Zadorov said on Thursday that he felt like his old self entering Avs training camp and it wouldn't take him long to get readjusted to the pace of the game. Before the contest in Minnesota, he noted that he wasn't going to dip his toe in the water, so to speak, but jump right in.
"I'm not going to wait for the game to come to me. I'm going to come to the game" Zadorov said. "Speed, I've been practicing with NHL players full-time, so the speed is there."
The Moscow, Russia, native finished with two shots on goal, four hits, one takeaway, one blocked shot and seven penalty minutes in Colorado's 2-1 loss at Xcel Energy Center.
Zadorov even dropped the gloves as he fought former Avalanche forward Chris Stewart at 7:35 of the second period.
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound rear guard ended the night with the second-most ice time on the club at 21:57, trailing only his defensive partner for the game, David Warsofsky, who played 27:31.
The reason for the delay in Zadorov joining the Avs was because he signed his two-year contract on Sept. 15 and had to wait to get his work visa before entering the country. He finally got his paperwork approved and arrived in Denver on Wednesday night.
He's looking to build on the solid campaign that he had last year, where he registered 10 assists, while leading the Avalanche with 73 penalty minutes and 153 hits.
"For sure, it's our goal. Not just keep going, but keep going up," Zadorov said of improving as a player. "Get better every game, and just be the best."
He had a strong start in achieving that on Saturday.
