A lot of the Red Wings post-draft talk revolved around Filip Zadina and the talent he could bring to the table for the Detroit Red Wings in the near future.
Filip Zadina who was recently called up to the Red Wings NHL roster, recently scored his first NHL goal in a game against the Avalanche. Zadina is a 6’0 foot, 196lb left-hand shooting right-winger. Zadina who spent most of his time this year with Grand Rapids posted a 15 goal, 16 assists for 31 point campaign throughout his 45 games with the Griffins.
Besides his time with the Griffins, Zadina joined the Czech Republic for the 2019 World Junior Championship(WJC) where he played in 5 games, tallying 1 goal for 1 point on ten total shots. His WJC stats were not the most impressive, but they still allowed him some extra time to develop against this new wave of young talent including some names that should stand out like Team USA’s Jack Hughes or Team Finland’s Kaapo Kakko.
During his time with the Griffins, he has not had the most amazing stats but the adjustment to American Hockey League(AHL) caliber of play, has been a tough one for the 19-year old rookie. Zadina just needs time, and allowing him to get a taste of the NHL talent level for nine games is only going to help him over his development.
The reason he will only be up with the NHL club for nine games is so that he does not lose a year off of his entry-level contract. It would also make Zadina eligible for the 2021 Seattle NHL expansion team draft. With Zadina, there could be plenty to look forward too, he is 19 and needs time to adjust and adapt to this new level of talent here at the NHL and AHL levels of play before he excels at the NHL level.
Assuming he is able to overcome these struggles, Zadina could blossom into the sixth overall pick we were all sold on last June.