`Big Z' stands even taller as the stakes get higher
Canucks defenceman making an impact at both ends of the rink against Predators
When the biggest man on the team says size doesn't matter, he really must be listened to.
Nikita Zadorov is as thoughtful and well-spoken as they come. His answers rarely fit a standard mould. You ask him a question and he'll usually bring some high-level perspective.
Take this week, and his response to a question about how he looks like a guy built to play hard-edged, hard-hitting, tight-checking stereotypical playoff hockey. Rather than answer back directly, he raised the stakes and took a philosophical route, highlighting the will and effort of his smallest teammate.
“Does it look like I'm built for playoff hockey? Is Conor Garland built for playoff hockey? He plays hard hockey. I think our whole team, our mentality, is built for playoff hockey,” he said, his response pushing back to the question with a touch of Teddy Roosevelt's man-in-the-arena posture.
“The guys have been showing up every day, working their asses off, taking hits, making good plays, going on the forecheck, playing super-hard hockey. I feel like our whole team was built for the playoffs.”
There are plenty of past players that Canucks fans can think of who had the physical tools but lacked the kind of will and desire that Zadorov is talking about and clearly has himself. In the first two games of the series against Nashville, he was a standout player. He threw big hits. He made smart defensive plays. And when the puck landed on his stick, he was leading rushes and scoring goals.
He's in his 11th NHL season and he's thriving. And he knows the playoffs well. He had skated in 47 post-season NHL games before Friday's Game 3 in Nashville, playing key roles in past campaigns for the Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames.
“I enjoy the high-stakes games. I enjoy the pressure. I'm enjoying being on the ice for the big moments of the game, for the important times of the game,” he said.
His agent Dan Milstein, of course, is grinning about his client's play. He said when the Canucks were looking at trading for him in November, he was pushing Zadorov's suitability for playoff hockey as a big selling point.
“Big Z is the life of the locker-room. We knew he was going to be great,” Milstein said Friday. “He's built for playoffs . ... Obviously you're seeing that right now. Not once did I worry about his future contract. I knew the playoffs were going to be his time, that he was going to be great.”
In the three campaigns where his team made it out of the first round — in 2019 and 2020 for Colorado and 2022 for Calgary — the numbers are impressive.
In all three, Zadorov's share of the shot attempts was positive, and Natural Stat Trick's expected-goals model had his team taking the majority of the quality shots.
That's the most vital part of his game — he has the details right. He doesn't get caught chasing around. Good things happen when he's on the ice.
His coach is, obviously, very pleased by the presence he has brought to the table.
The big hits stand out most, but it's how Zadorov hits that matters most to Rick Tocchet.
“We all love the hits, but I think we've got to do it with good detail. Shoulder into the chest. You know, no elbows out,” Tocchet said.
“We want to play a physical game, but obviously within the rules.”
Add it all up and Zadorov is at the centre of the story.
He'll be a very unpopular figure in the eyes of Nashville fans, no doubt.
He loves it.
“It's cool when everybody hates you when you're on the ice. So they're booing you and against you. I think it probably gets me going even more to play on the road.”
The Canucks love it, too.
I enjoy the pressure. I'm enjoying being on the ice for the big moments of the game, for the important times of the game.