Nazem Kadri and Theo Fleury are at opposite ends of their respective careers, but their preseason expectations are very similar.
As if just skating on the ice in front of fans who cheered him on last season with the Knights in London wasn't good enough, Nazem Kadri brought the locals out of their seats with a picture perfect shot for his first NHL (pre-season) goal on Thursday night.
But will the one moment of glory be enough to allow Kadri to make the team? Not a chance. For Kadri, to skate with the Maple leafs this season as an 18-year-old he'll have to continue to find the back of the net. If not, it's back to junior where he'll certainly be one of the most productive players in the OHL and he'll have a chance to play with Canada at the World Junior Championship. For the record, those are good things.
Kadri's day will come, but for now the Leafs have some older rookies who are probably more mature both mentally and physically that will get a greater opportunity to make the team. Besides, wouldn't it be a breath of fresh air to see Toronto actually do something that suggests they are building for the future and not just living for the day?
THREE CHEERS FOR THEO
Regardless of how Theoren Fleury's attempted comeback with Calgary turns out, a Hollywood scriptwriter could not have penned a better ending to Fleury's first game back in a Flames uniform since 1999 last night. Fleury skated onto the ice to a thundering ovation and then sent the crowd home happy with the shootout winner.
It's hard to say what the odds are of a player making it back to the NHL after six years away, especially at the age of 41.
Fleury's comeback attempt has been compared to many to that of Claude Lemieux who returned after five years away from the NHL with the San Jose Sharks last season. The Sharks didn't bring Lemieux back to score goals, which is certainly what will be expected from Fleury if he pulls off the improbable. The Sharks are a talented team that fails annually in the playoffs and hoped Lemieux would bring some much-needed sandpaper into the room.
If Fleury doesn't produce, it's hard to imagine the Flames sacrificing a spot on the roster that could be taken by a prospect.
PERROTT STILL FIGHTING
If he had his druthers, Nathan Perrott would rather be skating at the training camp of a professional hockey team, even if it meant heading back to Russia to play in the Continental Hockey League.
But that life has been put on hold.
Instead, the 32-year-old former NHL enforcer has entered another world of fighting - that of a professional boxer. Perrott made his pro boxing debut last week scoring a technical knockout of Makidi Ku Ntima in the fourth round. Perrott landed a flurry of punches in the third round and his opponent's handlers threw in the towel in the fourth round when their fighter slumped to the canvas.
Perrott, who stands a little over six-feet tall and weighs 235 pounds, played 89 NHL games with Nashville, Toronto and Dallas; scoring four goals and nine points with 251 penalty minutes. He spent last season with Chekhov Vityaz in Russia where he managed no points, but 137 penalty minutes in nine games. When nobody offered him a job playing hockey this season, Perrott decided to change direction.
"I had done some (boxing training) over the years and I had a trainer in Santa Monica, David Paul, who told me I could be a heavyweight boxer," Perrott said. "That was the first time I ever thought about doing it as a career."
After a few amateur bouts, Perrott turned pro. He said it is a work in progress.
"I'm still trying to figure out the boxing lingo and haven't really developed my style in the ring yet," Perrott said. It's going to take a while for that to come. I'm still trying to figure out what I can do well in the ring. I'm a pretty strong guy so I throw a lot of punches, but I also think I can move well. I know I can trade (punches) with guys, but I don't know if you'll have longevity in boxing if you do that. You'll have some pretty entertaining fights, but can get hurt bad and you'll have a short career. I'm trying to learn to be slick and how to move around the ring."
Perrott went to the gym following his first pro fight and asked his trainer, "What are we doing today?"
The response was delivered in a new language.
"Just go work the floor."
Perrott had no clue what his trainer was talking about.
"I'm used to being in the rink with my teammates and talking hockey talk," Perrott said.
Perrott would not say how much money he made in his pro debut, but did offer: "It's not enough for the IRS to be chasing me down…hockey is a lot more lucrative."
