Maple Leafs: A more complete Kadri is finally coming to his own defence
Nazem Kadri remembers what he used to be like.
“In my first couple of years, I was the guy who had a hard time managing the puck,” said the Maple Leafs centre. “The whole turnover crisis.”
It has taken time, and a succession of coaches telling him the same thing, but Kadri has finally gotten the message. He has risen to the challenge of playing a complete game to the point where he is coach Mike Babcock’s first choice when it comes to matching up against the other team’s top centre, as he did so successfully against Connor McDavid on Tuesday night.
“I think I’m right in my comfort zone,” Kadri said. “When I first came into the league, defence wasn’t the top priority for me. It took me a cou- ple of years to figure out how to be successful at it. Now I think I’ve got the hang of it.
“Obviously playing against top guys brings the best out in you just because you’ve got to show up or get shown up. You’ve got to be ready every single shift.”
It’s head-spinning stuff to see Kadri’s maturation. It wasn’t that long ago that president Brendan Shanahan had to call on Kadri’s parents to help get their son to take the game more seriously when he was suspended by the team for sleeping in. Now he’s a role model, for teammates and fans. One tweeted this week that she named her newborn daughter Kadri Lee Amey.
“It’s definitely cool, it’s surreal, I’ve never see it before” Kadri said. “That’s something that’s going to be in the birth certificate.
“In the Toronto market, you’re considered a role model. You want to do the best you can to be that.”
Kadri credits the current coaching staff for his turnaround, naming Mike Babcock, Jim Hiller and D.J. Smith.
“They’ve done a great job with me,” Kadri said. “Even when I make a mistake, they’re not quick to pounce on me and sit me on the bench. They let me go out and redeem myself.”
It’s under Babcock’s watch that Kadri became a defensive centre, a kind of rat that gets under the opponent’s skin, but one with some offensive pop.
“Last year was the best year of his career, and this year he’s set up to have a good year,” Babcock said. “What you find when you’re playing against the other team’s best players is that those guys are trying to score, but they’re going to give you opportunities . . .
“(Kadri) hasn’t been great every game. But he’s made some strides. It appears when he has a job, he’s more focused.”
Kadri struggled offensively last season, with just 17 goals on 260 shots and an absurdly low shooting percentage of 6.5 per cent. It’s an absurdly high 23.8 per cent this year, with five goals on 23 shots.
“When you’re hot, you’re getting a lot of touches with the puck, you’re getting space, you’re getting time to make plays, you have the confidence to make plays,” Kadri said. “When you’re in a drought, it feels like the goalies are massive . . . the nets, three times smaller.”
At Babcock’s request, Kadri has worked on his shot and the release. “Look at all the goal scorers, when they shoot the puck, the puck is not on the stick for very long,” the centre said.
The coach, however, is still expecting more. “He scores from in tight. But why not expand on that?,” Babcock said. “We all got things we’ve got to get way better at.”