Detroit fans have anxiously been waiting for their first glimpse of Filip Zadina with the big club and that wait is just about over. The team announced that they have recalled the winger from AHL Grand Rapids, returning goalie Harri Sateri to the Griffins in a corresponding move. Zadina is expected to be in the lineup for their next game on Sunday against San Jose and make his NHL debut.
The 19-year-old was the sixth overall pick back in June following a dominant season with Halifax of the QMJHL. Some had speculated he could go as high as third overall so the fact he slid a few spots came as somewhat of a surprise. Detroit was able to get him to their farm team right away (something that could only be done as it was deemed that Zadina was merely on loan to Halifax and not their player) and the results have been mixed thus far.
While he sits fourth on the team in scoring with 15 goals and 16 assists in 45 games, consistency has been an issue at times. He also didn’t fare well at the recent World Juniors where he had just a single assist in five games with the Czech Republic after being expected to come in and dominate. Nonetheless, Detroit feels he has shown enough to get a look with the Red Wings.
The question becomes how long of a look will he get? As a junior-aged player, Zadina is subject to a games played threshold. If he plays more than nine games, he will officially burn the first year of his entry-level contract. (If he doesn’t, the deal will slide and Zadina will still have a three-year contract next season.) Considering that the Red Wings are well out of the postseason picture, it may not make a lot of sense for them to go through the first year of his contract now so while there’s certainly some excitement surrounding his debut, it may ultimately be relatively short-lived as he could very well be back in Grand Rapids before long.
Yes! Let’s do it baby