The Detroit Red Wings, with their final pick in this year’s draft, took a chance on a gritty, two-way forward from just across the river who didn’t play in 2020-21 due to the pandemic.
Pasquale Zito is determined to reward their faith.
“He said, ‘I’m going to do everything I can to make it worthwhile’ of us stepping up and picking him. That’s pretty neat to hear,” Kris Draper, Detroit’s director of amateur scouting, said. “For us it was about relationships we trusted. He lost a year of hockey, but we feel over the next couple years he’s going to do everything on and off the ice to make himself ready and turn himself into the prospect we want him to be.”
The Red Wigs selected Zito, a 6-foot, 175-pound left wing, in the sixth round (166th overall), based on his play as a 16-year-old for the Windsor Spitfires in 2019-20 (three goals and 13 points in 46 games) and conversations with the junior club’s front office and training staff.
After the 2020-21 OHL season was canceled due to the pandemic, Zito was relegated to playing pick-up games and working out in the gym to stay in shape.
“He knows he has a lot of work to do,” Draper said. “Losing a year of hockey, I couldn’t imagine being at that age not being able to play. The opportunity to be in the gym and get those home-cooked meals and the opportunity to get bigger and stronger, prospects took advantage of that and that’s something that Pasquale did as well.”
Zito hasn’t played an official game since March 2020. He described the weeks leading up to the draft as nerve-wracking, not knowing if the missed season would cost him a shot at being selected.
“It’s been frustrating that everyone else in the world got to play, pretty much, besides the Ontario Hockey League,” Zito said. “You’ve always dreamed of playing your NHL (draft) year to kind of showcase your skill and how much you’ve improved over your first year. I didn’t get the opportunity.
“But I’m quite honored to be selected by such a great organization. I can’t thank Detroit enough for trusting me. I hope to show one day that I’m the biggest surprise in this draft and I know I can do so.”
He added, “I’m looking forward to getting down there at the camp and showing the Detroit staff they made the right pick.”
Zito described himself as an emotional player who “brings a lot of heart to the game.”
“A two-way player, I work well in both ends,” he said. “A team-first guy, I work hard in practice, game, it doesn’t matter the situation. I like to crash the net. I like to shoot. Whatever the coach needs, I’m the type of player that can fill all types of roles.”
Zito, during pre-draft interviews, told the Red Wings he looks up to Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk.
“He wants to be a hard player to play against. He wants to compete against the other team’s top players. He wants to make a tough net-front presence,” Draper said. “Those are the things you like. When you interview a player and they start talking that ‘My favorite players are the Tkachuks,’ it kind of puts a smile on your face. You let them know that’s not easy to do what they do every night and he just kind of smiled. We all know the Tkachuk brothers (Matthew and Ottawa’s Brady) are unbelievable hockey players and unbelievable pros.”
Said Zito: “He’s one of my favorite players, just how much heart he brings to the game and how hard he works. I feel that I bring a lot of similarities to Matthew Tkachuk with his physicality, his leadership.”
More: Steve Yzerman, Kris Draper assess Red Wings’ 2021 draft class
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