Former Red Wings Top Pick Finding His Game

Filip Zadina never was able to find a fit with the Detroit Red Wings. The player chosen sixth overall in the 2018 NHL entry draft didn’t become the steady offensive producer that the club’s scouting staff was certain had fallen into their laps when Zadina’s draft day stock plummeted and he fell to them.

Six years later and on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Zadina appears to be finding peace of mind and rediscovering the scoring touch that once made him a coveted NHL prospect. Playing for Davos of the Swiss National League, the right-winger has potted 15 goals and collected 23 points in 27 games.

Pure PP beauty by Zadina! 🤯🔥#NationalLeague #icehockey #hcd pic.twitter.com/MQrllR3FXx

— National League (@NLch_official) November 13, 2024

Zadina’s best season with the Red Wings was a 10-goal output in 74 games in 2021-22. His best best NHL campaign was last season. Zadina netted 13 goals for the San Jose Sharks. Still, he wasn’t offered a new contract by the team.

Finding a comfort level with Davos, Zadina is also of the belief that he’s been able to rediscover his mojo.

“Of course, it’s completely different when a player is doing well at the club and gets a completely different amount of space than in the past,” Zadina told Czech website iSport Blesk. “The head does a lot. If it works, you play completely differently than when they’re struggling and the team isn’t doing well.”

Zadina Stars For Czech National Team

In the recent Swiss Games, Zadina was front and center as the Czechs won the international tournament that was also featuring the national teams of Switzerland, Finland and Sweden. In Czechia’s tournament-deciding 5-3 win over Sweden, Zadina was accounting for a goal and an assist.

Given a role with more responsbility both in Davos and with the Czech squad, Zadina, 25, feels it’s enabled his game to grow.

Blafáček jako víno, servíruje Filip Zadina. 💥

🇨🇿⚔️🇸🇪 2:2#CZESWE #narodnitym #ceskyhokej pic.twitter.com/EzjlJ41ASu

— Český hokej (@czehockey) December 15, 2024

“I was not put in a position here to just shoot and score goals,” Zadina said. “You have to orient yourself properly and know what to do so that not only you can do well, but that your performance helps the whole team.

“I have never had a problem shooting and passing. I feel very comfortable with my game at the moment.”

Today Davos, Tomorrow The Worlds

Zadina is eyeing a spot with the defending world champion Czechs at next spring’s IIHF World Championship.

“Undoubtedly big,” he said. “The World Championship is the most important thing in the season. We are talking about the national team. I will do everything to fight for a place.”

It would also give Zadina an opportunity to show NHL scouts how he is stacking up while playing against mostly NHL competition.

And before you go pointing out that success in the Swiss League doesn’t measure up to success in the NHL, allow Zadina to beat you to that punch.

“I guess you can compare it to the NHL, but they are very different leagues,” Zadina said. “The fields are different, the players and the game systems too. Completely different.

“If we talk about the NHL, which is the best league in the world, then the Swiss one comes out as number one in Europe. In that, it is similar.”

After playing for weak NHL clubs in both Detroit and San Jose, if he did return to the NHL, Zadina would like to get a chance to skate for a better, more established club.

“After the team’s worse seasons in the NHL, I would like to see a more favorable period,” he said. Then again, he’s aware that if he’d proven to be a more productive player, he’d still be an NHLer.

“Of course, I haven’t been doing extremely well either, so I want to make sure that I have the best hockey and that I am the player that I consider myself to be,” Zadina said.

If he gets another NHL shot, Zadina will take it. If not, he will take it in stride.

“I’ve laways had a great appetite for hockey,” Zadina said. “Money isn’t everything.”