It won't be for long, but the Red Wings are prepared to give Filip Zadina a look this season.
General manager Ken Holland told NHL.com that the team will summon the sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft at some point next month.
"We're going to give Zadina a little bit of an opportunity in March. I want him or the young players to see what the NHL is all about, so as they head into the offseason [they know what they need to work on]. I think a young player can really improve in the gym between June and August," Holland said.
Zadina's NHL stint will surely be nine games or fewer. If it goes beyond that, the Wings will burn a year of his entry-level contract and render him eligible for the 2021 expansion draft when Seattle enters the league.
It's been a year of both frustration and growth for Zadina in the AHL. The 19-year-old has shown flashes of his vaunted goal-scoring ability, but he's struggled to adjust to the lack of time and space in the professional game.
The latter was evident in his short time with the Red Wings during the preseason.
As for the raw production, it's come in spurts. Zadina has 11 goals and 22 points in 38 games, with four two-goal games. That leaves him with three goals over the remaining 34 games.
He has three goals and five points in 11 games since returning from the World Junior Championships, where he was a relative non-factor for the Czechs.
Still, Zadina's potential is sky high. He lit up Quebec Major Junior last season and is a threat to score whenever he has the puck. And in Holland's eyes, it's not the worst thing that Zadina's taken a few lumps in Grand Rapids.
"When you've had young players that have had a ton of success in junior, in college, in Europe, the expectations are they're going to go to the NHL and they're going to have that same success, and I think adversity's a good thing. I don't think it's a bad thing," Holland said.
Zadina isn't the only prospect on the way. Asked by NHL.com about the wave of young players coming next season, Holland also pointed to defenseman Filip Hronek and forward Evgeny Svechnikov.
Hronek, 21, has already logged 23 games for the Wings this season and will likely get another look. Svechnikov, 22, tore his ACL in the preseason but is on track to return this year.
"I would say those are probably the closest young players. Svechnikov is probably going to be on the team (next year)," said Holland. (The Wings would have to place him on waivers -- and risk losing him -- in order to send him back to Grand Rapids.)
"A step behind that," Holland said, are the likes of forward Joe Veleno (19 years old) and defensemen Jared McIsaac (18) and Gustav Lindstrom (20) -- not to mention the player the Wings wind up with in the first round of this year's draft.
"What do I mean (by) 'a step behind that'? Probably a year to a year and a half to two behind that," said Holland. "Over the next couple of years, we've got to do on defense what we've done up front.
"Certainly the first wave of those guys is (Dennis) Cholowski, but Hronek is right there, and then Gustav Lindstrom is playing in the top four for Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League. We think maybe in '20-21 he's ready to make our team. We're hoping. That's the plan. Now, McIsaac's 18. He could play junior again next year. But he's having a real good year. But we've got some defensemen coming."
