Pulling out a chunk of his idol Joe ThorntonBԪַs beard in a fight, riding the roller-coaster of being a Toronto Maple Leaf and becoming the first Muslim player to win a Stanley Cup are chronicled in Nazem KadriBԪַs book BԪַDreamer: My Life On The EdgeBԪַ.
The 34-year-old NHL player from London, Ont., has a story to tell with a few revelatory twists.
BԪַI wanted it to be inspirational and motivating, but kind of lighthearted and humorous at the same time,BԪַ said Kadri, who is now in his third season with the Calgary Flames.
BԪַThat certainly was a challenge in certain parts with adversity and having the self-doubt that creeps into being a professional athlete and with being under the microscope.BԪַ
KadriBԪַs frankness in BԪַDreamersBԪַ scheduled for release on Oct. 15 stems from a belief in himself on and off the ice, which he says in the book the Maple Leafs tried to stamp out of him after the club drafted him in 2009.
Conformity, not individuality, was celebrated by the NHL during KadriBԪַs early years as a Maple Leaf when he says his confidence was viewed as a character flaw by team management.
BԪַEmbracing certain characters and personalities, thatBԪַs one thing I think hockey has taken a step forward with,BԪַ Kadri said. BԪַNot necessarily because of the league, but more so because of the players that have come in and shown that weBԪַre not robots and that weBԪַre people.BԪַ
A passion for the game and a stick in his hand whenever possible while growing up is an oft-told narrative about an NHL player.
WhatBԪַs different for Kadri, whose grandfather Nazem left Lebanon for Canada in the 1960s, is he had no generational connections to hockey other than his father Samir, who fell in love with the Montreal Canadiens as a young immigrant because of the teamBԪַs snazzy jersey colours.
It didnBԪַt take long for a young Nazem Kadri to realize he was the BԪַonly Brown guy in the dressing room. My teammates were always white guysBԪַ or to hear racist comments, from adults, in arenas.
BԪַMy confidence was a callus,BԪַ Kadri said in the book. BԪַI hadnBԪַt come from a typical hockey background; no one in my family had played the sport before me.
BԪַAnd ever since I was a kid people had hurled racist insults at me from the stands and on the ice. In effect, I was told that I didnBԪַt belong in their game, that it was a game for white kids.BԪַ
Light and dark combine in KadriBԪַs journey to lifting the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022.
After a collision with St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington in Game 3 of the second round, police sought Kadri out to inform him that he and his family were targets of death threats and vitriolic racism BԪַworse than anything IBԪַd ever experienced,BԪַ he recalled in the book.
The Avs assigned Kadri a security detail and arranged to have a police presence at his Denver home.
BԪַProbably nobody knows that,BԪַ Kadri says now. BԪַI donBԪַt think anyone understands the magnitude of that whole situation.
BԪַIt was a traumatic experience for me.BԪַ
Kadri turned that trauma into motivation to score his first career playoff hat trick in Game 4 of that series.
He grew up in London with four sisters, a Joe Thornton poster on his wall and an admiration for Paul Kariya.
Skinny and small, KadriBԪַs skill got him to the Ontario Hockey LeagueBԪַs Kitchener Rangers, and then to his hometown Knights as he worked to build the strength needed to reach the NHL.
His fatherBԪַs first foray into the Bell Centre, home of his beloved Habs, was to hear his sonBԪַs name called seventh overall by archrival Toronto and hear the boos that rained down upon the Maple LeafsBԪַ choice.
BԪַDreamerBԪַ is catnip for Leafs Nation as it goes inside coach Mike BabcockBԪַs controversial handling of players during KadriBԪַs decade in Toronto.
Recounted with rueful humour and the occasional expletive, TorontoBԪַs playoff collapses and heartbreak at the hands of the Boston Bruins make for a fast-paced read co-written with Dan Robson.
BԪַItBԪַs almost like a tell-all and you go into detail, especially with certain situations that people have just seen from a media standpoint and what theyBԪַve seen in the press,BԪַ Kadri said.
BԪַI didnBԪַt want to stir up a storm. IBԪַve always tried to kind of stay in my lane and just keep my perspective to myself, but this is a great opportunity to kind of tell my story respectfully.BԪַ
His NHL career is far from over as he plies his trade in Western Canada, but Kadri felt the time was right to tell his story so far.
BԪַI just feel like a Middle Eastern hockey player that doesnBԪַt really have any hockey background and has dealt with a lot of adversity and kind of ended with some triumph, itBԪַs a unique story in the hockey culture and it was a lot of fun to put it on paper,BԪַ Kadri said.