Kadri starting to realize potential
Leafs centre cites positive relationship with coach Carlyle
TORONTO • Nazem Kadri was asked about the difference in the relationship he has with the current head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Randy Carlyle, and the coach Carlyle was hired to replace last year, Ron Wilson.
“It’s totally different,” Kadri said. “It’s a complete 180.” How so? “Before, I didn’t really get the impression that I was kind of wanted in the lineup,” Kadri said. “But with Randy, it’s a whole different ball game. He explains everything he does to you. Even if you don’t get the minutes you want, there’s an explanation for it. There’s a reason for it.
“And he’ll come tell you personally, too,” he said. “You’re not beating around the bush; sending someone else to come preach. I just like the communication. He makes me feel like I belong here, like I can be a big contributor here.”
And four games into the season, Kadri, the 22-year-old former first-round draft pick, has been contributing on offence as much as the Leafs could have hoped when they included him on the roster out of training camp. He has picked up at least one point in every game so far, with a total of five points heading into Saturday night’s game in New York.
This is the point of the story where the usual caveats need to be raised: It is far too early (even in a lockout-shortened season) to declare Kadri the breakout player the team has been waiting for since drafting him seventh overall four years ago. It is only four games, and Kadri has been scoring at an unsustainable pace — but more on that later.
For the time being, the positives can shine through the questions. Some of those positives seem to be tectonic shifts in attitude, from both a practical application in the lineup and in the way the coach communicates with his player.
“As a young guy,” Kadri said on Friday, “I just needed others to believe in me, as well.”
‘Before, I didn’t really get the impression that I was kind of wanted in the lineup. But with Randy (Carlyle), it’s a whole different ball game’
NAZEM KADRI Maple Leafs centre
Wilson chose a tough-love approach. The coach, who was fired last March, made a habit of questioning Kadri’s commitment to defence in public, as well as his commitment to the physical demands of the NHL. ( While declaring the then-20-year-old as a healthy scratch for a home game in December 2010, Wilson said Kadri lacked “hockey strength.”)
The questions about fitness lingered into training camp with Toronto’s American Hockey League affiliate last fall. But they seem to have been eased.
Kadri averaged a point-pergame with the Marlies. He made the Leafs out of camp, and is playing in his natural position at centre. That, combined with the fact he has been playing (in the AHL) while many in the NHL were still locked out, along with the appearances of an improved relationship with his coach, might aid a long-awaited ascension.
Part of this success is probably unsustainable. Kadri has three goals on 11 shots, giving him a 27.3 per cent success rate, unlikely to last over the course of a season. (Steven Stamkos led the league in scoring last season with 60 goals, and he did it with a shooting percentage of 19.8.)
“Usually, he’s not the goalscorer, so good for him,” regular linemate Matt Frattin said. “He’s going hard to the net. And you take a look at what kind of goals he’s getting, and where he’s getting them, and it’s all on top of that crease.”
Playing at centre — Kadri was between Frattin and Leo Komarov on Thursday — might also be playing a role in his quick start to the season. (Kadri had a goal and an assist in the loss, while Frattin had a goal and two assists against the Islanders, in his season debut.)
“It gives him kind of more free rein, where he can kind of come back, skate up and lead the rush, which I don’t mind at all,” Frattin said of having Kadri at centre. “Because he makes smart plays, and he drags guys to him and opens up space for his linemates.”
Kadri said playing in the middle helps him because it means his feet are always moving, and can gather speed through the neutral zone on a rush, which is where he said he finds his stride.
“I’ve had streaks before,” Kadri said. “I don’t think, right off the start, I’ve come out like this. But in the American League — and even up here, before — I’ve had those few-game stints where I’ve been consistently putting up points.
“But it’s more than that. I’m trying to put together a full season here.”