Despite being a fan favorite, Fabian Zetterlund is still somewhat underrated. Because his production towards the end of the season was pretty impressive, most New Jersey Devils fans are excited about what he could bring. In his 14 appearances, he was able to rack up eight points (three goals, five assists).
Given the circumstances, that kind of production is solid work. Zetterlund can only improve from there. He seemed to have fit in nicely with Lindy Ruff’s system. He’s definitely a prospect to keep an eye on moving forward. He could also potentially make the opening night roster as well. This is just part of the reason Zetterlund is underrated.
Because he stands 5’11” while weighing 220 pounds, his size and skill combination gives him a ton of untapped potential. According to NJ.com beat writer Ryan Novozinsky, Zetterlund is capable of bench pressing anywhere from 275-286 pounds. So, he has the potential to add even more weight in muscle during his developmental years. He’s going to be a strong winger coming down the lane, who can rack up even more points if given a chance.
Similar to Alexander Holtz, Zetterlund was lighting it up with the Utica Comets. He appeared in 58 games and was able to net an impressive total of 52 points (24 goals, 28 assists). But the main difference between Zetterlund and Holtz was that Zetterlund was able to perform fairly well during his short stint in the NHL.
I talked more about my thoughts on Fabian Zetterlund in one of my more recent podcast episodes of Locked On Devils.
Given his impressive stature and flashes of brilliance, more fans should be excited about the development of Zetterlund. He adds a lot of useful tools to the Devils’ pipeline. One thing we’d like to see is for him to become more of an enforcer. One of the little critiques is that he spent zero minutes in the penalty box at the NHL level. While that might be a good thing to stay out of the box, has to be one of the strongest players on the rink. So, he shouldn’t be afraid to get into fights in order to fire up his teammates.
Zetterlund is a bottom-six player. The Devils were missing a spark plug last season because they looked lackadaisical at times. Obviously, with Miles Wood returning, that will help things, but Zetterlund can definitely be a bit more intimidating. He can add that to his game, and he will only get better from here.