September 27, 2009.
Hockey is a game of numbers. 62 players were invited to the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp a few weeks ago. 35 forwards, 21 defensemen, and 6 goalies. By the end of this week, there will be 12 or 13 forwards, 7 or 8 defensemen and 2 or 3 goalies depending on what combination of players Ron Wilson wants to make up his 23 man NHL roster. The reality of the situation is that there are some very tough decisions ahead of Mr. Wilson and his coaching staff. One of the casualties of this reality is Nazem Kadri who was sent back to the London Knights this morning. Kadri’s failure to crack the Leafs NHL roster is once again entirely because of the fact that hockey is a numbers game. Consider these numbers: Kadri is 19 years old, he stands 6 feet tall and tips the scales at around 170 pounds. Zdeno Chara is 6 foot 9 and weighs 260 pounds.
These numbers are part of the reason Kadri will be playing in the John Labatt Centre and not the Air Canada Centre. Despite the fact that Kadri had an above average preseason, his body type and lack of physical strength made Ron Wilson and Brian Burke’s decision to send him down a lot easier. Another number working against Kadri, and Tyler Bozak, Christian Hanson and Viktor Stalberg for that matter, is that there are only 12 or 13 forward spots open. Sure they’ve all had very good preseasons (Stalberg especially), but when you look at the other forwards, it’s clear that the odds are against the frat pack. Mikhail Grabovski, Matt Stajan, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Niklas Hagman, Jason Blake, Lee Stempniak and Phil Kessel have all earned spots based on their reputation alone. Colton Orr and Wayne Primeau have earned spots based on the fact that Wilson needs and wants both a tough guy (Orr) and a PK specialist (Primeau). Rickard Wallin has already clinched his spot based on his defensive acumen according to Coach Wilson. That’s 10 spots taken guaranteed. Perhaps one of the frat pack could knock off John Mitchell’s spot in the starting lineup but that’s unlikely. So really there’s only 1 spot for the young guys and really there’s no reason to keep them in the NHL. Playing 10 minutes a game in the NHL is not as good for a players development as playing 20 minutes a game with PP time in the AHL.
The Leafs management is thinking ahead and despite the fact that some people believe the Leafs want to win now, they can wait for Kadri, Bozak and Hanson. Stalberg has earned his spot in my opinion and I would be very surprised if he was absent on Thursday night’s home opener. For now though, the numbers are stacked up against Tyler Bozak and Christian Hanson. Just ask Nazem Kadri. But don’t call his Toronto number, you’ll have better luck with the London, Ontario phonebook.
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