The Free Press’s Helene St. James has gotten to the bottom of a complicated situation:
The Detroit Red Wings and Filip Zadina were both under the impression he could play in the AHL in 2018-19, but have been told his junior team wants him back if he does not make the Wings.
During last week’s development camp, Zadina, the sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft, said he had been loaned by his Czech team to his junior team. That was also what the Wings believed. It’s a significant distinction because if Zadina were on loan, he could be sent to the AHL if he does not make the Wings. That would make it easy to call him back up.
Tuesday evening, Wings general manager Ken Holland told the Free Press he had been informed Halifax Mooseheads general manager Cam Russell wants Zadina back if he’s not in the NHL.
St. James continues, and if the CHL team puts up a fight, the CHL team usually wins it.
This is a little bit frustrating to read.
Maybe it would be asking a lot to expect the Wings brass would know this at the time Zadina dropped to them and they picked him (though you’d think with all the experienced people paid to scout and paid to know the ins and outs of every possible pick’s and signing’s contract status it wouldn’t be unreasonable – especially since Zadina was apparently a guy they really coveted).
But to apparently not know it’s either Wings or the Q this coming season – at the time you sign UFAs, including a forward, to contracts, looks pretty bad.
What is the point of much-touted experience if you don’t bother to know or dig into all of the rules and specific situations that affect key players?
I am not saying this is somehow a catastrophe. But it does make the decision to keep Zadina in Detroit – if there is room – a more difficult call. It makes the roster logjam going into the season even more of an issue. And yes, maybe the under-20 CHL rule is dumb – here’s another good example – but the experts need to be experts – not just assume. No one seemed to know this until today. The people who really need to know are those in the front office.
you would expect the pro’s would know.
It’s ok he’ll be on the squad — nothing left for he and Ras to prove in juniors, it’s time.
Welcome to Detroit kid. Say thanks to your billet family for their time. There’s no reason for you to go back to Juniors.