Since being selected by the Maple Leafs with the No. 7 pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, Kadri has been to the Stanley Cup Playoffs twice, and the Maple Leafs have never won a series in his time with the organization. As such, being part of a team that has won six of seven to start the season is the type of momentum you can build off, especially for a player who has endured plenty of struggles here.
"Absolutely," Kadri said. "We've worked hard. We've worked countless hours, spent countless hours in the gym. We've all bought into the system to get into this position and beyond.
"We're proud of ourselves to be where we're at at this point in the season. But like you said, it's October. And we have a lot ahead of us."
Kadri makes no promises that the Maple Leafs will remain in or among the League's elite for the entire season. But he does see indications of it.
"We're getting there, that's for sure," he said. "I've been around this organization for a long time and I've seen a lot worse starts than this.
"Look, it's a fun feeling, a fun position to be in. It's fun to come to the rink when you are playing well, your teammates are playing well, so it's been really motivating for us."
When it comes to motivation, Kadri points to Babcock as the driving force who has never taken his foot off the gas from the moment he became Maple Leafs coach on May 20, 2015.
That day, Babcock deflected any suggestions he would be some kind of miracle worker for a franchise that has not won the Stanley Cup since 1967, when the NHL was a six-team League. Instead, he warned anyone who would listen that "there would be pain."
It didn't take long for him to find out just how much.