Flyers general manager Ron Hextall believes Michael Del Zotto’s fall from an exciting young talent to a frustratingly inconsistent defenseman was a simple case of too much, too soon.
Del Zotto, who first appeared with the Rangers as a 19-year-old, looked like he would be a blueliner for the Blueshirts for a long time, Â but the offensive acumen shown early in his career faded in his final season in New York, leading to his January trade to Nashville, where he struggled in the second half.
Del Zotto, who had career highs of 10 goals and 41 points in the 2011-12 season, signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal with Philadelphia this offseason, and Hextall thinks he’ll end up thanking New York for the bargain.
“Michael has admitted he had a down year [with the Rangers and Predators],” Hextall told CSNPhilly.com. “We look at a young player like Michael Del Zotto coming into the NHL at his age. He has a lot of money. He’s got fame, he’s got people wanting to spend time with him and thinking he’s a big deal. Any 20-, 21-, 22- or 23-year-old, it’s pretty easy to get off the rails. I think that is what happened to him. I think in two years, he will look back and say, ‘It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I regained my focus and what is important.’
“It’s so hard. These kids come in and get so much money and so much fame, you’re living in New York City and we expect them to be what we call ‘pros.’ No. They’re in a process at 20, 21, 22 years old, figuring out what it is to be a pro … You go from being a junior hockey player playing in front of 3,000 people and riding a bus to playing at Madison Square Garden or Wells Fargo in front of 19,000 people. You’re in the NHL, in front of Hockey Night in Canada. It’s … national TV. It’s a big adjustment for any kid in any walk of life. It’s a lot tougher than people think. These young people have to grow up in a hurry.”
Del Zotto, the 20th overall pick in the 2008 draft, turned 24 this summer.
“You’re watching a little part where he was struggling, and admittedly, didn’t play the type of hockey he is capable of playing,” Hextall said. “If you’re taking it on that, a couple years ago he had 41 points and it’s a little bit of a different story. If you see Player X playing and he is at the down point of his year, you might not think he’s a good player, he’s having a terrible year, my God, this guy can’t even play. He comes back the next year and you go, ‘Wow, he’s a pretty good player.’ ”