Nazem Kadri

Nazem Kadri (born October 6, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Kadri was born on October 6, 1990, in London, Ontario, the second of five children and the only son born to Samir and Suhayla Kadri.

His grandparents were born in Kfar Danis, Lebanon, and moved to Ontario when Kadri's father was four years old.

Samir Kadri wanted to play hockey during his adolescence, but his family could not afford for their son to play.

When Nazem was born, his father decided that he should have the opportunity to play the sport.

Kadri began ice skating at the age of two, joined his first hockey team when he was four years old, and was playing at the elite level within the next two years.

The Kadri family also attended National Hockey League (NHL) games; despite living near Toronto, they supported the Montreal Canadiens.

Kadri was a successful hockey, basketball, and volleyball player, first at Jack Chambers Public School and later at A. B. Lucas Secondary School.

By the end of his high school career, Kadri was fairly certain that he would be selected in the NHL draft.

He also played minor ice hockey in the London Jr. Knights system of the Alliance Hockey organization, serving as team captain at multiple minor levels.

Kadri began his OHL career with the Kitchener Rangers after being selected in the first round, 18th overall, of the 2006 OHL Priority Selection.

During his second season in the OHL, he played 68 games, recording 25 goals and 40 assists (65 points).

During that year's playoffs, Kadri helped the Rangers to an OHL Championship and a berth in the Memorial Cup final, where they lost to the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

After the 2007–08 season, Kadri was traded to the London Knights (his hometown team) in exchange for several draft picks.

He won the J. Ross Robertson Cup with Kitchener and was part of the Rangers team that lost to the Spokane Chiefs in the final of the 2008 Memorial Cup.

He played in 56 games for the Knights in 2008–09, recording 25 goals and 53 assists (78 points).

Kadri was sidelined during the 2008–09 season when he suffered a broken jaw.

He was selected to play for Team OHL in the ADT Canada Russia Challenge, but was unable to participate due to the jaw injury.

Also during the 2008–09 season, Kadri was chosen to play in the OHL All-Star Classic, where he suited-up for the Western Conference and scored one goal.

After the 2008–09 OHL season, Kadri was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, seventh overall, of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

He was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs seventh overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

He played his junior career in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), first with the Kitchener Rangers and then the London Knights.

Kadri was later invited to the Canada men's national junior ice hockey team's selection camp for the 2009 World Junior Championships but did not make the final roster.

He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the club on July 6, 2009.

After being cut from the Maple Leafs, Kadri returned to play for the Knights in the OHL.

He was selected to play for Team OHL in the 2009 Subway Super Series (renamed from the ADT Canada Russia Challenge).

He was also selected to represent the Western Conference in the 2009–10 OHL All-Star Classic, his second appearance in the OHL's All-Star Game in as many seasons.

Kadri attended training camp with the Maple Leafs prior to the 2009–10 season.

He played in six pre-season games with the club, in which he recorded three goals and two assists.

Then-Toronto head coach Ron Wilson had said prior to training camp that Kadri would need to be one of the team's top-six forwards to make the club; Kadri was ultimately returned to the Knights prior to the start of the NHL regular season.

Kadri has also represented Canada internationally at the 2010 World Junior Championships, where the team received the silver medal after losing the final to the United States 6–5.

On March 30, 2010, Kadri was named the CHL Player of the Week after recording nine points (two goals and seven assists) in three games.

The OHL named Kadri the league's Player of the Month for April 2010, a month in which he recorded 26 points (9 goals and 17 assists) in 10 games.

Due to injuries to forwards Christian Hanson and Fredrik Sjöström, Kadri was called-up to the Maple Leafs under an emergency basis, making his NHL debut on February 8, 2010, against the San Jose Sharks.

He did not register any points and finished with a −1 plus-minus rating.

This was a one-game-only call-up, and he subsequently returned to the London Knights following the game.

Ron Wilson said that he would most likely be with the Maple Leafs for the 2010–11 season, though this was in doubt after comments made by both Wilson and then-Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke during the pre-season, indicating that Kadri had not played to the level they expected and was "running out of time" to prove himself.

In addition, Burke was traditionally a strong supporter of rookies gaining experience at the American Hockey League (AHL) level prior to NHL careers.

From the beginning of the 2012–13 season to March 21, 2016, Kadri led the NHL in the number of penalties drawn with 164, 46 more than the second-placed player, Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings.

Kadri won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, becoming the first Muslim player to hoist the Cup.