The Red Wings selected Windsor Spitfires forward Pasquale Zito sight unseen, because the Ontario Hockey League didn’t play actual hockey this past season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted a profile of Zito today, and he spoke with Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris Draper regarding Zito’s “intangibles”:
“Was it hard? Yeah, I mean obviously we haven’t seen him,” said Draper, of the decision to draft Zito. “But I know after we made the selection and we talked to him, he was so excited about getting drafted. He basically said ‘I’m going to do everything I can to make it worthwhile of us obviously stepping up and picking him. That’s pretty neat to hear.”
Zito isn’t the type of player who will light up scoreboards. In 46 games during the 2019-20 season, he had three goals and 10 assists in 46 games, with 27 penalty minutes.
The 6-foot, 175-pound left wing gets into the faces of rivals, likes to agitate and plays with passion.
“He wants to be a hard player to play against,” Draper said “He wants to compete against the other team’s top players, wants to make a tough net-front presence. Those are the things you like.”
