The Hockey News’s Matt Larkin posted a list of five players who have much to prove during the 2018-19 season, and here’s what Larkin had to say about Red Wings prospect Filip Zadina:
FILIP ZADINA, DETROIT RED WINGS
Most rookies need to manage their expectations if they jump to the NHL as teenagers. Not Zadina. If he makes the Red Wings, he has every intention of lighting up the scoresheet. Openly angry that he fell to the sixth overall pick in June’s draft after most prognosticators had him going third or fourth, Zadina spoke out against the teams that passed on him, vowing to “fill their nets with pucks.” It just happens two of those teams, the Habs and Ottawa Senators, share a division with Detroit, so he’ll have many chances. If he makes the team, he gets his first crack at revenge Oct. 15 when Detroit visits the Bell Centre in Montreal. That’ll be appointment viewing.
