Zadina, Veleno make Sporting News’ Top 50 prospects list

The Sporting News’s Steve Kournianos filed an assessment of the top 50 drafted prospects in the NHL, and he mentions two Red Wings players on his list:

4. Filip Zadina, LW, Detroit Red Wings​

2018 draft: First round, sixth overall

You know you’re an elite prospect when you’re considered a draft-day steal at sixth overall, but such was the case in 2018 when this 200-foot sniper fell into Detroit’s lap. Sure, his nondescript AHL numbers (35 points in 59 games) and lackluster performance at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship left critics wanting more; however, his puck skills, work ethic and dynamism give the Red Wings a good reason to think he’ll contend for the vacated top-six slot on the wing left by Gustav Nyqvist’s departure.​

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17. Joe Veleno, C, Detroit Red Wings

2018 draft: First round, 30th overall

This lightning-quick playmaker spoon-fed his detractors a steady diet of humble pie during a season in which he torched the QMJHL for a league-best 1.76 points-per-game average to become the likely candidate to center Canada’s top line at the 2020 WJC. But Veleno is more than just a set-up man with speed; his work ethic on and off the ice has helped him become one of the NHL’s best two-way forward prospects. He’ll probably start the season in the AHL, but it shouldn’t take long for him to become an impact player for the Red Wings.

Continued

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, when MLive hired me to work their SlapShots blog, and I joined Kukla's Korner in 2011 as The Malik Report. I'm starting The Malik Report as a stand-alone site, hoping that having my readers fund the website is indeed the way to go to build a better community and create better content.

3 thoughts on “Zadina, Veleno make Sporting News’ Top 50 prospects list”

  1. It will take few years but those two should ?? be top 6 stars. I hope Ras goes to GR and learns to play with bigger men ( play hockey).

    IMO from what I have seen of him he will have a tough time but he needs it.

  2. I think the numbers should be flopped for Veleno and Zadina. But I guess time will tell.

    1. Mr. Veleno looks like he is ready for a long ride on the 3rd line right now. Could he get top line attention in GR? Does he need that?

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