It's been a disappointing ride for Nikita Zadorov this past year. Traded at the draft to a team he expected to play 82 games with as a future cornerstone defenseman, only to be sent down to the AHL Rampage a month later due to some clear holes in his play, and according to many in the media, to send a message of humility. Recalled along with other promising defenseman Chris Bigras when Erik Johnson went down with his knee injury, then reassigned again 5 games later, while Bigras stayed. Stuck in San Antonio during that team's absolutely desolate stretches, and finally recalled again in March, when the Wild tried their best to back out of a playoff spot, only for the hapless Avalanche to say, no no, we insist, you take it.
2015-16 Colorado Avalanche Year-End Review: Nikita Zadorov
