Kadri Quandary

The play of Nazem Kadri has the Leaf fans excited with hopes that he may be the missing number one center for Phil Kessel. Expectations increased last night when he roofed the tying goal with the Leafs net empty and then scored a beautiful shootout goal which proved to be the game winner. He shows great composure, can skate, handle the puck, make the imaginative pass and has the shot of a goal scorer.

What Kadri reminds me of right now is that great new bike that you were waiting for and finally received on Christmas morning. The bike is shiny and new and it is what you’ve been waiting for. You picture yourself riding the bike all summer. You are tempted to take the bike out right away and take it for a spin even though there is snow on the ground. Your parents may let you sit on it in the rec room right away, but they are not going to let you take it outside and risk damaging the gift before the summer has even begun.

That is what it is like with Nazem Kadri. So far he has showed that he may be exactly what the team needs. But for now, the best place for him to show that promise is training camp and the exhibition season. Kadri will be a Leaf for years to come and he may well one day be the center for Kessel. The reality however is that he is still 18 years old and is less than 180 pounds. There is no reason to risk his long term development by exposing him to the rigors of regular season NHL play where he will be a target and be playing against men weighing 30 pounds more.

The reality also is that right now he is not a better hockey player then Grabovski, Stajan or Mitchell. He also is not as far advanced as Tyler Bozak at this point in his career. Kadri will likely be a center for the top two lines, but right now he is at best fourth on the list of candidates for that role with the Leafs. To showcase his skills he needs to play with skilled players. It would be a waste of his skill and development to find minutes for him on the fourth line.

Despite the temptation to see how he would do in the NHL, the best thing for Kadri is to have a great year in junior hockey where he is the star of a franchise. That will give him a confidence and winning attitude that he will be able to bring to the Leafs in a year or two. He should also have the chance to play a significant role with Canada’s team at the world juniors and work on building his strength. These experiences build character and are invaluable to a true blue chip prospect. They greatly outweigh the benefit of playing a third or fourth line role against NHL grinders on a team scraping to make the playoffs.

The other complication for Toronto is that they have a depth of NHL players up front that are on guaranteed contracts. Many of them are on the final year of their contracts and will not be part of the team next year, but you can’t just make them disappear. Instead, as injuries occur and as Burke finds an opportunity to trade some for futures their positions will be filled by Bozak, Stalberg, Hanson, Rosehill and eventually Kadri.

Maybe a spot will be found for Bozak or Stalberg at the start of the season, but it is more likely that their opportunities will occur during the year. The first 15 games of the season will let Burke evaluate his team and other managers to do the same. At that point Kessel will be ready for action and that might be a time for Burke to make some moves to open a few additional spots.

So far Kadri looks like a great number seven pick and shows nothing but promise. I don’t see Burke taking the gamble and rushing him ahead of schedule.