Nazem Kadri, taken with the 7th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, is still young. However, that has not stopped speculation that the Leafs may have begun to approach the end of the line with Kadri:
But more and more, it appears that there are serious concerns with whether the youngster is capable of getting the job done.
At his first training camp in 2009, an 18-year-old Kadri was not physically mature enough to play in the NHL. The following year, it was the mental side of his game that lacked maturity. This time around, he was simply not good enough.
His rookie year provided a number of good comparables as Chemmy noted:
There are some names on there that aren't stars but there aren't a ton of names on there that aren't decent prospects. Kadri has some work to do on his game but for me it's easier to be patient when looking at the company he's in. Could Kadri be looking at a 20 goal season next year? We'll find out.
And while some players drafted ahead of him have grabbed their NHL opportunities by the horns, the rest of his draft class has not exactly been lighting the world on fire. Of course, he'll be on the shelf for the first month of the season. Hardly the strong start that we were hoping out of him but how much will it impact his production?
How many points will Nazem Kadri get this season?
| Less than 15 | 26 |
| 16-25 | 58 |
| 26-35 | 154 |
| 36-45 | 141 |
| 46-55 | 24 |
| 56+ | 18 |