Zadina Turning Corner? ‘There’s no BS in his game right now’ (+)

“There’s no BS in his game right now.”

David Quinn has liked what he’s seen from Filip Zadina recently.

So much so, the San Jose Sharks bench boss is promoting Zadina back where the Czech winger started the season, next to top centerman and countryman Tomas Hertl against the Arizona Coyotes tomorrow night.

On the surface, it might look like Zadina is struggling.

Since returning from an upper-body injury on Dec. 5, Zadina has played mostly on the fourth line, averaging 10:24 a night. Because of injuries to multiple San Jose Sharks centermen, the winger has been forced to help out up the middle.

He’s got just two assists in these last seven games.

For the 2018 sixth-overall pick, that doesn’t seem impressive.

But dig beyond the stats, and you’ll see a 23-year-old who is trying to simplify his game – and succeeding.

“I just like his approach. I like his physicality. I like his direct play,” Quinn said.

Quinn noted that Zadina has been skating on the fourth line because he came back, in Long Island, to a team in the midst of a 6-2-2 run. The head coach didn’t want to shake things up much.

So it was on Zadina to impress in limited minutes – and he has.