Brian Burke says Nazem Kadri needs to pick up his play
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke said in a press conference call Sunday that star prospect Nazem Kadri needed to improve his game if he hoped to make the team this season.
Kadri was the Leafs first pick in the 2009 National Hockey League entry draft. After posting incredible numbers with his junior squad, the London Knights, last season a great deal was expected of the young
centre heading into camp. Unfortunately the Ontario native has not played to the level head coach Ron Wilson and Burke were hoping.
Burke spoke about the youngsters play.
“He’s not played anywhere near to what we had hoped for or expected. I don’t know why that is. And He’s running out of time. His comments seem to indicate that he thinks he has a lot more time. But he’s
running out of time here.”
Kadri recently survived a slew of Maple Leaf cuts, which saw their line-up drop to 30 men. Toronto re-assigned 21 players on Sunday and Kadri was lucky enough to slip through the cracks. The prized prospect
will get more time to impress the Leafs brass in a couple more pre-season engagements. However, Burke has made it clear that the rookie’s time is quickly running out.
The Leafs were counting on Kadri to step up and be effective in camp and take over third line centre duty for the upcoming season. Conversely, he has made it difficult for Toronto to justify keeping him for
the season opener.
Burke did however mention that the franchise still believes he can be an effective player, stating. “This is not uncommon at all with a young player that there’s a lot of hype, maybe a lot of pressure with
a hometown kid. Whatever the reasons, we haven’t lost faith at all with Nazem Kadri. But his play right now indicates that he’s not ready at all to contribute at this level.”
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