National Post (National Edition)
POST SPORTS
Leafs’ Kadri finally enjoys sound of praise.
There was a time — and it was not that long ago — when Nazem Kadri was the butt of many jokes. When coaches were calling him fat and lazy, when his high-risk plays led to more turnovers than goals, and when he was the subject of many trade rumours. There was a time when most people believed the Toronto Maple Leafs seventh-overall pick in 2009 was just another first-round bust.
“I saw a picture of him in the paper one time with a soother in his mouth,” said teammate Joffrey Lupul. “That’s ridiculous. It’s unfair to someone who’s 19 or 20. A lot of young players, something like that could ruin him.”
It did not ruin Kadri. Instead, the early criticism — that he was too immature, too risky, too small — might have helped him to develop into one of the top offensive players in the NHL this season. As of Friday afternoon, Kadri was eighth in league scoring with 33 points in 31 games.
Some, like New Jersey Devils head coach Peter DeBoer, are now comparing Kadri to a young Doug Gilmour or saying that he might be the No. 1 centre that the Leafs have been searching for since Mats Sundin left. And while that talk might be surprising — if not overly premature for a 22-year-old who entered the year having played only 51 NHL games, the praise has also been a refreshing change.
“That’s pretty cool, especially with how my last couple of years have went it’s nice to finally get a little bit of recognition from not only your teammates but guys around the league,” said Kadri. “It’s just half the season, so I definitely have a lot more work to do but I’m definitely headed in the right direction.”
As he spoke, Lupul sat a few feet away and could not help but smile. It was not that long ago that he was in the same position as Kadri. Also a seventh-overall draft pick who oozed both talent and confidence, Lupul also seemed to be criticized with every misstep he took and ultimately needed to be traded four times before he finally found success.
Lupul does not believe Kadri will follow a similar path. But there were times last year when the veteran reached out to the youngster if only to show that he was not alone.
“I don’t try to be that father figure,” said Lupul. “He’s going to have plenty more times when he’s criticized and make mistakes, but he has the confidence to bounce back. Whenever I talk to him I just try to be positive and to keep do- ing what he’s doing.
“If he keeps playing the way he can and wanting the puck and willing to make the big plays ... He’s been a really valuable guy for us and I can see him doing it a lot more going forward.”
Indeed, Kadri has turned his doubters into believers. Head coach Randy Carlyle has certainly bought in, having given Kadri more ice time and more responsibility with each game. On Thursday, Kadri was matching up against Steven Stamkos. Two nights later, he played a season-high 21 minutes and 27 seconds.
“Who has he surprised?” asked goalie Ben Scrivens, who played with Kadri in the minors. “People who know him and work with him every day, this isn’t surprising. No one goes, ‘ Oh wow, where’s this coming from?’ They go, ‘That’s what Naz can do.’ ”
As to what more he can do, therein lies the challenge for the Leafs at the end of the season, when Kadri becomes a restricted free agent. Maybe this is a glimpse into Kadri’s potential or maybe in the last three months he has simply been able to catch lightning in a bottle.
Whatever it is, Kadri is no longer a punch line in Toronto.
“Ovechkin was unbelievable at 18 and he’s not as good now,” said Lupul. “Some guys just slowly improve. And I think Naz is improving now. Obviously, they did the things necessary for Naz. Keeping him the minors helped his development and now he’s proving a lot of people wrong. It’s great to see.”