Colorado Avalanche: Menace of Nikita Zadorov… in Tweets

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov is known for being a big presence both with opponents and teammates.

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov… is a menace. He’s the kind of player you would hate if he were an opponent, but you’re really glad he’s on your team.

Well, he’s a big boy — 6-foot-6, 235-ish pounds. (He once laughed that his weight is still listed thus.) Not only that, he’s sometimes just a big kid.

And that big boy likes to hit. Not surprisingly, he led the Avalanche in hits last season with 228. In fact, it was his third season straight being tops on the club. And he was top-10 in the whole NHL for hitting.

Here he is smashing the San Jose Sharks’ big forward Lukas Radil:

Indeed, Zadorov is so known for hitting, we all just call the phenomenon Z Smash. Here’s an example:

Sorry, Calle Jarnkrok, Z didn’t see you there. Actually, he totally saw you there which is why he drove his shoulder into your sternum. That’s what you get for trying to make a play against the Avs.

That goes double for you, Riley Nash:

Yeah, that one might leave a mark. What follow-through by Zadorov.

Anyway, I like all the stuff in hockey, including the rough stuff. I love when players lay a big hit, and I like it just fine when they fight.

Now, Zadorov isn’t the biggest fighter on the team — right now, it’s Matt Calvert. However, Nikita isn’t afraid to stand up for his teammates:

He got into three fights this past season. To be honest, none of them were great brawls. However, he did tango with Adam Lowry of the division rival Winnipeg Jets:

I think the fact that Nikita Zadorov isn’t the best of fighters yet is still willing to drop the gloves speaks volumes about what kind of teammate he is.

Well, up to a point. Zadorov is known for being something of a pest to his own teammates:

Don’t worry. Zadorov didn’t smack Gabriel Landeskog. He just ruffled his hair a little bit:

To be honest, I didn’t mind. We got to see how long Landy’s hair is on top! Combined with the thickness of his hair… well, that’s like a second helmet right there!

Nikita didn’t just go after the hair. He picked on whatever your specialty is. For example, Ian Cole has a beard so big his own father calls it ugly. So, of course, that’s what Zadorov went for… right there on Pepsi Vision:

I like how Nikita Zadorov is watching himself on Pepsi Vision as he tweaks Cole’s beard. And how Cole’s only reaction is to curl his lip a couple times.

And if you don’t have a specialty? Well, there’s always the classic helmet tilt:

Poor Cale Makar. The rookie never stood a chance.

Now, the captain of a hockey team has many responsibilities. One of them is to keep the peace amongst teammates. So, our captain had to get a little stern with Zadorov:

And when a little stern didn’t work, he got really stern:

Wow, you know you’re a troublemaker when your own captain is trying to whack you with a stick. But, just like pests everywhere, Zadorov sweet talks his way out of trouble.

It should come as no surprise that his teammates… had a little advice for Nikita Zadorov:

A mute button, changing his personality… wow, harsh guys! However, I love how in the end Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon say they wouldn’t change a thing about Big Z.

I wouldn’t either, to be honest. I mean, sure, there might be some aspects of his game that need working on. However, all in all, I think Nikita Zadorov is an asset to the team.

He’s just a little bit of a jokester is all.