Detroit Red Wings: Quinn Hughes Was A Better Choice Than Filip Zadina

Detroit Red Wings former GM Ken Holland may have made a serious mistake by choosing to select Filip Zadina at the sixth pick instead of Quinn Hughes. The Vancouver Canucks then selected the brother of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft’s first overall pick Jack Hughes.

The Detroit Red Wings shocked the NHL world in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by selected German defenseman Moritz Seider with the sixth overall pick. Keep in mind; this selection was made my newly appointed GM Steve Yzerman, not former GM Ken Holland. Taking a look back at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, it sure seems like the Red Wings had a blunder when making their first-round selection.

With the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, the Red Wings brought Filip Zadina to the organization. A move that shocked some people for the simple fact that they passed on Quinn Hughes. It has been a year, so time to dwell on the past, and over evaluate players who have EXTREMELY small sample sizes.

To over analyze a minute sample size for the two players and how they fared against NHL caliber talent, turning to Elite Prospects provides that information. Nothing can really be concluded from the stats, but Zadina appeared in nine games with the Red Wings, tallying his first NHL goal with two assists for three points, however, was a minus-five on the short stint. Hughes also managed to net three points (all assists) in only five games and as a defenseman who’s plus/minus was an even zero.

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Zadina made the jump to play in the AHL last season for the Grand Rapids Griffins which is a “higher-caliber” league than Hughes, but in this case, it still seems that Hughes takes the cake. Through fifty-nine games, he tallied sixteen goals and nineteen assists for thirty-five points. However, Zadina was a hefty minus-seventeen on the 2018-19 season with the Griffins.

Hughes opted to spend his season at the NCAA DI level with the University of Michigan hockey program. Hughes outperformed Zadina by netting more points and being more impactful for his team, whether its a different caliber or not. As a defenseman, Hughes scored thirty-three points in the form of five goals and twenty-eight assists through thirty-two games with a minus-two rating. Hughes was able to capitalize on his offensive abilities and showcase them, which was solid to see from a developmental point of view.

The main reason the Zadina pick would be considered as a mistake is the simple fact that the Detroit Red Wings have plenty of forward prospects in the form of Joe Veleno, Evgeny Svechnikov, Taro Hirose, and Ryan Kuffner whereas the defenseman are in numbers, but that impact player has not emerged yet besides Filip Hronek. Adding Hughes to a defenseman core that includes Dennis Cholowski, Hronek, Madison Bowey, Jared McIsaac (injured), Oliwer Kaski, and now Seider would be lethal.

Hughes could have developed into that offensive, scoring defenseman the organization is trying to breed from Hronek. Providing that Yzerman still drafts Seider, and the Red Wings still try to develop Hronek the way they have/are doing. Hughes would elevate this defenseman core to the next level as they mature and become real NHL forces on the back-end. Sticking with the scenario above, the 2021-22 defensive pairings could end shape up as the following…

• Pairing 1
  • LD- Quinn Hughes
  • RD- Filip Hronek
• Pairing 2
  • LD- Dennis Cholowski
  • RD- Moritz Seider
• Pairing 3
  • LD- Danny DeKeyser
  • RD- Jared McIsaac

NOTE: This completely disregards Madison Bowey‘s RFA with possible arbitration, Patrik Nemeth being under contract, as well as other minor leaguers possibly developing into forces. This is simply scrap work to showcase the prospect depth providing the team selected Hughes over Zadina.

Choosing Zadina was not a terrible selection; he could become a real force for the Detroit Red Wings offense. It sure seems like Hughes would have been a phenomenal addition to the Red Wings back-end and allowed them to have a great defensive core for years to come. Bringing in a stud defenseman like a Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, or Drew Doughty would be less of a necessity with a strong crop of defenseman with plenty of upside for development.