Toronto Maple Leafs' Developing Prospects: The Growth of Nazem Kadri

After Burke's infamous conversation with Senators GM Bryan Murray and the inevitable punch in the gut feeling of having a desired player taken a couple picks before, Nazem Kadri was drafted seventh overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Now, this kid came with hype: A flashy scorer with great hands, who played on the same line with John Tavares (taken first, in the same draft) on the London Knights and had put up 78 points in 56 games that year.

Toronto was obviously on a skid and hadn't reached the playoffs in nearly five years. There were holes in Toronto's line up and Kadri desperately wanted to step into the NHL.

Kadri impressed at his first NHL training camp and was one of the final cuts—a move that would see Brian Burke make the decision that sending Kadri back down to the OHL would be the best for his development.

Some argued that Kadri deserved a shot, that Toronto wasn't very deep in terms of developing prospects and this one could step into the NHL on a horrendous team—thus allowing their impatience to cloud their judgment.

If Nazem played during the 09-10 season, he could have maybe scored 10 goals (Seguin has 11 so far this year). He would have played on a losing team, which would have probably taken a mental toll on a 19-year-old player and, no doubt, hurt his confidence.

We, as Leafs fans, want to see Nazem blossom into a 30-40 goal scorer, not an underachiever.

After another great year in London, where we saw him post 93 points in 56 games, incorporate a more physical aspect to his game and centre the first line of the silver medal winning 2010 Canadian World Junior team, Kadri was projected as a lock to make the team coming out of training camp this year.

But sometimes when we want something so bad, we work as hard as we can, overburden ourselves, over think things and try to do too much.

Sometimes our inability to see what the future holds, clouds our ability to focus on the present. We try to predict it, but just like with the weather, we really can't. What we really want is the future to be now.

So after being relegated to the AHL at the beginning of the season, Kadri’s hard work and growing maturity has paid off. He is second on the Marlies in goals and points, and has made the sideboards his home on the team's first power play unit.

He has become a dangerous player; one that warrants attention every time he steps onto the ice. His play resulted in a call up earlier this season, where we saw him put up six assists in 17 games. His play was not all that impressive, but a valuable and necessary learning experience nonetheless.

When Colby Armstrong went down and Burke needed a call up, Nazem Kadri was on the tip of Dallas Eakins' tongue. He had put up three goals in three games and was the team's top offensive threat during the Marlies recent late season surge to secure a playoff spot.

Brian Burke has given Kadri the opportunity to play for the big club, only when he has earned it.

Now Kadri is with his second stint with the Leafs this season and we are seeing him work well with the likes of Joey Crabb and Darryl Boyce, two former line-mates from during his time in the AHL.

Comfort creates confidence, and the Boston Bruins suffered because of it.

We are starting to see the evolution of Kadri's game because of his increasing confidence on the ice. 

And confidence is everything—just ask Mike Komisarek.

Kardi’s development has always been about nurturing his confidence, gaining experience and helping him understand how to reach his potential.

Time will tell the type of player Nazem Kadri evolves into at the National Hockey League level, but the development process implemented by the individuals who are in charge of maximizing his potential, has set the wheels in motion and in the right direction.