Player Discussion Nikita Zadorov - Protecting Our Investment

[MarkMM]

Voted him as a #5 guy in that poll and still ahven't changed my mind.

I guess we will wait and see but really is this team any better with him in and Anthony Beauvillier out?

I don't really think so but who knows sometimes a certain player is a better fit for a certain team sometimes not.

Individual value may be similar but fit for need is way better. We had too many tweener wingers like Beauvillier but not enough legitimate defencemen (especially now with injuries) and especially anyone with the bite Zadorov brings which will be helpful in the playoffs.

Beauvillier's strengths weren't going to be fully harnessed here because we just weren't going to find ice-time for him, but with Zadorov, he immediately stabilizes a defence that is hurting badly for legitimate players and when everyone's healthy we're going to have the size and depth we've never had.

 

[Russian_fanatic]

They're going to juggle the 2nd and third pairing a lot before they find something that works, but every combination of those bottom two pairings can be big and scary.
That's gotta be the biggest bottom-4 in the league.

It seems Hughes and Hronek will be broken up. If I had to guess the rotation looks like it will be.

Hughes-Cole
Zadorov-Hronek
Soucy-Myers

Once healthy of course. This team badly misses Soucy.

 

[IComeInPeace]

The Canucks do have an over abundance of singers but in a vacuum I think both players have the same type of overall value.

The curse of every team trying to become a legit contender: everyone wants to sing lead vocals, and no one wants to play the bass guitar.

 

[Cogburn]

The curse of every team trying to become a legit contender: everyone wants to sing lead vocals, and no one wants to play the bass guitar.

Someone clearly hasn't heard of acapella being the peak form of music.

 

[Vector]

 

[Vector]

 

[strattonius]

Big Z is the nickname.

We can make fun of the Flames but the truth is they have a very good blueline and Zadorov found himself in the #5 position behind Hanifin, Tanev, Weegar and Andersson - no shame in being the 5th man of that group.

On our blueline I'd like to think he's our #4 behind Hughes, Hronek, and Cole. It's hard to rate Cole, Soucy and Zadorov in any order as they are probably all in the same ballpark.

Basically we needed quality on our blueline and Zadorov brings that. Management are correctly diagnosing the issues our roster has - so refreshing.

Also, instead of just waiting for free agency to pluck Zadorov we now get a preview of whether he fits on this roster as well as some help for the playoffs and it only costs us a 3rd. Worst case scenario he's bad and we dump him after this year and we've wasted the pick. I'm confident on our pro scouting right now though and don't feel that's likely.

 

[Zippgunn]

Big hits aside (some of which look pretty damn borderline), how good is he at actual hockey and playing defense, though? Is he in the same ballpark as Soucey, or is he actually another Myers, just with physicality?

Also, what's his cap hit?

This. Watch us sign him for big bucks and then he turns into the new Myers whipping boy for this fanbase based mostly on salary...

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

Vegas was stronger on the puck for the majority of the game last night. Canucks needed more size and strength on their roster, and they got it with the addition of Zadorov, solid addition to the lineup.

 

[mossey3535]

I hope he's better than I think he is. But despite being in Calgary I don't watch all that many flames games, even as Marky fan.

At the very worst he's better than Juulsen, myers, and Friedman but he's only pushes those guys down or out of the lineup if we're willing to play him on his off side.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Canucks management has wanted him for a while now. I like that for the most part they are targeting guys in trades who they want here longer term. Then filling in with mostly short term deals in free agency with Soucy as the obvious exception.

 

[CherryToke]

Definitely could have used this last night.

 

[arttk]

Big Z is the nickname.

We can make fun of the Flames but the truth is they have a very good blueline and Zadorov found himself in the #5 position behind Hanifin, Tanev, Weegar and Andersson - no shame in being the 5th man of that group.

On our blueline I'd like to think he's our #4 behind Hughes, Hronek, and Cole. It's hard to rate Cole, Soucy and Zadorov in any order as they are probably all in the same ballpark.

Basically we needed quality on our blueline and Zadorov brings that. Management are correctly diagnosing the issues our roster has - so refreshing.

Also, instead of just waiting for free agency to pluck Zadorov we now get a preview of whether he fits on this roster as well as some help for the playoffs and it only costs us a 3rd. Worst case scenario he's bad and we dump him after this year and we've wasted the pick. I'm confident on our pro scouting right now though and don't feel that's likely.

I am curious if we will end up seeing
Hughes - Bear,
Cole - Hronek
Soucy - Zadorov

That would be a nice setup for the rest of the season.

 

[Bobby9]

Hope we can get him around 4 years for 15 M

 

[LemonSauceD]

If anything, he bolsters the depth on defense, if say we go out and get a top 4 defenseman.

I’ll wait until he plays 20-25 games but he could very well be a Cole replacement.

 

[EdJovanovski]

I hope he got permission from Kravtsov for taking #91... well I suppose 74 is Kravs now

 

[biturbo19]

He's basically..."Trouba lite". Not in a physical size sense obviously , but in that he's a very similar player. Just not quite as good in any particular area pretty much across the board. Other than maybe being a better skater - especially in open ice.


I'm excited to have him on the Canucks. He's one of those players who is just tremendously good fun to watch. He's very active and engaged. Always doing something. That's going to come with some lolzy mistakes at times...but that's the trade-off. If he were an impeccable, flawless decisionmaker on top of that hugely aggressive, dynamic approach where he imposes himself on the game...there's no way we would've been able to acquire him for what we did, or that he'd be at the salary level he's currently at either. He'd be a Norris-caliber #1D. But he's obviously not. He doesn't have that kind of elite hockey sense to go with his outstanding physical tools. I just hope Vancouver fans can embrace what he is and what he brings to the table, and not turn on him permanently the first time he makes a boneheaded gaffe while trying to make something happen.

 

[Shareefruck]

Question: Is he a good skater in the same way that Sbisa is a good skater, or is he ACTUALLY a good skater?

Is it just straight-line-speed that allows him to hit, or does he actually get around the ice quickly and efficiently?

 

[Vector]

At the very least, he has a lot of connections to the Canucks and should fit in very quickly.

 

[valkynax]

At the very least, he has a lot of connections to the Canucks and should fit in very quickly.

Good lord this photo makes him look taller than Yao Ming.

 

[biturbo19]

Question: Is he a good skater in the same way that Sbisa is a good skater, or is he ACTUALLY a good skater?

Is it just straight-line-speed that allows him to hit, or does he actually get around the ice quickly and efficiently?

I'd say he's actually a pretty good all-around skater, in addition to the obvious straight line freight train speed.

He's remarkably coordinated for such a huge human being on skates. But obviously you're not going to get a 6'6" 250lbs dancing bear who has the agility of a little waterbug in tight quarters. That's where he uses his huge wingspan and physicality to minimize his need to get into short area change of direction footraces more effectively than someone like Sbisa.

Even in terms of open ice speed, he's not just on rails. He's able to make some of those subtle shifts in speed and direction to be a little more elusive, rather than purely just bowling his way through...which he can also do.

 

[biturbo19]

At the very least, he has a lot of connections to the Canucks and should fit in very quickly.

It's funny imagining him in figure skating classes. Even as a kid, i'm sure he was probably huge for his age cohort, to have out there doing figure skating.

But it shows through in what i was just mentioning above. He's very coordinated and controlled with his movements for such a huge man. You can tell he understands the mechanics and importance of control and has drilled a lot of those movements into muscle memory. You don't often see him get his legs all pretzled up like say...Tyler Myers, who has a tendency to find himself moving in three different directions at once.

 

[F A N]

Just read that Big Z grew up as a Canucks fan. I am definitely liking him more. Maybe he will re-sign and not chase the ultimate dollar given the connections here.

 

[kanucks25]

Adds a physical & toughness element to the team that we lack. I'm not an old school hockey guy or anything but I still think it's important for the other team to think twice when he's on the ice, whether it's crossing the blueline or trying to rough up our skill guys.

Like mentioned many times already, has a lot of Myers in his game where he'll do some really dumb stuff and take some dumb penalties. But he'll be more consistently physical than Myers. Both of these guys on the same team will definitely create chaos but at least we only have (at most) 3/4 of a season left of Myers.

As long as we don't overpay and overplay him, he can be a valuable cog. Excited to see how he'll fit on the team and what his new contract will look like if he does fit in.

 

[David71]

hows his fighting if it comes to that? if he lays out a clean hit, theres always gonna be somebody wanting to fight him.