Quote:
Originally Posted by dino7c
Zadorov is a good player...please stop lumping him in with Gudbranson since they are both big. ...
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I am not sure I agree with your assessment.
Zadorov is a BIG player. Like really, really big. You realize it when you see him up close. Myers is taller, but he is lanky. Zadorov is both tall and wide. We were in the front row yesterday. Saw him putting his big ass against the boards and just annihilating Garland (pretty sure it was Garland) without putting much effort into hitting. Literally, just stuck his back against the board and stopped Garland cold, sent him flying, that was it. We have not had a defender capable of doing this since Regehr and that's very good to have.
Having said that, Zadorov seems slow; you see it right away. Not only he is slow, he seems to be a bit lazy - as in not rushing in to take a position, but gliding slowly to it. His on-ice positioning and pass-taking are not top-notch. Missed several easy passes, made several really sloppy passes. This stuff is concerning; but hopefully, Sutter will be able to straighten him out.
Lastly, while Zadorov could be a Pronger-like beast, he is not using his size to intimidate the opponent. Twice yesterday, he was challenged by a smaller player and both times he did not take his hands off the stick, not even chirping, just looking away. I mean, we all remember Lucic punching his face three times like a bag without a single response. Smart is one thing and it's good. Not standing up for yourself and your teammates is not very good, especially, when you have the natural physical attributes to do so.
Again, I like having Zadorov on the team and I hope he improves under Sutter. Russian players are very coachable usually.