1. 1K For Kadri
It’s bound to be a special night.
A night for Naz.
The Flames centreman will skate in his 1,000th NHL contest, a milestone only achieved by players wearing a Flames uniform a dozen times before this evening.
Kadri will have about 40 friends and family on hand – in addition to the C of Red – to mark the occasion at the Scotiabank Saddledome when his Calgary squad hosts Columbus. GET TICKETS
“Exciting, for sure; got lots of friends and family coming into town and just to be able to share with everybody means a lot to me,” Kadri said during a media session Tuesday. “I’ve been able to reflect over the last couple days, and it kind of still hasn’t quite sunk in yet.
“I’m sure with the ceremony and everything (Wednesday), at some point it will.”
It’s a testament to his talent, his perseverance, and his dedication to the game, too. Selected seventh-overall by Toronto in the 2009 Draft, Kadri has played a gritty style of hockey his entire career, a 14-year span that included a Stanley Cup summit with the Avalanche in 2022.
“That’s just who I am, I don’t know any different,” he said of his playing style. “I don’t really have a switch where I can turn it on and off, but, you know, once you start keeping score and then, you know, it’s on for me, and that’s always something that’s driven me and helped me throughout my career.
“Even those days where I felt a little sluggish and didn’t necessarily feel the best, as soon as that puck drops, it’s a whole different story.”
As a Flame, Kadri has been dependable, and he’s been relied upon, too.
Kadri hasn’t missed a game since signing in Calgary in the summer of 2022, and he’s led the team in scoring in each of the past two seasons, a run that’s included a career-best 35-goal campaign last winter.
“When you have a situation or a chance in a key game to bring your best, you find a way to do it, no matter what the situation is. That’s what Naz does so well,” Flames Head Coach Ryan Huska noted Tuesday. “He’s ultra-competitive, he’ll do whatever he has to do to score, (to) help the team win. Whether it’s a fight, it’s a hit, whatever the case may be to change momentum of a game.
“He’s a gamer, where he comes to play each and every night.”
As he stands on the precipice of this milestone, a night where he’ll be the centre of attention on the ice – and in the run of show – Kadri will certainly take pause, and reflect on the journey.
And in that moment, it’s bound to come back to family.
“I mean, they’ve they put me on skates when I was was a little guy and took me to – my parents – took me to hockey games and had me around the rinks and gave me the opportunity to play the game that that I eventually fell in love with,” he reflected. “So I mean, there’s so many people I could throw in that – like I mentioned – coaches, organizations, teammates; teammates are huge.
“But my family is, you know, it’s on top of it all.”
