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# Nazem Kadri only recently drafted Leaf to score a hat trick for Toronto
- URL: https://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/nazem-kadri-only-recently-drafted-leaf-to-score-a-hat-trick-for-toronto/
- Published: 2016-03-30T19:30:04.000Z
- Updated: 2016-03-30T19:30:04.000Z
- Description: Plenty of Leafs have had hat tricks since Kadri was drafted - but none of them were drafted by the Leafs.
- Author: Ari Yanover
- Tags: #chorus, #Import 2023-04-05 11:01

One of the key components to rebuilding is drafting well. There are a lot of ways to pick up good players to make your team better - trades, free agency - but the draft is particularly crucial. Not only can draft picks form the foundation of a team, but a team gets more control over the player: from entry-level contracts to RFA years.

[Nazem Kadri](http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/71825/nazem-kadri?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com) scored the third hat trick of his career en route to the [Maple Leafs](http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/teams/toronto-maple-leafs?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com)' 5-2 win over the [Florida Panthers](http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/teams/florida-panthers?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com) \- and he's the only recently drafted Leaf to actually get three in one game. Via [Elias Sports Bureau, Inc.](http://espn.go.com/espn/elias?date=20160330&ref=pensionplanpuppets.com):

> Kadri, who was Toronto's first-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft, is the only Maple Leafs draftee to produce a hat trick for the Leafs over the last eight seasons. Toronto's other hat tricks since 2008-09 were all by players acquired by the Maple Leafs in a trade or signed as a free agent: [Jason Blake](http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/54322/jason-blake?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com), [Boyd Devereaux](http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/54294/boyd-devereaux?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com), [Niklas Hagman](http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/54285/niklas-hagman?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com), [Phil Kessel](http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/54905/phil-kessel?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com), [Joffrey Lupul](http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/55006/joffrey-lupul?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com) and [Tyler Bozak](http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/71017/tyler-bozak?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com).

We could probably add an asterisk to Bozak's name, as the Leafs got first crack at him, and he's never played for any other NHL teams. But still, Elias' point remains: Kadri is the only Leaf since he was drafted to score a hat trick for the team that drafted him.

With players like [William Nylander](http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/246220/william-nylander?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com) and [Mitch Marner](http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/257874/mitchell-marner?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com) either coming into the fold or about to, hopefully, that will change soon. It is kind of a reflection on part of the reason why the Leafs are where they are right now, though.