Prospects
Winds Of Change
Jul 12th
Winds of change are blowing through the NHL. Once mocked and ridiculed teams such as Florida, Atlanta, Edmonton and the Los Angeles Kings are now looking fresh and ready to compete. Similar changes have taken place in Tampa where the biggest move was Steve Yzerman, who by taking over the GM position, offers instant credibility to the Bolts franchise. Looking back at the last 10 or so years (not to get overly depressed), there’s nothing to suggest why we should be talking those teams down. For the Maple Leafs, success has been rare and far apart. So, where does this leave the Blue and White? Are we a part of the big shift of power that is going to hit the NHL in the next couple of years or are the Leafs just a rock too hard to be moved by the wind? In this article I’ll compare the Leafs with other franchises that I view as the most capable of future NHL success and are also in the midst of a rebuilding process. Details down below.
And So Say We Hall
Jun 26th
And with the first overall pick the Edmonton Oilers select Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires. A sigh of relief by all the Toronto hockey lovers. Why you ask? What does Hall have to do with the Maple Leafs? Well, let me explain. When Brian Burke traded for Phil Kessel with the two picks and made a bold (some would call stupid) move that was a topic of heated discussions throughout the year, nobody really thought it would be a lottery pick. Did you? Honestly now, did you believe with the kind of preseason the Leafs had we would end up being the second worst team in the league?
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Podium Leafs?
Jun 24th
As you all know, yesterday was a day of celebration for the NHL. All the skill, points and supreme individual performances were awarded with the league’s highest honors. I was really pleased by the fact that (outside of Miller not getting the consideration for the Hart) all the awards went to deserved winners. Duncan Keith was the outstanding defenseman of the year, Ryan Miller was tested by Ilya Bryzgalov but in the end had a better season in consideration for the Vezina, Datsyuk should get his own award for owning the Selke Trophy etc. That’s all fine and dandy, but how is this related to the Leafs? Well, in this one I will try to compare some the current NHL award holders with our own Leafs and project the chances of a Leaf being up there on the podium sooner rather than later.
Leafs Lock Down Hamilton
Jun 4th
The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Ryan Hamilton to a one-year, two-way contract worth $500,000 at the NHL level, or an AHL salary of $105,000. The Whitby, Ontario native came to the Marlies during the 2008/2009 after being traded from the Wild’s AHL affiliate, Houston.
The undrafted winger was forced to undergo heart ablation surgery, similar to that of Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, partway through the season to correct an irregular heartbeat. Though out for nearly half the season, not dressing for a total of 33 games, Hamilton finished off the year leading the Marlies in goals and among the top-five in assists. Hamilton’s best season was in 2007/2008 with Houston where he registered 20 goals and 19 assists for 39 points. I presume, barring any injuries, Ryan will top that this season. More >
Talking Nazem
May 27th
It’s that time of year again, the time of year when the heart of Leafs nation sinks like a stone because of a continued lack of organizational focus on the draft. That feeling will be elevated to a new degree this June when the Boston Bruins draft second overall off of a draft pick acquired from the Maple Leafs in the infamous Phil Kessel trade.
But let’s not talk about how much that quite frankly sucks, let’s not focus on whats bad. Instead, lets focus on what we do have to be excited for in the form of a prospect: the infamous Nazem Kadri. I’ve wanted to do a piece on Nazem for awhile, about his potential as a star, his potential as a bust, his potential as a player for the Leafs next year and more.
I compared his stats, read all about him, watched his videos, but as I continued to research I asked myself why I didn’t just learn firsthand about Nazem from those who know him best: the diehard London Knights fans.
There was immediately one person that came to mind, and that’s Brandon Krug, or as most of you know him as on Twitter, Kadri_Nation. I asked him if he wouldn’t mind answering a few of my questions, and he was kind enough to oblige, so without further ado here’s what he had to say:
How good do you think Nazem Kadri can be in the NHL? How many points do you think he could one day put up and who would you compare him to in today’s game? More >
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