In Red Wing Land

Holland: Zadina Matters To Red Wings When He’s 21, 22 — Not 18 | 97.1 The Ticket

“I’m worried about what Zadina looks like at 22,” Holland said. “I’m not looking at what Zadina looks like on Friday night or Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. For us to be a Cup contender — and that’s my goal, is to make the decisions that are in the best interests of this organization so that down the road we can compete with the elite teams and we can be a Cup contender — Zadina’s a big part of it. But not today when he’s 18. Hopefully when he’s 21, 22.”

I feel like this quote reeks of the old status quo “overripe” prospects nonsense that we’re used to hearing in years past… but I actually interpret it a little different. I don’t think Ken Holland is saying we’re not going to see Filip Zadina in the NHL until he’s 21 or 22, but that this team will need him the most when he’s that age in a few years because that’s when the window could really be back open to compete for a Stanley Cup.

Everyone kind of expects this to be a lost season (probably Holland too), so there’s no harm in leaving Zadina in the AHL and let his contract slide a year. However, based on the roster and lineup full of kids we saw in last night’s 3-2 OT loss to the Blue Jackets, I think if Zadina ends up dominating the AHL and/or the Red Wings are hanging around the playoff bubble, then Holland probably wouldn’t hesitate to call the 6th overall pick up.

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