Chicago Blackhawks defensemen Nikita Zadorov and Ian Mitchell bring different elements to the team. But do they complement each other?
When Florida Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas leveled Chicago Blackhawks forward Carl Soderberg Saturday in the hockey equivalent of a “decleater,” Hawks defenseman Nikita Zadorov was in Gudas’ face moments later.
The confrontation didn’t escalate to a traditional goon fight, but the implied message was clear: Gudas or one of his teammates might get lit up — if not during that game, then in a future game.
At 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds, Zadorov has the weight — literally and figuratively — to carry out such a threat. It’s a presence that hasn’t always existed on recent Hawks rosters; their forwards and even some defensemen have been known more for being small and fast than big and bruising.
“I’m not sure if it’s a role, it’s just who I am inside,” Zadorov said Wednesday. “I feel like when your teammate gets run over — I think it was a clean hit definitely, but you still have to go up there.
“It’s a hockey play, (but) you’ve got to let the person know, you’ve got to step up for your teammates. That’s what you do. That’s how you create this relationship inside the team. That’s how you win the hockey game.”
Zadorov is one of the Hawks’ younger blue liners. They aren’t limited to defined roles, but tendencies have emerged:
Adam Boqvist has gotten better keeping his gap on skaters, but his offense is still ahead of his defense.
Lucas Carlsson and Nicolas Beaudin have each played 12 games and simply are trying to establish themselves as regulars, though Beaudin has two goals and three assists.
Ian Mitchell has the potential for a strong overall game, but there are times when his inexperience and inconsistency show.
Zadorov is a hitter, for certain, but he’s not the offensive weapon he has said he would like to be.
In the most recent games, Zadorov and Mitchell have been paired to see how well they complement each other. In limited action, they have the third fewest goals-against per 60 minutes (1.94) among Hawks pairs who have played at least 50 minutes this season.
Here’s how they evaluate themselves and each other.
Nikita Zadorov
During a homestand against Tampa Bay earlier this month, Zadorov was asked about the Lightning’s offensive-minded defensemen, and he let out a laugh.
“I’m not Victor Hedman, right?” he said. “If you put me on the Lightning, I’m not going to put up as many points as he does.”
Despite that moment of self-awareness, he brings other things to the table.
“We’re focused mostly on how he defends,” Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. “That’s how he’s going to bring the most value to the team. Everyone wants to contribute offensively and certainly moving the puck efficiently and getting pucks to the net on the offensive blue line, that’s always welcome. But he’s here to defend and be hard to play against and physical and box out around the net.”
Through 30 games, Zadorov ranks sixth in the league with 101 hits.
“I think he’s been improving as the year goes on. And his puck plays have improved as well,” Colliton said. “We’re still helping him and working with consistency, game to game. But we need him. He’s another guy that you’d love to observe how he responds to these types of challenges.
Zadorov said he’s has been gaining confidence within the Hawks’ system, learning his teammates’ tendencies — regardless of who he’s paired with — and doing a better job maintain his gap as a defender.
“Now it’s all about just do whatever I can to help my team win, so I think that’s the biggest goal for us right now, for the whole team,” he said.
Ian Mitchell
Mitchell sat out two games against the Dallas Stars so the rookie could get a bird’s-eye view of the game as a spectator and go over clips of his play and that of others with Colliton.
“It allowed me to see that there’s a lot more time out there than maybe it feels like at times,” Mitchell said. “When you sit from above, it seems a lot easier than it is at ice level. I watched a lot of Murph (Connor Murphy) and Duncs (Duncan Keith) and Cal (Calvin de Haan) just to see how they played. That was really helpful for me just to see their poise and their presence with the puck.
“That’s something that I was kind of getting away from me in Tampa there,” he said.
During the three games against the Lightning at the United Center, Mitchell had a minus-2 rating and committed penalties that led to power-play goals in back-to-back games. The Lightning were going at him, particularly with big forwards such as Aleksander Barkov.
“Jeremy kind of put it best: He said I went from hunting to being the hunted,” Mitchell said. “For most of the year I thought I’ve been getting really comfortable, but that break was really good for me to reset. I think I’ve rebounded well the last two games.”
He has been paired with Zadorov, who at 25 is three years older than Mitchell and understands the fits and starts of playing a nuanced position at such a young age.
“Your whole career is a roller coaster,” Zadorov said. “Sometimes you have a bad game, sometimes you have a good game. Sometimes you need a break to take a look at a game from upstairs; it helps. I had it before when I was young; I was getting scratched and all that.
“I think he took it a really good way.”
Zadorov said he has enjoyed being paired with Mitchell.
“He’s a first-year guy, but on the ice it doesn’t feel like you’re playing with a first-year guy,” Zadorov said. “He gets in the battle, he gets in the scrums, he tries to close quick in the D-zone, plays hard, he has a good offensive IQ, he can make plays.”
For Mitchell, the feeling is mutual.
“Z’s a big body so he’s really good at breaking up the cycle down low and I can swoop in and pick up loose pucks that are laying there around his feet,” Mitchell said. “I really like playing with him. He’s got a great gap a lot of the time too. … I’m just trying to complement Z as much as I can here.”
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