In less than a week, Nazem Kadri has gone from the hot story of Maple Leafs training camp to its most burning question.

Even with coach Ron Wilson openly calling him out again on Thursday, Kadri failed to make a mark, this time at his hometown rink, the John Labatt Centre, where he was a star with the London Knights the past two seasons.

The result of the continued flat play was a third-period demotion off the line he has skated with all camp thus far -- prized off-season acquisitions Colby Armstrong and Kris Versteeg -- to what looked like an all-Marlies unit between wingers Marcel Mueller and Darryl Boyce.

With Tyler Bozak, Mikhail Grabovski, Christian Hanson and John Mitchell all in the fight for centre spots, Kadri has been less effective than all of hem.