COLLINGWOOD, ONT a€“ Five years ago it was he who was the Maple Leafs hotshot teenage prospect. Nazem Kadri, now 23 and nearly 200 games into his NHL career, admits to seeing a lot of himself in the latest reincarnation, William Nylander, Torontoa€?s first-round pick from the June draft. He sees it in the skill. He sees it in the confidence and the swagger. He sees it in the seemingly limitless offensive upside and, admittedly, little regard to defensive play. But even Kadri needed a little bit more development time after his electric exhibition tour in the fall of 2009 or so the organization, led then by Brian Burke and Ron Wilson, thought at the time. A similar decision now looms in the case of Nylander, vying to make the Leafs as an 18-year-old. Is the Swede, picked eighth overall at the draft in Philly, ready to play in the NHL? It would appear not. a€?Ita€?s hard to say,a€? said Kadri of Nylandera€?s NHL readiness, emphasizing that he was a player and in no real position to judge. a€?I definitely think he can play in the NHL, therea€?s no question about that. Ita€?s just a matter of whether he can go through the whole 82-game schedule and the whole grind it takes and the travel schedule, little things like that.a€? Nylandera€?s skills are unquestionably NHL-grade, but ita€?s become clear over the course of two weeks that he isna€?t ready to be a Leaf just yet. Hea€?s offered flashes, no doubt a€“ his hands, vision and bursts of speed obvious and impressive assets a€“ but he hasna€?t left the nightly impression that hea€?s ready to make an impact as a teenager and do so from October to April and possibly beyond. That fact should be clear-cut for a club to hold onto its prized top prospect, a reality that now seems unlikely with only one exhibition game to go. a€?The puck follows him around and he gets his offensive chances, thata€?s for sure,a€? said head coach, Randy Carlyle of Nylander. a€?But youa€?ve always got to caution yourself; he is only 18-years-old and wea€?re asking him to do something that he has not done before as far as playing at this level, so ita€?s always continually a test.a€? The Leafs have given him every opportunity to perform; theya€?ve played him in five of the seven preseason games to date and paired him with Kadri most nights. And while he scored a goal late in the first exhibition game, hea€?s become less and less noticeable opposite competition thata€?s gotten better and better. Morgan Rielly was a slam-dunk case last fall. He was noticeably ready, both mentally and physically, and forced the hand of Carlyle and Nonis with a standout preseason a€“ though, he oddly sat out the first two games of the regular season. Unlike Rielly, who came right in with a thick NHL-ready frame, Nylander hasna€?t shown that his size wona€?t be an issue for 82 games, though he hasna€?t been a€?burieda€? either. a€?I dona€?t know if I can say that,a€? Nylander said of his readiness to play in the NHL, pointing to Fridaya€?s finale against Detroit as perhaps the best test with a cast of regular Red Wings likely to be in the lineup. The team appears to be handling his case in a manner that mirrors Rielly, who was picked fifth overall in 2012. They want to be sure, as Carlyle framed it again Thursday, that what they do now is in the best long-term interests of Nylander. a€?Does it stunt some young playera€?s development by putting him in situations they cana€?t survive in?a€? Carlyle queried. a€?And thata€?s the tough decision you have to make on your young players at times.a€? The wrong move can end up hurting the prospect in the long run, as it may have in the case of Luke Schenn, a top-five pick of the Leafs in 2008, who made the roster as an untested, but physically mature 18-year-old. More and more teams are pushing their top prospects quickly into the NHL, both because of the cap a€“ where value is highest from contributors on entry-level contracts a€“ and because many appear to be ready to play and contribute right away a€“ Nathan MacKinnon no better a recent example. a€?Back then it was little more physical, clutch-and-grab type style and maybe it was a little harder for young guys, smaller guys and lighter guys to get around the ice, especially with bigger guys and bigger defencemen,a€? Kadri said of the evolution. a€?Now, all youa€?re really seeing is mobile and agile players. Theya€?ve really taken those roles out of the game and made it a lot faster. So I think younger guys have a better chance to make it than they did back then.a€? Carlyle, who won a Norris Trophy as a player, says he was ill-prepared to play in the league as a teenager, though he made the leap as a 20-year-old. a€?No,a€? he said firmly. a€?I was nowhere near ready.a€? a€?I just think the level of player is a higher level of player,a€? he continued. a€?Theya€?re better players. Theya€?re better athletes. Theya€?re stronger a€| They separate themselves in two areas - with hockey sense and with skating ability.a€? Nylander certainly has both gifts, which is why his status is even in question at this stage late in camp. But not every young kid is MacKinnon and unless the coaching staff and new management, led by Brendan Shanahan, can say with certainty that Nylander is ready for a full NHL campaign, then his place is somewhere besides the Leafs (and therea€?s nothing wrong with that). If therea€?s been a benefit to training camp for him, ita€?s been the constant learning in an NHL setting, be it from teammates or coaches. A hint of that emerged during practice Thursday when he pulled Carlyle aside for a question or two about the system, one particular drill giving him pause. a€?Ita€?s been a good learning experience for me,a€? he said. The Leafs could opt to extend their evaluation process beyond the preseason. Nylander can play in nine regular season games before the first year of his entry-level contract kicks in. Barring that, the choice would come down to a tour with the Marlies or a return to the Swedish Hockey League, where he is currently a free agent. Both avenues certainly have their merit; the AHL offers an extended acclimation to the North American ice and schedule; Sweden offers limelight-less development in a quality league where Nylander struggled some last season (one goal in 22 games). The prudent (and sometimes slower) path isna€?t always fun a€“ be it for the player or fans. And Kadri made no secrets about his frustration with it, but looking back now he understands the upside it eventually offered. That would appear the best solution for the younger version of himself. Nate Davis Youth Jersey . During the furious first few hours of free agency Tuesday, the team agreed to terms with strong safety Donte Whitner, a Cleveland native who cant wait to play in his hometown. Amani Hooker Youth Jersey . However, it wasnt a problem on Monday night. Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves for his 56th career shutout in the New York Islanders 3-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night. http://www.authentictitanspro.com/Marcus...-titans-jersey/. However, Jim Popp isnt sure how long hell be able to admire wide receiver Duron Carter. Jurrell Casey Womens Jersey . Tyutin has missed the last nine games with an ankle injury which occurred while playing for Russia at the Olympics. The top-two defenceman has four goals and 20 assists, 30 penalty minutes and a plus-6 rating in 53 games with Columbus this season. Marcus Mariota Jersey . Fourteen players were suspended last summer by Major League Baseball as part of the Biogenesis drug scandal, ranging from All-Stars to also-rans.Im going to write in defence of Capitals RW Alex Ovechkin, if only because there have been some recent attacks and, while I can certainly live with them being directed at Ovechkin, the analytical process ought to be better, particularly if its going to be a hit piece on the leagues leading goal-scorer. Yes, Im writing to defend a player that is on pace for a 59-goal season, when the second-best goal-scorer in the NHL this season, Torontos Phil Kessel, is on pace for 43. Naturally, I didnt think that Ovechkin would be a player that needed much defending, but hes taken some hits lately. Im going to largely ignore his contributions on the power play because its not in any dispute that Ovechkin is great with the man advantage and can make a difference even when he doesnt score. On one side of the discussion, we have the Toronto Star, with their Department of Hockey Analytics, and while there are plenty of flaws in Ovechkins game, they somehow determined that his goals-for/against percentage was the way to illustrate the problem. Never mind that goals for/against percentage is essentially measuring plus-minus. Ill get to that in a moment but, first, also peruse the Hockey News piece by Ken Campbell who, after Ovechkin was minus-5 against Columbus, decided that Ovechkin has to decide what kind of player he is. After all, Ovechkin was minus-17 on the season after that game. Whats odd about using plus-minus to denigrate Ovechkins contributions is that anyone doing serious analytical work in hockey has been against using plus-minus because it involves so many factors beyond an individual players control (not least of which are the contributions of nine other skaters and two goaltenders when the game is 5-on-5) and, generally, involves small samples because goals are relatively rare events. Its funny to find myself in this position, because I can be a bit of an apologist for plus-minus. You spend enough time around the game and that thinking can be pretty common, and when the sample is large enough, you can get a pretty decent list of players at both ends of the spectrum. (For example, heres the list of players with the best cumulative plus-minus since 2000, and here are the worst.) But, Ive at least learned that there are many other factors that go into whether a player is a plus or minus player, and they must be considered if youre going to attempt to pass judgment on a single season or, especially, a portion of a season. So, lets take a look at some factors that are at play to make Alex Ovechkin a minus-17. First off, the shooting percentage of others on the ice with Ovechkin at 5-on-5 is ridiculously low. His 6.3% is only ahead of fourth-liners Aaron Volpatti and Jay Beagle among Capitals forwards. The suggestion could be made -- and of course it has been -- that Ovechkin isnt making those around him better, but here are the 5-on-5 on-ice shooting percentages when Ovechkin has been on the ice for the past five seasons: 10.36%, 8.62%, 8.05%, 11.76%, 9.09%. Youre really going to have to dig for reasons, other than poor luck and ineffective shooters, to explain even-strength shooting effectiveness declining by 40% over last season, especially when Ovechkin himself is shooting 10.6% (18 goals, 170 shots) at 5-on-5. Taking away Ovechkins 18 goals on 170 shots, leaves the other Capitals to score eight goals on 242 shots (3.3%) with Ovechkin on the ice. Marcus Johansson, his most common left winger, has one goal on 51 shots. This undeniably effects plus-miinus, right? Of course it does.dddddddddddd Give Ovechkin an average on-ice shooting percentage (say, 8%) and that is a difference of about seven goals. At the other end of the rink, Ovechkin is getting burned with a .909 save percentage at 5-on-5. Naturally, the argument will be that Ovechkins defensive play is what leads to that low percentage. Keep in mind, that percentage is well below career norms for him (.922 over the past five seasons, including this one) and ranks near the bottom on the Capitals roster. Use that typical save percentage, on 439 shots against, and that becomes a difference of 5-6 goals. So, why not take a look at where the shots are coming from with Ovechkin on the ice? According to Some Kind of Ninjas Shot Tracker, shots against the Capitals with Ovechkin on the ice at even strength, come from an average distance of 34.5 feet. In the previous five seasons, it has been 34.2, 36.6, 35.8, 34.6 and 35.9 feet on average. There can be an argument made, based on those average shot distances, that Ovechkins most effective defensive performances were in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 (the Dale Hunter season), but there really isnt a huge difference; goaltenders arent suddenly flummoxed by 34-foot shots when 36-footers are easy pickings. On top of that, best of luck trying to identify those particular seasons as anything close to Ovechkins best. Why? Because he scored 70 goals and 150 points in 157 games over those two seasons, producing the two lowest point scoring rates of his career. Yes, even lower than this season, when virtually no one else puts the puck in the net with him on the ice. Of course Ovechkin is not a defensive whiz, but that shouldnt stand as an indictment any more than it has for elite offensive players throughout the history of the game. Seriously, take a look at the Top 10 goal-scorers in the league, none of whom put the puck in the net like Ovechkin, and identify the ones that are notably strong backcheckers. Some are: Joe Pavelski, Alexander Steen, Patrick Sharp, but theres no reason to believe that right wingers Kessel or Corey Perry or Patrick Kane are doing brilliant work in the defensive end. Heres the thing: theyre all great players! Part of the trouble for Ovechkin is that the Capitals havent been able to win in the postseason, so he gets painted with the brush of failure for a whole host of team shortcomings. Thats what comes with being a superstar. This Capitals team is flawed. They rank in the bottom third of the league in Fenwick Close (measuring shot attempts, not including blocks, at even strength, with the score close), which is a good indication of team puck possession, yet Ovechkin has relatively solid possession numbers. If you want to break down a players overall contribution, and feel that you must use one statistic in order to do so (better yet, dont), then at least reduce the impact of others on the ice and look at the possession stats, because it wont matter that linemates arent finishing or that, for whatever reason, goaltenders arent stopping the puck. Shooting and save percentages fluctuate and while they affect perception -- just ask Tyler Bozak -- they dont get to the bottom of a players on-ice contribution, and so it is with Ovechkin this year, who