1st PP unit which I thought was a pretty odd choice by the coach.

 

[The Red Line]

He’s improving slow and steady the old fashioned Red Wings way.

Should take a big step this year. With Larkin as the only real offensive center on the team I hope Zadinas points don’t suffer too much playing with Fabbri or Namestnikov or Nielsen.

 

[newfy]

Kinda fizzled out towards the end of the loan.. Also wasn't on the 1st PP unit which I thought was a pretty odd choice by the coach.

Probably knew he was leaving soon so he let other players in there. I wonder if Zadina was playing a little softer as well once he knew he was coming back and didnt want to get hurt so he can make the wings and do some damage right from the hop here

 

[Preposterone]

Kinda fizzled out towards the end of the loan.. Also wasn't on the 1st PP unit which I thought was a pretty odd choice by the coach.

Trinec has two of the top three scoring forwards in the czech league playing on the wings; theyre stacked. I think it would be a poor idea to prioritize the coaches son whos only going to be there for a couple months over those guys.

 

[Henkka]

He’s improving slow and steady the old fashioned Red Wings way.

Should take a big step this year. With Larkin as the only real offensive center on the team I hope Zadinas points don’t suffer too much playing with Fabbri or Namestnikov or Nielsen.

Would be interesting to see him at Left Wing, like he did at Czechs.

Like Zadina - Larkin - Mantha.

 

[GoBoltz56]

I'm not sure I agree that he "fizzled". Someone may know better, but in keeping track of him I saw he went 2-3 games without a point towards the middle of his 17 games but after that he was putting up points regularly, including a few multi-point games.

 

[Preposterone]

I'm not sure I agree that he "fizzled". Someone may know better, but in keeping track of him I saw he went 2-3 games without a point towards the middle of his 17 games but after that he was putting up points regularly, including a few multi-point games.

I think he was pointless in his last 2 or three games. Doesnt mean he played poorly though, he was still generating shots IIRC

 

[GettingYourMoms]

There are 5 ppg players in czech ELH two of them are 30+ one Is 27 one is 24 and then Hronek who is 23. None of those guys played single game in NHL, then there are former NHL and AHL players who are not even half ppg. You can't expect any player to be ppg player in ELH, because it is low scoring league. I have theory that it is because there s shortage of offensive defensemen , thats why it is so hard to score.

 

[SoundAndFury]

There are 5 ppg players in czech ELH two of them are 30+ one Is 27 one is 24 and then Hronek who is 23. None of those guys played single game in NHL, then there are former NHL and AHL players who are not even half ppg. You can't expect any player to be ppg player in ELH, because it is low scoring league. I have theory that it is because there s shortage of offensive defensemen , thats why it is so hard to score.

And yet, Zadina's team has 3 of those and are scoring over 4 goals per game.

In general, Czech league historically isn't a low-scoring one compared to KHL, SHL or even Liiga. You can see it has 4 teams scoring almost 4 goals per game this year. 2.78 goals per game average which is on par with 2010-2017 era NHL. Don't facilitate a myth just because you probably heard somewhere that "European leagues are low-scoring".

 

[MBH]

Looking at players in the Czech league at 22 and under, Zadina is among the best.
But who the heck is the undrafted is the 19 year old with 5 goals in 6 games? Filip Prikryl at eliteprospects.com

 

[Artorius Horus T]

No offence to Czech fans and Zadina fans but the Extra League is not one of the top pro leagues in Europe
not these days anyways. The scoring title always goes for a Czech player 30+ or 35+ year old, usually
a former NHL player, or a 10-15 season Extra League veteran, or a former KHL:er
-in the top 10-20, lots of 30+ players as well.

1st in points this season Ruzicka born in 1985, as is 2nd in points Gulas
In the top 5 in goals : 2 x 27 year old Czech players, 1 x 29 year old Austrian player (Schneider)
1 x 35 year old Czech player (Smolanek) and 1 x 24 year old (Radim Zohorna)

Not sure where i'd rank Czech Extra League but...Russia, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, German's top leagues for sure
maybe AllSvenskan, VHL as well ahead of them as well, could be more.

So people who think what Zadina has done in the Extra League is promising/good, so far, should take a step back.
maybe another step if i'm honest here.

Dominik Kubalik was the last young player to win the goal scoring title, 16-17 season. - scored 29 goals and was almost ppg,
as 20-21 year old, but even that season, 34 year old (Lukas Pech) won the scoring title.
- few years ago, 40(ish) year olds won the scoring titles and scored most goals in the Czech Extra League.

The last U30 player who has won the Extra League scoring title was Jan Marek, 2005-06 season,
he scored 54 points in 48 games, he was 25 then, BTW. he was one of those players who died in that plane crash.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

I'm reading Alexander Nylander vibes from Zadina.

 

[SoundAndFury]

No offence to Czech fans and Zadina fans but the Extra League is not one of the top pro leagues in Europe
not these days anyways. The scoring title always goes for a Czech player 30+ or 35+ year old, usually
a former NHL player, or a 10-15 season Extra League veteran, or a former KHL:er
-in the top 10-20, lots of 30+ players as well.

1st in points this season Ruzicka born in 1985, as is 2nd in points Gulas
In the top 5 in goals : 2 x 27 year old Czech players, 1 x 29 year old Austrian player (Schneider)
1 x 35 year old Czech player (Smolanek) and 1 x 24 year old (Radim Zohorna)

Not sure where i'd rank Czech Extra League but...Russia, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, German's top leagues for sure
maybe AllSvenskan, VHL as well ahead of them as well, could be more.

So people who think what Zadina has done in the Extra League is promising/good, so far, should take a step back.
maybe another step if i'm honest here.

Dominik Kubalik was the last young player to win the goal scoring title, 16-17 season. - scored 29 goals and was almost ppg,
as 20-21 year old, but even that season, 34 year old (Lukas Pech) won the scoring title.
- few years ago, 40(ish) year olds won the scoring titles and scored most goals in the Czech Extra League.

The last U30 player who has won the Extra League scoring title was Jan Marek, 2005-06 season,
he scored 54 points in 48 games, he was 25 then, BTW. he was one of those players who died in that plane crash.

I'm not Czech but this is a load of horseshit Even more so coming from Finn whose league is two teams away from being at the exactly same level as Extraliga.

 

[Voodoozz]

No offence to Czech fans and Zadina fans but the Extra League is not one of the top pro leagues in Europe
not these days anyways. The scoring title always goes for a Czech player 30+ or 35+ year old, usually
a former NHL player, or a 10-15 season Extra League veteran, or a former KHL:er
-in the top 10-20, lots of 30+ players as well.

1st in points this season Ruzicka born in 1985, as is 2nd in points Gulas
In the top 5 in goals : 2 x 27 year old Czech players, 1 x 29 year old Austrian player (Schneider)
1 x 35 year old Czech player (Smolanek) and 1 x 24 year old (Radim Zohorna)

Not sure where i'd rank Czech Extra League but...Russia, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, German's top leagues for sure
maybe AllSvenskan, VHL as well ahead of them as well, could be more.

So people who think what Zadina has done in the Extra League is promising/good, so far, should take a step back.
maybe another step if i'm honest here.

Dominik Kubalik was the last young player to win the goal scoring title, 16-17 season. - scored 29 goals and was almost ppg,
as 20-21 year old, but even that season, 34 year old (Lukas Pech) won the scoring title.
- few years ago, 40(ish) year olds won the scoring titles and scored most goals in the Czech Extra League.

The last U30 player who has won the Extra League scoring title was Jan Marek, 2005-06 season,
he scored 54 points in 48 games, he was 25 then, BTW. he was one of those players who died in that plane crash.

What does age have to do with a quality of the league ?

The reason why there haven't been any younger scoring leaders in the recent years is a) the Czech junior leagues are terrible so almost all U20 with potential go to play in Canada/Sweden b) when there is an emerging U25 player who's scoring at a good pace, he either goes to other euro league to get paid or he signs a two-way contract with an NHL team. Add to this that the Czech coaches have been very conservative with putting young guns on the roster, as it is safer/easier for them to go with a veteran (this applies to all of Czech sport, not only hockey).

Extraliga offers pretty good hockey in a good pace, with excellent parity between teams. Yes the "star" players tend to be veterans mostly but that doesn't mean there's no quality in the league.

The league itself is actually quite underrated, it is imo superior to DEL (i'm sorry but two great teams don't make a great league) and rather comparable to Liiga or NL, even though it's probably less offensive.
The only leagues in Europe that are considerably better are the SHL and the KHL.

Zadina doing well in Extraliga IS promising, because it's actually a pretty decent league.

 

[Samsquanch]

I'm reading Alexander Nylander vibes from Zadina.

As a Sens fan I was a bit pissed with the Tkachuk pick and them passing on Zadina. But then when Arizona did the same thing at #4 and passed on him again with an even bigger reach, it sent a loud message out and started to change my mind on our own pick.

The talent is clearly there, and I think hes already better than Alex Nylander. But I think that his style of play will lead to some peaks and valleys throughout his career, and is going to largely rely on good linemates to make an impact. Maybe like a James Neal, in more ways than one tbh.

 

[Pavels Dog]

I'm reading Alexander Nylander vibes from Zadina.

That is a bad take. Zadina was better right out of the draft and has progressed better too. We've already seen him in the NHL and know he can be a good player there.

 

[newfy]

I'm reading Alexander Nylander vibes from Zadina.

All youre reading is stat lines from a league that he went to stay in game shape for the NHL. How do you know he didnt just take it easy his last couple games once it was obvious the NHL was coming back?

Zadina has shown at literally every single level hes played that hes better than Nylander, as a player drafted two years later

 

[Goodman68]

No offence to Czech fans and Zadina fans but the Extra League is not one of the top pro leagues in Europe
not these days anyways. The scoring title always goes for a Czech player 30+ or 35+ year old, usually
a former NHL player, or a 10-15 season Extra League veteran, or a former KHL:er
-in the top 10-20, lots of 30+ players as well.

1st in points this season Ruzicka born in 1985, as is 2nd in points Gulas
In the top 5 in goals : 2 x 27 year old Czech players, 1 x 29 year old Austrian player (Schneider)
1 x 35 year old Czech player (Smolanek) and 1 x 24 year old (Radim Zohorna)

Not sure where i'd rank Czech Extra League but...Russia, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, German's top leagues for sure
maybe AllSvenskan, VHL as well ahead of them as well, could be more.

So people who think what Zadina has done in the Extra League is promising/good, so far, should take a step back.
maybe another step if i'm honest here.

Dominik Kubalik was the last young player to win the goal scoring title, 16-17 season. - scored 29 goals and was almost ppg,
as 20-21 year old, but even that season, 34 year old (Lukas Pech) won the scoring title.
- few years ago, 40(ish) year olds won the scoring titles and scored most goals in the Czech Extra League.

The last U30 player who has won the Extra League scoring title was Jan Marek, 2005-06 season,
he scored 54 points in 48 games, he was 25 then, BTW. he was one of those players who died in that plane crash.

You really underestimate the Czech league. To say it's AllSvenskan, VHL and maybe others are better leagues is absolutely ridiculous. Absolutely. The Extraliga is at the same level as the DEL (rather better) and the NLA.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

As a Sens fan I was a bit pissed with the Tkachuk pick and them passing on Zadina. But then when Arizona did the same thing at #4 and passed on him again with an even bigger reach, it sent a loud message out and started to change my mind on our own pick.

The talent is clearly there, and I think hes already better than Alex Nylander. But I think that his style of play will lead to some peaks and valleys throughout his career, and is going to largely rely on good linemates to make an impact. Maybe like a James Neal, in more ways than one tbh.

Tkachuk was a great pick, but I wouldn't be using AZ's pick as justification for Zadina slipping.

Chayka has completely f***ed AZ for the next decade.

 

[Preposterone]

You really underestimate the Czech league. To say it's AllSvenskan, VHL and maybe others are better leagues is absolutely ridiculous. Absolutely. The Extraliga is at the same level as the DEL (rather better) and the NLA.

Id disagree it's at the level of the NLA, that's the highest paid league in europe. Swiss domestic players arent the strongest, but they poach a lot of top SHL/Liiga/AHL/Czech league players. Extraliga is a solid pro league though, and Zadina was getting 2nd line/pp usage.

 

[Goodman68]

Id disagree it's at the level of the NLA, that's the highest paid league in europe. Swiss domestic players arent the strongest, but they poach a lot of top SHL/Liiga/AHL/Czech league players. Extraliga is a solid pro league though, and Zadina was getting 2nd line/pp usage.

Yes, there is a lot of money and they have quality players. But most of the players are Swiss. And the Czechia has better hockey production in general.
The only real comparison is in the CHL and there are those leagues comparable. The Swiss have a slightly better coefficient, the Czech team usually ends up with a better result of a team in a given year.