When Leafs prospect Nazem Kadri showed up to Toronto Marlies training camp with what head coach Dallas Eakins deemed “unacceptable” body fat, it set off a media firestorm in one of the few NHL cities in which a media firestorm can start when a prospect shows up to camp with “unacceptable” body fat.
Today, Don Cherry added his own two cents:
I have never in my life seen a kid treated like Nazem Kadri by the Leafs. It started in his first training camp where he led the team in..
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Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) October 02, 2012scoring but was blasted for his defensive faults. They don't blast Kulemin who scored 7 goals. They give him 5 million dollars. Now the...
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Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) October 02, 2012Marlie coach comes out and rips Kadri in the newspaper saying he doesn't eat properly. Imagine headlines saying he's chubby and fatso.
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Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) October 02, 2012If anyone wants to get a blue print on how to destroy someone, just follow the Toronto Maple Leafs
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Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) October 02, 2012Care to respond, Brian Burke? (You know you want to.)
Grapes wasn’t the first in the media to call out the Leafs after Eakins’ comments.
“Why not tell Kadri in private that the organization is disappointed and that he needs get in better shape and become faster? Why embarrass him?” wrote Michael Traikos of the National Post.
“Toronto is already a tough enough place for a young player to develop, as Jiri Tlusty, Brandon Convery and countless other failed first-round draft picks will attest. But aside from reporters and fans scrutinizing Kadri’s every stumble, why are coaches also chiming in and giving Twitter something to talk about?”
However, at least one member of the local media felt it was the kind of tough love that’s not doled out enough by the organization.
The violins coming out in support of Kadri are a big reason why he shows up to camp out of shape.
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Damien Cox (@DamoSpin) September 28, 2012-
- jaysfan64 - Oct 2, 2012 at 2:40 PM
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Nazek?
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- Jason Brough - Oct 2, 2012 at 2:42 PM
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Whoops. Fixed. Apologies to Nasdaq Kadri.
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- babar61 - Oct 2, 2012 at 2:42 PM
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I’m sure Burke is furiously looking for a vacant barn to have a fist fight with cherry.
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- alexb64 - Oct 2, 2012 at 3:46 PM
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I’ll bet Damien Cox is one of those media guys that gets an erection when players are benched for missing curfew by a couple of minutes.
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- eyeh8goodell - Oct 2, 2012 at 8:51 PM
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What’s the big deal? NFL players get called out by their teams in the media all the time when they show up to camp out of shape. They get put on the PUP list until they can prove their physical condition is acceptable. Much ado about nothing. If a pro athlete shows up to camp out of shape, he deserves to be called out. He knows camp is not for getting into shape, you’re supposed to be in shape when you get there.
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- ducksk - Oct 4, 2012 at 5:40 PM
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Cherry is a clown and a fool.
