Kid Did It!

Nazem's back! I know I'm a bit late but damn, he did it. Not only did the kid score 2 goals and have a crucial assist on the game winner, he did all that against the Ottawa Senators, and every Leaf fan hates the Sens. We just got wrecked by Detroit last night, but well, it's Detroit, and we are still a young team looking to gel together, so I'll let that one go. ! more preseason game left, and the real deal starts the coming Thursday. I don't know if Kadri will be on the team, I believe he will get sent down to the Marlies and hone his skills there, but you never know. Personally, I am just glad he answered back to all the criticism with a big performance against a rival. Oh and we should definitely switch him to be a winger until he gets control over his defensive responsibilities as a center. Show him some Datsyuk videos!! Also, our first line this year looks pretty good with the speed it has in Kessel(got mad faster this off season, and most likely will put up 40+ goals), Kris Versteeg(may be able to put up 30 or more), and Tyler Bozak(speedy center with great vision who has great chemistry with Kessel. A 60+ point season will be amazing for him). Also, if Versteeg doesn't live up to his expectations or Ron Wilson wants to juggle, Kulemin showed great chemistry near the end of last year with Kessel and Bozak. Plus, if Kadri is on the team, he had that big game against Ottawa as a winger on the top line. So, you never know, anything can happen, and Wilson is a pretty good coach so he could surprise us all. The Leafs don't look that bad, I know they don't have a realistic chance to win it all this year, but I tihnk they may surprise everyone and just sneak in to the playoffs. We haven't had playoff hockey in Toronto for a while, so you can't blame me for being hopeful. Everybody says that the Leafs will just end up like last year but what most of them don't realize is that half the year, until the trade deadline, there were veterans and people on this team who weren't performing to their levels or up to their expectations(i.e. Vesa Toskala). That is when good ol' Burkie decided to inject new blood into this team and brought in Dion Phaneuf, J.S. Giguere, and God knows how, and Keith Aulie(who if he lives up to his expectations, makes the deal with Calgary a total one-sider for the Leafs)! After that, we had solid goal tending, and I don't remember the record we had but we went at it. Now with Giggy mentoring Jonas Gustavvsson all season and both of them pushing each other for the starting job as goaltender, with new additions like Kris Versteeg, and Colby Armstrong, as well as Dion Phaneuf captaining this team all year and motivating them, I think this season should be different. Also, Schenn should no longer have the spotlight focused just on him, like last year. As soon as Phaneuf and Giggy came to town, Schenn was back to his good old self because he realized that he didn't have to carry all the pressure on his shoulders(he ain't no Superman). Now, he's calm, especially since he knows he's not going to be the future captain of the biggest hockey market in the world like he was projected to be, and well I think that eases his mind a lot. Now he can just focus on playing his own game. So, now we shall see what this season has in store for us. Until next time, peace!