11-27-2019, 02:59 AM
COLLINGWOOD, ONT a€“ Five years ago it was he who was the Maple Leafs hotshot teenage prospect. Fake Jordan . Nazem Kadri, now 23 and nearly 200 games into his NHL career, admits to seeing a lot of himself in the latest reincarnation, William Nylander, Torontoa€?s first-round pick from the June draft. He sees it in the skill. He sees it in the confidence and the swagger. He sees it in the seemingly limitless offensive upside and, admittedly, little regard to defensive play. But even Kadri needed a little bit more development time after his electric exhibition tour in the fall of 2009 or so the organization, led then by Brian Burke and Ron Wilson, thought at the time. A similar decision now looms in the case of Nylander, vying to make the Leafs as an 18-year-old. Is the Swede, picked eighth overall at the draft in Philly, ready to play in the NHL? It would appear not. a€?Ita€?s hard to say,a€? said Kadri of Nylandera€?s NHL readiness, emphasizing that he was a player and in no real position to judge. a€?I definitely think he can play in the NHL, therea€?s no question about that. Ita€?s just a matter of whether he can go through the whole 82-game schedule and the whole grind it takes and the travel schedule, little things like that.a€? Nylandera€?s skills are unquestionably NHL-grade, but ita€?s become clear over the course of two weeks that he isna€?t ready to be a Leaf just yet. Hea€?s offered flashes, no doubt a€“ his hands, vision and bursts of speed obvious and impressive assets a€“ but he hasna€?t left the nightly impression that hea€?s ready to make an impact as a teenager and do so from October to April and possibly beyond. That fact should be clear-cut for a club to hold onto its prized top prospect, a reality that now seems unlikely with only one exhibition game to go. a€?The puck follows him around and he gets his offensive chances, thata€?s for sure,a€? said head coach, Randy Carlyle of Nylander. a€?But youa€?ve always got to caution yourself; he is only 18-years-old and wea€?re asking him to do something that he has not done before as far as playing at this level, so ita€?s always continually a test.a€? The Leafs have given him every opportunity to perform; theya€?ve played him in five of the seven preseason games to date and paired him with Kadri most nights. And while he scored a goal late in the first exhibition game, hea€?s become less and less noticeable opposite competition thata€?s gotten better and better. Morgan Rielly was a slam-dunk case last fall. He was noticeably ready, both mentally and physically, and forced the hand of Carlyle and Nonis with a standout preseason a€“ though, he oddly sat out the first two games of the regular season. Unlike Rielly, who came right in with a thick NHL-ready frame, Nylander hasna€?t shown that his size wona€?t be an issue for 82 games, though he hasna€?t been a€?burieda€? either. a€?I dona€?t know if I can say that,a€? Nylander said of his readiness to play in the NHL, pointing to Fridaya€?s finale against Detroit as perhaps the best test with a cast of regular Red Wings likely to be in the lineup. The team appears to be handling his case in a manner that mirrors Rielly, who was picked fifth overall in 2012. They want to be sure, as Carlyle framed it again Thursday, that what they do now is in the best long-term interests of Nylander. a€?Does it stunt some young playera€?s development by putting him in situations they cana€?t survive in?a€? Carlyle queried. a€?And thata€?s the tough decision you have to make on your young players at times.a€? The wrong move can end up hurting the prospect in the long run, as it may have in the case of Luke Schenn, a top-five pick of the Leafs in 2008, who made the roster as an untested, but physically mature 18-year-old. More and more teams are pushing their top prospects quickly into the NHL, both because of the cap a€“ where value is highest from contributors on entry-level contracts a€“ and because many appear to be ready to play and contribute right away a€“ Nathan MacKinnon no better a recent example. a€?Back then it was little more physical, clutch-and-grab type style and maybe it was a little harder for young guys, smaller guys and lighter guys to get around the ice, especially with bigger guys and bigger defencemen,a€? Kadri said of the evolution. a€?Now, all youa€?re really seeing is mobile and agile players. Theya€?ve really taken those roles out of the game and made it a lot faster. So I think younger guys have a better chance to make it than they did back then.a€? Carlyle, who won a Norris Trophy as a player, says he was ill-prepared to play in the league as a teenager, though he made the leap as a 20-year-old. a€?No,a€? he said firmly. a€?I was nowhere near ready.a€? a€?I just think the level of player is a higher level of player,a€? he continued. a€?Theya€?re better players. Theya€?re better athletes. Theya€?re stronger a€| They separate themselves in two areas - with hockey sense and with skating ability.a€? Nylander certainly has both gifts, which is why his status is even in question at this stage late in camp. But not every young kid is MacKinnon and unless the coaching staff and new management, led by Brendan Shanahan, can say with certainty that Nylander is ready for a full NHL campaign, then his place is somewhere besides the Leafs (and therea€?s nothing wrong with that). If therea€?s been a benefit to training camp for him, ita€?s been the constant learning in an NHL setting, be it from teammates or coaches. A hint of that emerged during practice Thursday when he pulled Carlyle aside for a question or two about the system, one particular drill giving him pause. a€?Ita€?s been a good learning experience for me,a€? he said. The Leafs could opt to extend their evaluation process beyond the preseason. Nylander can play in nine regular season games before the first year of his entry-level contract kicks in. Barring that, the choice would come down to a tour with the Marlies or a return to the Swedish Hockey League, where he is currently a free agent. Both avenues certainly have their merit; the AHL offers an extended acclimation to the North American ice and schedule; Sweden offers limelight-less development in a quality league where Nylander struggled some last season (one goal in 22 games). The prudent (and sometimes slower) path isna€?t always fun a€“ be it for the player or fans. And Kadri made no secrets about his frustration with it, but looking back now he understands the upside it eventually offered. That would appear the best solution for the younger version of himself. Cheap Air Jordan Online . -- Jerel Worthy and his Michigan State teammates charged across the field, holding four fingers in the air while celebrating another sweet victory over their biggest rival. Cheap Jordan From China . The 90-plus minutes of play are about trends and approach. https://www.wholesalejordanshoeschina.com/ .com) - The Ottawa Senators will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they face the Chicago Blackhawks who are trying to secure their place in the post-season.BELLEVILLE, Ont. -- Brooks Laich could tell as soon as the Washington Capitals got off their bus Saturday morning how big of a deal this was. They were arriving at Yardmen Arena to play the Winnipeg Jets in the NHLs pre-season opener as part of the Hockeyville event that takes the game to a small town in Canada. "There was about 300 kids outside the rink lined up and I was there once," Laich said. "I know how theyre feeling, I know how important it is." Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green were there for the Capitals, and Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian for the Jets. Star power was prevalent in the game, won by the Capitals 4-3 in a shootout in front of a packed house in Belleville. "It was a lot of fun," said Green, who scored the shootout winner. "We didnt know what to expect, and the city welcomed us with open arms. We had a lot of fun today, yeah. It was exciting." Kane knew the teams would put on a show for the event celebrating the nearby town of Stirling-Rawdon, Ont., and they did, with the Jets star doing his part by scoring twice. Kane was playing on a line with off-season trade acquisition Devin Setoguchi and top prospect Mark Scheifele, an experiment of Claude Noels that seemed to work quite well. "I thought me and Seto established some good chemistry and Scheifs did a good job of distributing the puck," Kane said. "Playing with Seto was great. Me and Seto seemed to find each other pretty well out there. Its only one game and its going to be nice to grow, as this pre-season goes on heading into the regular season, together." Six goals on 82 shots made for plenty of entertainment for the capacity crowd of over 3,000. The goaltenders were brilliant, but the back-and-forth play was at least partially the product of rust in the first pre-season game for both tteams. Air Jordan 19 For Sale. "It was a little more offence than defence for what wed want but thats what happens in pre-season, games are pretty wide open," Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby said. "Its good to get back in that rhythm with those skilled guys on the ice to remember why its so fun to play against the best in the world." But even a lacklustre, low-scoring game wouldve meant everything in this community, that Washington defenceman Jack Hillen said "appreciated" seeing this level of hockey in person. "I think sometimes as players, too, we forget really how important the NHL is to people and how delicate it is to be in the NHL," said Laich, who did not play because of a left hip flexor injury. "Its just a really, really cool experience." Fans were almost robbed of the chance of seeing Ovechkin play a full game. He took a high stick to the face from Jets defenceman Ben Chiarot in the first period. Ovechkin was down on the ice for some time before skating to the bench and going down the tunnel. He returned to the game a couple of minutes later. "Ovi always seems to come out of it," Green said. "He looks mangled but hes always OK. I guess thats why they call him the Russian machine." Ovechkin did not speak to reporters after the game, though he tweeted a photo of himself with the message that he "just had plastic surgery." Washington coach Adam Oates said he thought Ovechkin got a couple of stitches in his lip. Oates said Ovechkin was fine "considering" how it couldve been much worse. "It was a very scary one," Oates said. "Obviously dont want to see that from anybody. He was skating at the guy, you knew the angle of the stick you knew that had some force behind it and obviously could have been a scary moment." ' ' '