![]() They’ll soon seal the top seed in the Pacific Division. The Flames have already clinched their spot in the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, which start in the first week of May. They’ll be spending more time together this spring. Ideally, eight extra weeks worth. I’m enjoying every second of being in the dressing room and being around the guys. It definitely takes a little bit of time to adjust. “It takes time to get to know each other, what kind of person is everybody, what you can say, who’s sensitive, who’s not sensitive, who you can chirp or not, that kind of thing. “I didn’t know pretty much anybody before I came in here,” he added. That helps as well, so definitely it’s a combination of everything. You know, helping young guys or listening to older guys and communicating and go through the winning. Definitely, you earn your respect on the ice. ![]() “Especially as a new guy, when you’re coming in … The management traded for you, they gave you a good contract, so you have to show who you are, right? You can’t go out there and play like (bleep) and expect all the guys to respect you. “You earn your respect,” stressed Zadorov, who recently marked a milestone achievement with his 100th career point. ![]() Heading into Tuesday’s tilt in Nashville, he’d also picked up three assists over a two-game span. He ranks second among Flames in hits, with Milan Lucic as the chart-topper in that category. In a best-of-seven series, they’ll be about as much fun for opposing forwards as a dental extraction.ĭuring Monday’s victory in the Windy City, Zadorov levelled Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews. Together, they have become poster boys for that abrasive, hard-to-go-up-against style that Sutter talks about. He was traded from Chicago to Calgary shortly after longtime captain Mark Giordano was lost in the expansion draft, then signed to a US$3.75-million contract for this winter, the sort of loot that hinted at a relatively prominent role.Įxcept that the smooth-skating - that long stride seems almost effortless, doesn’t it? - and hard-hitting Zadorov didn’t play much initially. He was scratched for five of the first seven games before being paired with Gudbranson. The Russian rearguard loves to crack jokes and be involved in any locker-room hijinks but was also wary of rubbing anybody the wrong way upon arrival, especially since the on-ice fit wasn’t immediate. Zadorov has a big personality to match his 6-foot-6, 235-lb. It’s not hard for me to set up some music.” They’re just getting a little lazy before the game, you know? They don’t want to screw their routine and all that stuff. “I asked the guys, if they don’t mind, like try it and maybe they will like something that I put?” he explained. Now in his eighth season at the NHL level, Zadorov has been the locker-room music maestro with some of his former teams and admits “I kind of invited myself” to take over stereo duties in this latest case. They’ll return Thursday to the Saddledome, where the 27-year-old Zadorov and his third-pairing sidekick Erik Gudbranson have both become fan favourites - and that’s without many realizing that DJ Big Z might deserve extra credit for the fact that the Flames have scored the first goal in nearly two-thirds of their games so far. The crew from Calgary pit-stopped Tuesday in Nashville, a town famous for its twang and its honky-tonk bars. And then some days we have old-school rap, some days we have new-school rap, some days we have techno. Some days, we get the hard rock - some AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne or something like that. In Russia, we don’t even have country, so I never enjoyed it. “Some guys grew up in small cities or villages. There’s 23 guys and everybody has their different tastes,” Zadorov said. “I mean, I like it for myself, but it’s hard. While his daughters - Sophie who just turned five and Stephanie about 19 months will groove to whatever Dad chooses, it’s a little more difficult to put together a playlist that will please an entire roster of opinionated pucksters. They kind of gives me good vibes before the game.” “I wake up from my nap and I have a big speaker, so I turn the music on and my kids come into the room and they’re dancing. “For me, personally, music is a big part of my preparation for a game. As locker-room deejay, ‘Big Z’ is responsible for hits of the other sort, aiming to ensure the boys are always ready to rock. You’ve heard the home crowd at the Saddledome roar when he steps up to flatten an oncoming opponent.īehind the scenes, Nikita Zadorov has stepped into another tone-setting role for the Calgary Flames.
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