It’s the classic Canadian dream: a pro-hockey career. And for one of hockey’s most unlikely stars, that dream has come true.
20 year-old Nazem Kadri is the first Muslim to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. His pro-hockey dreams have their roots a generation ago, in the desert heat and violent upheaval of civil war in Lebanon.
Kadri’s father, Sam, was only four years old when his family fled the rising tide of violence in Lebanon. In an interview with 16:9 The Bigger Picture, Global News’ current affairs program, Kadri Sr. said he’d never seen a hockey rink before coming to Canada. But it didn’t take him long to fall in love with Canada’s most beloved game.
As a kid, Kadri Sr. desperately wanted to play but the financial demands were too much for his family.
“I love the game,” he said. “We played road hockey. I’d find a stick. Someone would throw it out but I’d tape it together and play.”
As a grown man, he promised himself his kids would get to try the game he always loved.
“It stayed in my head,” he told 16:9. “When my kids came along I said it’s a sport I definitely want to put them in.”
A generation later, when Nazem Kadri hit the ice, it became clear he was the embodiment of his father’s hockey dreams. He’s hard to miss. A dreamweaver on ice, Kadri was a star at every level from local tournaments to the international stage.
Then in 2009, he was drafted by one of the NHL’s original six: the Toronto Maple Leafs. The moment is frozen in time for his dad.
“It was very emotional,” Kadri Sr. told 16:9. “I felt for that split second, seeing him with that jersey…. I probably could have lived an eternity in that second, just watching that.”
This realization of a long-cherished dream was just the beginning of the long road ahead. Playing for the NHL is a brutal fight for survival. It wasn’t long before the fairytale grew rough around the edges.
The first year, Kadri didn’t make the cut. This year, as a promising prospect for a struggling team, the pressure to perform was intense from the start.
Just weeks after playing in front of packed crowds for the Maple Leafs, he was sent back to the minors. Critics called him a baby, a failure and a disappointment. But Kadri didn’t let it shake his confidence.
“I think I have the personality,” he told 16:9. “I think I have the mental toughness to play in this market.”
Now, things seem to be turning around. Just days ago, he stepped back on the ice with the Leafs, shouldering fans’ hopes and media scrutiny with an unmistakeable swagger. His faith in his talent is rock solid. And his determination to succeed has deep roots.
Kadri knows he gives the great Canadian game a new face. There have only been a few NHL players from the Muslim community. None have been in Kadri’s class. And when he shines on the ice, his talent inspires other Muslim kids who come from backgrounds as unlikely as his. Kadri’s got his family, his community and his faith behind him. He’s showing them it’s their game, too.
“Sometimes I go home late at night and I just think about how fortunate I am. God’s blessed me with this talent,” he told 16:9. “For the young Muslim kids out there, it’s just an honour to be their role model."
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