yave1964 Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Per Kenny Holland….. Filip Zadina will be recalled and make his regular season NHL debut with the Wings on Sunday against the San Jose Sharks. The plan is for him to get no more than 9 NHL games this year to avoid burning a year off his ELC, then send him back to the Griffins before seasons end so that he can play with the playoff bound Grand Rapids team. It gives the organization a chance to see him with the big club, and Zadina a chance to get his feet wet. He had a great camp and was sent down to GR where he struggled mightily out of the gate, he couldn't score, he couldn't grasp two way play at that level and was a minus 13 through 12 games, since then he is a plus 24 over 32 games with a total of 45 games he has 15 goals and 31 points and has drawn praise from the Griffins coaching staff and veteran players for his motor and work ethic. I will be glued to the TV Sunday, cant wait to see what the cocky abrasive 19 year old has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 @yave1964 Saw Balshill’s announcement in his post-game PC. At long last, we get our first REAL look at this kid. i hope he is able to STAY cocky. And at the same time, I want him humble enough to be able to receive constructive criticism, because he will need to listen to it if he wants to grow as a player. It’s a delicate balance. I will credit Jeff Blashill for how he approached Anthony Mantha on this last season—showing him his best 10 shifts vs. his worst 10 worked. Mantha took it the right way. He is a better player than he was last year. And we are now starting to see a glimpse of the results. Being an elite player in the NHL NEVER comes easy. Guys with elite hockey TALENT sometimes are able to coast through lower levels of hockey. But even elite talent will only get you so far. The rest of the progression depends mostly on determination and work. There isn’t a single elite NHL player who isn’t a workaholic. It just doesn’t happen. That’s why I love watching Larkin. That guy GETS IT. I’m not sure where he stands on the most elite hockey talent list. But he is highest on our hockey team when it comes to determination and work ethic. It won’t be long before he has the C and will be directly holding other players accountable for their play. I am pleased to hear that Zadina’s coaches are starting to say his work ethic has improved. I think the start of the season humbled him, frankly, and when that happens you can either feel sorry for yourself or you can go to work. He has chosen the latter. That’s what he needed to do. Good. And the truth may be that he may experience the same thing again in the NHL. It should surprise nobody if he does. And I hope having experienced it already at the A level, he will use that experience to help him decide quickly in the face of difficulty and constructive criticism to go to work. These 9 games will show him HOW to work, and on WHAT. I will also be glued to the set. Excited to see what our draft selection might be bringing us in anticipation of next season. (Would love it if Datsyuk would be able to come back for a season or two and show him what work ethic looks like.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted March 17, 2019 Author Share Posted March 17, 2019 @SpikeDDS Zadina was a bit of a mixed bag in his nine games, 1 goal, a couple of assists but to be honest he seemed to get better as his time went on and you could see it in his face, he developed confidence and the 9 game trial did him a world of good. I could see it after he returned to the Griffins from the World Junior tourney, he was a much better player all around. HUGE things ahead of this kid. Now if we get lucky and get Hughes, those two on the wing with Larkin down the middle would be an outstanding step towards our rebuild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 On 3/17/2019 at 12:23 PM, yave1964 said: @SpikeDDS Zadina was a bit of a mixed bag in his nine games, 1 goal, a couple of assists but to be honest he seemed to get better as his time went on and you could see it in his face, he developed confidence and the 9 game trial did him a world of good. I could see it after he returned to the Griffins from the World Junior tourney, he was a much better player all around. HUGE things ahead of this kid. Now if we get lucky and get Hughes, those two on the wing with Larkin down the middle would be an outstanding step towards our rebuild. Nice article on Veleno in The Atlantic today. If you don't subscribe, you should. https://theathletic.com/863082/2019/03/19/in-drummondville-the-red-wings-future-is-in-a-playoff-push/?source=dailyemail&redirected=1 If you don't subscribe, you can get a free trial and still read it. You'll have to cancel before the trial ends if you don't want to get dinged. (And then later on, they offer you a much better deal, which I took, something like $35/yr. Worth it.) I like the sound of this kid. And only 18 now. Add him to the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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