***MY APOLOGIES FOR DELETING THIS BLOG AND RE-POSTING IT. BUT, IT WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION BY AN E-MAILER THAT SOME PEA-BRAIN OUT THERE MADE A BIGOTED REFERENCE TO NAZEM KADRI IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. I'M TRUSTING THOSE WHO MONITOR THIS SITE WILL DO A MORE VIGILANT JOB, AND TRULY HOPE THE PERSON IN QUESTION FINDS A SEMBLANCE OF LIFE ELSEWHERE***
TORONTO (Sep. 27) — As they’ve done so many times in the past, the Maple Leafs could have yielded to temptation. They could have reviewed Nazem Kadri’s performance in training camp and the pre-season and justifiably come to the conclusion that he was their best forward; perhaps their best player at any position. But, the ghosts of Jim Benning, Bob McGill, Fred Boimstruck, Gary Nylund, Al Iafrate, Ken Wregget, and others the club unwittingly fast-tracked into the National Hockey League did not prevail. Instead, Brian Burke, Ron Wilson and company chose to resist temptation and send Kadri back to his junior club, the London Knights.
It was the proper move, in every way.
I can easily remember the moment Kadri’s name was called by Burke, as the Leafs’ GM stood at the podium in Montreal’s Bell Centre last June. A torrent of speculation pointed to the club’s No. 7 draft slot being sacrificed in a trade to move up in the order, or to acquire disgruntled winger Phil Kessel from the Bruins. By the week of the draft, it was fully apparent that Burke had no chance of landing the No. 1 selection, and fulfilling his fantasy to drape John Tavares in blue and white. As such, the hottest name connected to Leaf-based rumors belonged to Brayden Schenn, brother of the club’s top pick from the previous year. It was obvious the younger Schenn would no longer be available if Burke did not improve on his No. 7 position, and a last-minute attempt to ascend in the order fell upon deaf ears. Schenn went to Los Angeles in the No. 5 slot. In a bit of a surprise, Phoenix then selected Swedish defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, leaving top prospects Kadri, Jared Cowan, Scott Glennie, and Sweden’s Maguns Paajarvi-Svensson available to Burke.
When the Leafs’ manager called Kadri’s name, there was a moment of awkward silence from all but those related to the London forward. An immediate uproar ensued in the low-level seats, as Kadri’s family and friends rejoiced over the selection. Most others craned their necks toward the giant video screen that hangs above centre-ice in the home of the Montreal Canadiens. Who exactly was this beaming youngster in which the Leafs had just staked a large block of their future? Dedicated followers of the Ontario Hockey League knew all about the speedy, industrious forward, yet he seemed not to be among the more luminous candidates in the opening round of the lottery.
Exactly three months later, it is obvious the Leafs’ management and scouting staff did their jobs rather spectacularly. Nazem Kadri will be an above-average-to-excellent player in the NHL, perhaps as early as next season. Much like the other young players that have impacted the Leafs’ camp this fall – Viktor Stalberg chief among them – Kadri’s shortcomings are correctable. A good coach will easily improve his decision-making potential in areas away from the opposition net. What cannot be taught are the things Kadri and Stalberg are able to accomplish in the attacking zone – the speed that allows them to utilize their innate anticipation; the golden hands that can either set up teammates for scoring chances, or smartly convert passes from others.
This is largely what makes the future of the Maple Leafs brighter right now than at any juncture in recent memory.
It is also what enables the club to determine the optimum path for its most valued assets. Wilson has routinely and repeatedly quashed the excitement around town over the Leafs’ excellent pre-season record, and the eye-opening performances of youngsters such as Kadri, Stalberg, Tyler Bozak, Carl Gunnarsson and Jonas Gustavsson. He has stressed the illusory aspects of defeating the Boston Bruins without Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara; the Pittsburgh Penguins without Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bill Guerin and Marc-Andre Fleury; the Detroit Red Wings without Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Nick Lidstrom and Johan Franzen. It is never too early to develop a winning posture, and the Leafs could well catapult into the regular season off a strong exhibition showing. But, the so-called degree of difficulty begins to rise exponentially this coming Thursday.
And, that is why Nazem Kadri is best served leading his junior club in scoring, while potentially captaining the Canadian side at the World Junior Hockey Championships in December – a tournament widely celebrated in our country; lifted to unimaginable heights each holiday season by the aptitude and flair of television sports behemoth TSN. It’s the stage on which Kadri belongs in his first go-round as a Toronto prodigy.
On the flip side, it places immediate and enormous responsibility on the Leafs’ returning players, several of whom – Matt Stajan, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Ian White, Nikolai Kulemin, Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala – were not nearly as impressive [during limited ice-time] as the newcomers in the exhibition schedule. Same goes for recent additions to the team such as Garnet Exelby and Rickard Wallin, who were virtually assured of roster positions prior to training camp. Though Burke is faced with the encumbrances of the salary cap and waiver process, the abovementioned will have determined eyes peeking over their shoulders all season long.
Nazem Kadri’s eyes should blaze a permanent path to our city by next year at this time.
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