Blue And White Beat – Early signs indicate Kadri needs work
“This is a men’s league, and he’s still a boy.”
That quote has yet to be attributed to any Leafs coach or executive, three days into the 2010 training camp.
But don’t be surprised if bench boss Ron Wilson makes a similar proclamation, perhaps worded more diplomatically, when it comes time to finalizing the Leafs NHL roster in a couple weeks time. Because, if the first few workouts at MasterCard Centre are any indication, highly-touted first-round draft pick Nazem Kadri appears destined for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies rather than sticking with the big club.
With the Leafs deficient at the centre position, it’s only natural for rabid supporters of the team to be frothing at the mouth at the prospect of having the soon-to-be 20-year-old line up at the centre ice faceoff dot of the Air Canada Centre, and not Ricoh Coliseum.
The suggestion here is for coach Wilson to exercise patience, and employ a maneuver used several years ago by a former coach of one of Toronto’s fiercest division rivals.
See, the opening quotation of this column came from Jacques Martin – then coach of the Ottawa Senators in 2001 – after cutting promising draft pick Jason Spezza on the final day of the team’s camp. Spezza was understandably upset at not only the decision, but the phrasing of Martin’s remark. It was not the first disappointment of Spezza’s career as he would toil between Binghamton and Ottawa the following year.
The circumstance was slightly different than Kadri’s current situation (Spezza had one remaining year of junior eligibility when Martin made the quote, Kadri will be overage in just over two weeks time), but the lesson is the same.
If Kadri is projected to be a top-line forward in the Leafs’ future, it does a disservice to award him a full-time NHL job today. Having him fight for ice time as a black ace in the press box will serve no purpose for his career development.
The same argument was used to bolster Martin’s argument when it came time to demote Spezza to the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, and later the AHL Baby Senators, or “Bingo” as they say in the nation’s capital. Nearly a decade later, Spezza has 475 career NHL points and is the Senators’ all-time leading scorer at centre; second overall to right-winger Daniel Alfredsson.
This column was not written to compare Kadri’s playmaking ability or projected career scoring proficiency to Spezza’s, but only to provide an example of how an extra year of minor league development can work to a player’s advantage.
On Sunday morning, Kadri suited up in a scrimmage game pivoting wingers Colby Armstrong and Kris Versteeg. The youngster struggled defensively, even getting stripped off the puck by Dale Mitchell. While no disrespect is intended towards the two-time Memorial Cup champion with Windsor, the fact is that Mitchell is destined for the AHL and his outplaying of Kadri does not serve the latter’s NHL aspirations.
“I think he’s focused on his offense right now, but when you first come into the league you’re never going to be as successful offensively as your potential,” said Wilson when questioned about Kadri’s play in his own end. “That’s going to be the most important thing that he’s got to get down in pre-season – that he’s not going to be negative defensively. I hope he picks up on what we do quickly.”
Versteeg, who scored twice for his squad’s scrimmage team, also sees an early promotion of young players as an exception to the rule. “You don’t always see centremen make a jump (to the NHL level) and if you do, as a young guy, you generally see him moved to wing,” said the 2010 Stanley Cup champion with Chicago, citing overtime hero Patrick Kane as example of the move out of position. “It’s going to be an adjustment for (Kadri). He’s got to learn to deal with his own end, and then get into the offensive end and work hard too.”
“It’s a learning experience. He’s got all the tools, he’s just got to do it now,” added Versteeg; sounding an endorsement of Kadri’s future potential while trying to put a positive spin on his teammate’s defensive shortcomings at the same time.
The London, Ontario native displays an eagerness to learn, and needs no introduction to the speed at which the big league game is played, despite having just 17 minutes, 26 seconds of NHL ice time – in a single-game emergency call-up vs. San Jose on Feb. 8 – to his credit. “I want to be a two-way player. In the NHL you can get burned really quickly if you don’t have your stick on the ice or if you don’t have your head up,” said Kadri.
No person cheering for Kadri’s success would want to see him continually victimized, either by opposing players on the ice surface, or by unforgiving pundits.
All NHL clubs have to finalize their rosters by October 6, the day of Kadri’s 20th birthday. As unfathomable as it may seem to some fans, the best present that the youngster could hope to receive would be the absence of his name from that list.
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Below the radar of the Crosbys and Getzlafs and Webers is Clarke MacArthur, a fourth-liner on the 2005 Team Canada World Junior “dream team” along with Stephen Dixon and Colin Fraser. MacArthur now finds himself an NHL teammate of the man who was named the Best Defenceman of the U-20 tournament five years ago, Dion Phaneuf. “It’s great honour for him to be named captain,” said MacArthur. “We had great memories at the 2005 Juniors, and hopefully we’ll start some new ones here.”
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The Leafs welcomed a guest at training camp this morning as former Toronto great Doug Gilmour skated with the team during practice. “I’m still pretty young at coaching,” admitted Gilmour, now entering his third year behind the bench of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs. “I’m going to make mistakes along the way. I understand that. But, it’s been a great experience.”
When speaking of the headlines surrounding the ailing Pat Burns – who coached the Leafs through ‘The Passion Returns’ seasons of consecutive semi-final appearances – Gilmour said he had no reason to believe the premature reports of his former coach’s passing: “The night before, he snuck out of the hospital and went for sushi.”
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The Leafs training camp squads are split into three groups, Team Armstrong, Team Kennedy and Team Sittler, all named for past Hall of Fame captains of the club. With the addition of Colby Armstrong to the team, I couldn’t help but ask George Armstrong – no relation to the player – why Colby wasn’t assigned to the squad that bears his name. The Chief didn’t miss a beat. “Probably because he’s GOOD!”
Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca
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Message to Mikhail Grabovski. Mikhail, there is one little thing you must take notice of. When carrying the puck, you skate way to big, nice any other time but not carrying the puck. You are making yourself to easy to get a piece of, getting hit far more than you could be. You need to make yourself smaller when carrying the puck, harder to hit. Maybe a little more on an angle, not so straight up. Maybe the shoulder pads you wear could be a little smaller. Making it a little easier to slip through traffic. Other than that my friend, you know what to do with the puck, motor on! P.S. Might mean a few less injures too!
Yes, we need to keep things in perspective with regards to Kadri. At 19, he is doing fantastic. He will be 20 when the season starts. At age 20, Darryl Sittler only scored 10 goals in the NHL. At age 21, he scored 15 goals. He didn’t get his 100 point season until age 25. However, he did have his “breakout” season at age 23. By the way, he was picked 8th overall in his draft year. Kadri was picked 7th overall. Your Jason Spezza comparison was perfectly acceptable.
A well needed post.