Nikita Zadorov: The Bruins Defenseman Who Needs to Stay Out of the Box
We all know Nikita Zadorov led not just the Boston Bruins in penalty minutes but the entire NHL last year. What If I told you, though that Zadorov is one of the Bruins best penalty killers on the team so the fact he spends more time in the box hurts his team and in fact a simple change to his game would help the Bruins win more games.
I’m always saying he needs to stay out of the box, so I decided to look at the numbers, look at the analytics and see where Nikita Zadorov ranks as a defender on his team, where he ranks offensively. Where he excels (which might surprise people), why using the excuse that he gets penalties because he is big isn’t cutting it anymore, and how a small change to his game could help the Bruins win a lot more hockey games this season.
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I do love me some Little Z. I know he's in the box a lot, but there is lot to like too. I wish he would rush more, he's fast as hell.
Do you think Zadorov could be a difference maker if he stayed out of the box?
It just comes down to playing smarter not being taken the stupid penalties wait till you get your chance and take him with a clean hit goes a long way
I agree he needs to stay out of the box but I love watching him squash people.
Is there a stat out there that shows what his most common penalties are for? I'm guessing stick infractions like cross checking, slashing, hooking. It would be interesting to look into.
I don’t think Zadorov will ever be in the lower half of the league in penalties. His style and size just wont allow it. Like it or not, “big guy” penalties do get called pretty often. It would be nice if he could get it down to around 90-100 PIMs by the end of the season though. Never forget, (I know, flawed stat) he was a +25 playing a minimum of 20 minutes a night on the worst Bruins team in recent memory.
Throw Kastelic in there too, they were top 2 in the league for PIMs I think. Penalties lost us so many games – the outdoor game in Tampa is the one that immediately comes to mind.
Nikita Zadorov on any legit Stanley Cup competitive team is nothing more a 3rd pair guy & penalty killer
The positive returns go down for Zadorov when he plays more minutes & or when he plays too many minutes higher up in the lineup
Zadorov's hockey IQ & decision making aren't the best, he's the most undisciplined D-Man in the NHL
He's not an agile enough skater to stop those penalties even though once up to speed he is a decent skater
This is why Zadorov takes as many out of position & chasing the plays penalties as he does physical ones battling on the boards & or in front of the net
As Zadorov isn't really a point producer either, there really isn't a world where he can become some kind of huge difference maker for the Bruins this upcoming season or in any season really
Zadorov's flaws on defense will always prevent that & again, he'll never be an offensive diffence maker on the ice either to make up for his defensive flaws
Zadorov staying healthy & playing a few less minutes may make him more effective this upcoming year for Boston
That's his upside
Being a good, physical, bottom of the roster D-Man that can kill penalties, protect his teammates & be a physical presence eveytime he steps on the ice..
Absolutely
Zadorov as some kind of legit diffence maker for Boston?
Um…
Any path to his being some kind of huge difference maker for the Bruins doesn't exist
Still trying to understand the infatuation you have with McAvoy? If he's the best the Bruins have, we're screwed!!
Zadorov is a marketing genius. Create a problem, sell the solution.
For once I totally agree with you, I feel Zadorov is the #2 defenseman, when you have a d that hits like a truck, that can instantly give your team a man up or on p k, even things up, two players have this capability, Zadorov and Mcavoy, but macavoy only uses his physicality when he wants, cut the stick penalties, and he will be golden !
i hope Nikita is watching this! you are 🎯🎯
Great views. 100% agree.
One of the area's the bruins need to cleanup is after wistle altercations. They got baited a lot last year. Zadorov was in the box for getting caught out of position on top of after wistle shenanigans. this should be a relatively "easy" thing to cleanup. Discipline and coaching should even this out.
We actually need our defensemen to start hitting like Zadorov. Lohrei is basically useless in that area. Rhe more you hit opponents the ower they will become n will be hesitant going into the corners n boards.
Takes too many stupid penalties.
Totally agree. Penalties have debilitating impact in non-statistical ways. Your team gets more tired in the PK, you lose realistic opportunity to score for 2 minutes and losing momentum and crowd involvement matters a lot in hockey. Love Z because he loves Boston and loves hockey and he's a good team player. But this is an area he can and should improve on.
From watching him it's the out of position, extending the stick calls that kill him. Was he nursing the knee much of the year contributing to that? I don't know but lets hope it happens less this coming year. His number one thing to work on is to stay in position and look to make a body hit, not extending the stick. As far as McAvoy goes, he's a good offensive defensemen but he is absolutely dreadful on defense. His defensive IQ in his own zone is one of the worst on the Bruins if not the league. He really needs a partner to shoulder that load so that he can just concentrate on moving through mid ice and setting up the offense.
The lack of discipline this far into his career is just not acceptable. If he could reduce the unnecessary penalties, it would make an enormous difference. I have zero confidence in this what if, though.
7:06
Question about this, Court: did you factor in Zadorov’s deployment metrics?
I’m not saying you did or didn’t; just curious.
If Zadorov was heavily utilized for D-zone starts (and/or infrequently used for O-zone starts), it would be very difficult to maintain a 50+% Corsi or Fenwick under such deployment tendencies (by the coaches).