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Moving to a new country on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean has been relatively smooth process for Zadina. From the moment he met his Moosehead teammates at the airport, it was on.

“He’s at ease when he’s talking to people, very mature, an easy guy to get along with,” Russell said. “He’s very eager to learn. His passion takes over on the ice, whether it’s a practice or a game. He just wants to play and he wants to learn.”

As a ‘Q’ rookie, Zadina ranks in the top 10 among all players in several offensive categories, including points per game (fourth), dangerous shots on goal (fifth) and total shots on goal (sixth). He amassed 24 goals and 22 assists in 32 games before linking up with the Czech U20 team in early December.

“First couple of games was tough for me,” Zadina said, “but I’ve played better and better. Now I think I play good. I feel good on the ice.”

On a broader scale, and when viewed through a big-picture lens, Zadina is an important player for the Czech hockey community. Not only is he the son of Marek Zadina, former player and current coach in the highest domestic pro league, he’s also a rare high-end talent.

The Eastern European country, once a legitimate yearly threat to top-tier nations in regards to both international event success and quality of developed players, hit a dry spell in the mid-to-late 2000s. However, it has enjoyed a mini renaissance of late, producing a handful of top-25 picks in recent drafts.

Boston’s David Pastrnak (25th overall in 2014) is the most well-known and accomplished. Other notables include Washington’s Jakub Vrana (13th in 2014), New Jersey’s Pavel Zacha (sixth in 2015), Carolina’s Necas (12th in 2017) and the New York Rangers’ Filip Chytil (21st in 2017), another world junior teammate.