TORONTO – It would seem that Nazem Kadri has been around a

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TORONTO – It would seem that Nazem Kadri has been around a lot longer than his 191 career games suggest. . But truth be told, Kadri just turned 24 and is only three seasons removed from spending half a year in the American Hockey League with the Marlies. He continues to experience the growing pains typical of most young players in the NHL - impactful and impressive some nights, quiet and ineffective on others. Inconsistency, thus, remains the defining point of consistency for the seventh-overall pick from 2009. How then to be consistent? “That’s a great question,” Kadri said quizzically ahead of a Saturday clash with the Rangers. “That’s something any young player looks for. Just talking to team therapists and people who know the body and the mind a little bit better, they say that a male brain doesn’t even fully develop until they’re 26. It obviously takes a bit of time.” Kadri boasts some of the best possession numbers on the Leafs, but had little to show for it production-wise before Saturday, posting just five points in the first 13 games. He also entered the night winning just 45 per cent of his faceoffs, about even with the lowly mark of last season. Mostly, he’s been inconsistent. (And his minutes have dipped slightly as a result – down to just over 16 per game.) In wins over Columbus and Chicago late last week, Kadri had two goals, three points, and six shots, only to march quietly through a two-game road swing with no points and just a single shot in losses to Arizona and Colorado. He was impactful and noticeable again versus New York, finding the score-sheet twice alongside new linemates, David Clarkson and Richard Panik, also winning 68 per cent of his faceoffs and drawing a penalty. Consistency is the benchmark by which Maple Leafs brass is measuring their fifth-year centre, due to be an intriguing restricted free agent next summer. “Naz has to be prepared to compete for 82 games,” said Leafs general manager, Dave Nonis on the first day of training camp, “and if he is then he’s going to have a very good year.” Underlying numbers aside, there have been nights this season, like in Glendale and again in Denver, when he’s hardly been noticeable on the ice. Carlyle, who gave Kadri a pep talk at Saturday’s morning skate, said Kadri needs to focus on moving his feet and engaging in the game physically “because that seems to follow success with Nazzie”. He did that more often on Saturday, setting up the fourth Leafs goal with a burst of speed up ice, adding another assist and three hits in more than 15 minutes. “We’re looking for him to continue to show growth,” Carlyle said of Kadri. “At times, he takes steps forward and other times he seems to be in neutral. But that’s not any different from any young player.” Kadri, who finished third in team scoring last season, had been paired with Phil Kessel for the better part of the past five games in Carlyle’s hopes for greater balance. He thus drew the challenging competition typical of Toronto’s best player. That changed Saturday in a likely attempt from the head coach to ease the strain on his struggling centre. There was probably some degree of unluckiness to Kadri’s early struggles to produce offence, though his PDO was just a touch under 100 before the game against the Rangers, signaling some unluckiness, but only barely. More likely it’s inconsistency from a player still learning the ropes of the NHL, experiencing the ups and downs in the front row of one of hockey’s brightest fishbowls. “Obviously, you want to learn as quick as you can,” Kadri said, “but you’re not going to be great every single night, we understand that, but just most nights you’ve got to be.” Five Points 1. Big Night Maybe it’s the gloves. Leo Komarov matched his career-high for points in just the 14th game of the year Saturday, adding his eighth and ninth of the year in the 5-4 win over New York. Komarov, who had nine points in 42 games as a rookie, has actually been wearing the gloves of Phil Kessel through the first couple months this fall. “Because mine havent arrived yet,” Komarov explained. “I play all this season with them because mine havent come yet. Theyre coming.” He scored his first goal of the year and the eventual game-winner late in the final frame, depositing a Jake Gardiner feed before breaking into a mile-wide grin. “I’m not the best goal-scorer in this league,” the 27-year-old said afterward, “but I think I needed that one, it feels great.” Komarov signed a four-year deal worth nearly $12 million to return to Toronto in the summer, Leafs brass noting their desire to re-inject the feisty presence he offered in the lockout-shortened 2013. “His on-ice play is one of a player that refuses to stop working,” Carlyle said glowingly of Komarov after the win against New York, which snapped a two-game winless skid. “It’s a display every day. He enjoys coming to the rink and playing and he only knows one way; he gives 100 per cent in practice and the games and any of the events that you participate in he seems to be the guy that always has a smile on his face.” Beyond the surprising offence – he ranks fourth in team scoring – has been an added presence for the Leafs on what was an awful penalty kill a year ago – now up to 84.3 per cent. As for the points, Komarov would say only this, “I’m just trying to do my best for the team, I don’t really care about the points.” 2. Komarov II Cody Franson offered a revealing observation of Komarov off the ice. “He’s still the world’s most interesting man,” Franson said. “He’s a great piece in our room. He’s a guy that everybody likes being around. He keeps the mood light when he’s not even trying to. He’s a great fit for our team all the way around.” Added Carlyle, “He has a little bit of a different sense of humour being that he speaks five different languages and he mumbles in all of them. He’s just a funny guy and a good guy to be around and he plays hard for his teammates.” Komarov also had eight hits and won all six faceoffs versus New York. 3. Rielly Return Scratched earlier in the week, Morgan Rielly was back in the Toronto lineup Saturday, totaling exactly 18 minutes against New York. “That’s what happens sometimes,” he said of the situation pre-game, visibly and admittedly displeased with the decision. “Obviously, you don’t want to be a healthy scratch, you want to always be able to play the game and help your team, but sometimes that happens and you just have to deal with it and try to bounce back from it.” Carlyle stressed that the 20-year-old needed to exploit his skating ability more often. “That’s one of the things in today’s hockey with the freedom and the ability that these players have nowadays, skating is so much more important,” Carlyle said. “Position and getting body position through skating and not being non-active in that area is an area in which young players have to figure out and understand. It’s as simple as taking two strides to provide some form of screen or body position so your partner has another half-a-second to retrieve a puck. It’s stuff like that that we’re asking of these guys to grasp and young players don’t normally look at it that way.” Rielly was scratched nine times as a rookie, but not once after December 8. “I know that I’m able to play better,” the sophomore said, “and he (Carlyle) knows I am too.” 4. Shooting More One target for improvement for the Maple Leafs youngest player was shooting the puck more often than he had as a rookie. And so far, Rielly has done just that. On pace for more than 200 shots – a threshold only five NHL defenders eclipsed last season – he is first among Leaf defencemen in that category and fourth overall. “I think I’ve just been trying to get the puck on net a bit more, trying to create rebounds and scrambles at the net,’ Rielly said. “I think I knew that I could shoot more this year and try to create more opportunities and that’s what I’ve been trying to do. I’ve gotten a lot more chances to do that, I think, this year than last year, but it’s just a matter of trying to keep doing it and just try to get your point shots through to the net.” Rielly, who has one goal and three assists to date, had only 96 shots in 73 games last season, scoring twice. 5. More Youth and Young D In poor position to receive a pass from Stephane Robidas late in the second period, Jake Gardiner had the puck bounce off his skate and right to former Leaf Dominic Moore, who promptly found Carl Hagelin for the Rangers game-tying third goal. The 24-year-old later pinched in the offensive zone, setting up Komarov for the game-winner “Tonight’s game is another prime example of a young player,” Carlyle said with a chuckle. “One positive, one negative … He made a difference in the end and when it counted.” Gardiner, who was forced to leave Thursday’s game in Colorado with a bruised left knee, returned to play just under 17 minutes against New York. Bonus Point Sidelined Joining David Booth, Brandon Kozun and Joffrey Lupul on the injured shelf was Daniel Winnik, sidelined Saturday following a thunderous collision in Denver on Thursday that appeared to knock him briefly unconscious. Carlyle, who said Winnik was “100 per cent fine” after the 3-2 shootout loss to the Avalanche, wouldn’t specify whether the 29-year-old was suffering from any concussion symptoms, but did say that the team was following the league’s concussion protocol. “It looked like he was [unconscious] for a bit,” Carlyle said, “so that’s all part of the process, that they do the evaluation and they create a time-frame before he’s able to come and join our hockey club.” TSN’s Darren Dreger later reported that Winnik passed all of the protocol associated with suspected concussions, but was held out Saturday as a precaution. Under league protocol, Winnik would’ve been tested while at rest and, if he showed no concussion symptoms there, then again after some form of exertion. His test results would be compared with the results of testing done during training camp to determine if he was ready to play. It’s unclear if he will indeed play Sunday in Ottawa. Stats-Pack 6-games – Point streak for Phil Kessel, who has four goals and 11 points in that span. 33 – Shots for Morgan Rielly this season, fourth most on the Leafs. 6-20 – Toronto power-play in the past six games. 8 – Hits for Leo Komarov against the Rangers. 13-19 – Faceoff mark for Nazem Kadri against the Rangers. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-2 Season: 21.6% PK: 2-2 Season: 84.3% Quote of the Night “He has a little bit of a different sense of humour being that he speaks five different languages and he mumbles in all of them.” -Randy Carlyle, on Leo Komarov. Up Next The Leafs play the Senators in Ottawa on Sunday at 6pm, making up the game earlier this month that was postponed because of tragedy in the nation’s capital. . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. . -- The Green Bay Packers have signed quarterback Graham Harrell to the active roster from the practice squad and placed tight end Andrew Quarless on injured reserve. . The bout served as the headlining matchup of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva" event, which took place at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. It was Silva who looked well on his way to victory in the early going, delivering a pair of crushing kicks to the body that sent Brown crashing to the floor, doubled over in pain.The night sky was so bright it could have been during the day. Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. The first snowfall of winter came hard and while most of my neighbours would wake up to it I hadnt slept yet. It was 3am and the World Cup draw was today. The office Christmas party had wrapped up an hour earlier and my drive home needed to be done without tired eyes. Thankfully, I was too excited to be tired. Eight months earlier I had won the World Cup lottery. Well, a pair of tickets to three matches in Germany for the 2006 World Cup, to be precise. C1 vs C3, E2 vs E4, and G2 vs G4 were about to mean so much more. Letters would turn into teams and with it the evolution of a true World Cup would be born. I would advise every fan of this sport to be involved in a World Cup lottery once in their life. There is a true uniqueness to it, a special feeling of anticipation knowing you will be parachuted amongst yet to be determined cultures to watch their teams play on the greatest stage of all. That is what millions of people will be thinking this Thursday night ahead of the draw in Brazil on Friday. If you are not one of the lucky ones to have tickets to the event there are still reasons to be very excited ahead of the draw with many things to look out for. With that in mind here are five things for you to watch out for during Fridays draw in Brazil. Location, location, location “Im more concerned by the venues than by the teams we draw,” said England boss Roy Hodgson on Monday. “There are venues in Brazil that will be harder to play in than others.” This a World Cup for the country of Brazil and organizers have ensured the travelling circus goes all over the vast land. For the third straight World Cup, one country is hosting the event but it will feel like more. In 2006, the distance between the most northern host city to the furthest southern host city (Munich to Hamburg) was less than 800 km, or eight hours in a car. In 2010 that distance (Polokwane to Cape Town) was 1,700 km. In Brazil the distance between Manaus in the Amazon northern region of Brazil to the southern city of Porto Alegre is a staggering 4,700 km. It is the equivalent of taking a trip from northern England to southern Turkey. With that comes massive climate differences. Twelve different cities will host games and many teams on Friday will be desperate to be given games away from the tropical North East cities of Fortaleza, Natal, Recife and Salvador. Five of the eight seeded teams will play games in this region including G1 who will play all three matches in the very hot and humid territory where temperatures will be in the high 20s. The four seeded European teams – Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium – will be desperate to avoid G1 and hope to get one of C1, F1, or H1 to stay away from the intense heat, where many games are expected to start in the afternoon. For the 24 teams not seeded, there are exactly one third of the slots available for them to hit that gives them favourable draws with the climate– B3, B4, E2, E4, F4, H2, H3, and H4. The true premium slots to hit, particularly for European teams, are in fact B4, E4 and H2. These are the three spots Hodgson will be dreaming about on Thursday night as they will become the three teams who get to play two out of their three group games in the two southern cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba, where average temperature is a very comfortable 19 degrees. Remember, H stands for happy when it comes to teams desperate to avoid the hot climate. It is the only group that doesnt play a single game in one of the five northern cities. The slots teams will be desperate to avoid, which include at least two games in the sticky North, are A2, A3, A4, C2, C3, C4, D2, D4, G2, G3 and G4. A3, D4, and G4 are officially the three slots that would give Hodgson and his fellow managers nightmares as all three games are played in the North. A3 not only has to do this but also must play Brazil! Being drawn with a weaker seed If things do not go well climate-wise for Hodgson and England they will certainly be hoping to get Switzerland or Belgium. There has been a lot written as to why these countries are seeded over teams liike Italy and Netherlands. . This has nothing to do with FIFA bias. It is based around their world rankings and teams who missed out on being seeded this time should do better at arranging more competitive games next time in the build up to a World Cup draw. However, no one will tell you that Switzerland and Belgium are better than the Italians and, maybe, the Dutch. Currently they are teams everyone wants to be drawn against in Brazil. The last time a World Cup winner didnt win their group was 1982. With four teams from South America along with Germany and Spain seeded, the other two represent a real chance at giving other teams an opportunity to win the group. Since the World Cup went to 32 teams in 1998, 23 of the 32 seeded teams have won their group but in each of the last three World Cups at least two of the seeds havent. Two talented but young European sides playing in South America look the likeliest seeds this time around to not win their group. Avoiding Braaaaaa-Zill Brazils rapid rise from a team the nation was disgusted with to World Cup favourites has been remarkable. The pressure on Neymar and his mates will be incredible but will only intensify as the tournament goes on. In the group stages the team will play without fear, determined to show the world what they can do, and that is very dangerous for any opponent drawn in group A. Not only is group A a difficult one for climate reasons, it is also a group with a host nation that absolutely will qualify for the last 16, leaving the three drawn into it fighting for one spot. Group A is a group teams will want to avoid. The position of the seeded teams The 24 non-seeded teams are not the only ones who will look to stay away from the hosts. The assigning of groups for the seeds will be the first thing that takes place during the draw and it happens fast. It is also the part of the draw that most just ignore, wanting for the other teams to be drawn as quickly as possible. Dont make that mistake. The last non-seeded team to win the World Cup was Argentina in 1986. Most of these seeds demand your attention as true World Cup contenders and where they are placed in the tournament-style bracket after the groups is crucial. For example, group winners of B, D, F and H go on the opposite side of the draw to the winners of group A, likely Brazil. Teams like Uruguay, Argentina, Spain, and Germany will certainly be looking to get in one of those groups to stay away from Brazil until the final, and if they dont the stories of potential Uruguay or Argentina vs Brazil matchups will be written well before a ball is kicked. Seeded in F or H is ideal for a European powerhouse like Spain or Germany because they would avoid Brazil and the heat. Why Brazil would want to be given a stern test from a team like England or Portugal As much as no one will want to play them, Brazil will be better off if a good team is placed in their group. It may look great to be handed three easy games but past World Cups have shown this is not good for a team when it comes to the knock-out games. Spain was tested early in 2010 with a loss to Switzerland, while other teams like Argentina and Brazil cruised in their groups only to suffer later. Like Spain in 2006, Italy had a very competitive group while Brazils game against Turkey in 2002 helped them significantly later in the tournament. France in 1998 cruised in their group but were very poor in their last 16, taking 113 minutes to score against Paraguay. From the 24 teams not seeded, Brazil would likely get one team from Africa and one team from either CONCACAF or Asia that they wouldnt struggle with, with one preferably being given A2 to take the pressure off Brazil in the opening match. That leaves Europe as being the likely confederation that could give Brazil a team that would provide the host nation with a game that could test them, although Mexicos style of play against South American teams could do that if they get their acts together. Italy and perhaps the Dutch would be considered a little too strong for Brazil at that stage but a game against Portugal or England would be ideal for the host nation. And if they are given A3 and forced to play all of their games in the heat, even better. ' ' '

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