Fragen und Antworten » The No. 5 Aztecs

LONDON, Ont. – Tomas Kaberle was the 204th selection at the 1996 draft in St. Louis, the second to last player the Maple Leafs would draft on a day that saw the Senators pick Chris Phillips first overall. Kaberle, who could reportedly try out for the New Jersey Devils later this fall, stands as the only homegrown defenceman Toronto has sent to an All-Star game in more than 20 years, a fact that highlights the organizations difficulties drafting and developing talent of its own on the blue line. In fact, since 2000, the Leafs have drafted only six defencemen who went on to play 100 games in the NHL, a solid and yet unremarkable group featuring Carlo Colaiacovo, Jay Harrison, Ian White, Anton Stralman, Carl Gunnarsson and Luke Schenn – all of whom have since moved on from Toronto. Morgan Rielly will soon become the seventh in that group – he played 73 games as a rookie last season – the first in a pool of prospects thats become deepest and most intriguing for the Leafs on defence. Weve got a stockpile there and theyre all different shapes and sizes, Jim Hughes, the teams director of player development said recently. Among them is Matt Finn, who finished last season as the second-highest scoring defenceman in the OHL, captaining Guelph to the leagues top record, an OHL championship and a berth in the Memorial Cup. He will make the jump to the American League this fall. Its going to be tough, he said of the transition. Youre playing against men now with families. Its serious. Its a job now. Its not just fun in junior anymore. Youre not going to get all the opportunities, he continued. Youre not going to be a superstar like you were in junior anymore. Youre going to have to earn your stripes and take it day by day. Its never going to be easy. A second round pick in 2012, Finn will now have to battle for ice-time with the Marlies, helmed by first year head coach Gord Dineen, overseeing the teams annual prospect tournament here in London. The 20-year-old Finn spent time on the ice and in the gym this past summer with some of that competition – not to mention a group from the Leafs – and understands that more will be expected. You get a feel for what that pro level and that pro mentality is like, he said. Being in the gym with them, seeing how they work, how hard the corner battles are, how hard it is just to get areas in front of the net to stand in position – theyre always trying to push you out and gain that ground. Being able to play with guys like that – the NHL guys, the AHL guys – who have been there and have played and have experience and not even verbally sharing it with you, but just on the ice learning it through the ways of hockey. Tom Nilsson is six months older than Finn and he too is expected to join the Marlies for the first time this fall, making the jump from his native Sweden. Hopes are quietly high for the 21-year-old, sturdy at 6-foot and nearly 200 pounds. My goal is of course to play on the Maple Leafs, but if I start on the Marlies thats okay with me, Nilsson said. I want to learn how to play the [North American] game and then Im going to develop from there. Nilsson has some Niklas Hjalmarsson to his game – Dineen offered a more physical version of Gunnarsson – mobile, sneaky physical, and willing to block to shots and offer a stable defensive presence. He started watching the Chicago Blackhawks defender more closely a couple years back, also studying the performance of fellow Swedes, Niklas Kronwall – I like his hitting – and Erik Karlsson, the slap-shot of the Senators defender a particular point of admiration. Im trying to take small things off of players that I like, said Nilsson, who played with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League last season. Nilsson is anxious to make the adjustment to the smaller NHL rink; the organization believes his maturity and raw, hard-hitting game will aid in the transition. Hes well-schooled, said Hughes. Hell come over and it shouldnt be a very difficult transition for him. Nilsson might not be the only Swede making the jump to North America this fall for Toronto. He could be joined by Viktor Loov, the third-last pick of the 2012 draft and a fluid skater who played forward until the age of 15. Loov – long at 6-foot-2 and beefed up to the tune of 210 pounds – played with the teams top prospect, William Nylander, on MODO of the Swedish Hockey League last season. He just oozes determination every shift, Dineen said of Loov (pronounced LOVE), who delivered a crushing open ice hit in the second game of the rookie tournament Sunday night. Hes a guy that might [take] a little time in the future, but I think hes going to punch a hole for himself. The two Swedes will try to follow the path carved most recently by Petter Granberg, who made a solid adjustment to North America last fall and is expected to challenge for the seventh spot with the Leafs at training camp next week. That competition could also include Stuart Percy, a 2011 first round pick who impressed with a cerebral all-around game as a first-year Marlie last season, and Andrew MacWilliam, a hard-hitting defender who made some noise at training camp a year ago. Maybe the most NHL-ready of the Marlies group pushing toward the NHL is Korbinian Holzer, whose turbulent 22 games on the top pairing in 2013 has left him almost forgotten. The team raves about his character, leadership, and defensive ability – he was actually sturdy as a penalty killer in that brief spell with the Leafs. Far and away the biggest of the prospects on hand here in London, however, is Eric Knodel, picked in the fifth round of the 2009 draft. Knodel spent three seasons at the University of New Hampshire, employing the college route to add heft to his towering 6-foot-6 frame, while taking steps to improve his skating. He joined the Marlies at the end of his college campaign in the spring and will join the fight for ice in the fall. I think thats the best part is everybodys going to be battling, said Knodel (pronounced KUH-nodle). Great teams have great defence – great defence and goalies. Its always good to have good depth there. Whether any, all or even a few contribute is uncertain, but theres some upside and intrigue to a prospect pool thats been left mostly wanting. Wholesale Hydro Flask Authentic .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Wholesale Hydro Flask . The No. 5 Aztecs held Burton, the Mountain Wests leading scorer, to 11 points, 10 below his average, in beating the Wolf Pack 73-58 on Saturday night. http://www.wholesalehydroflask.com/ . Moments after scoring and setting off another wild celebration at Minsk arena, Platt leapt into the arms of Belarusian captain Alexei Kalyuzhny. Hydro Flask Clearance . Ho-Sang is a highly regarded prospect, as seen in TSNs Midseason Rankings. This was Game 3 of their playoff series and that wasnt the only strange incident in Londons 10-2 win over Windsor. Hydro Flask Sale .Hoffenheim forward Anthony Modeste opened the scoring on a counterattack in the 15th minute, shooting though Jaroslav Drobnys legs after Lewis Holtby lost the ball in midfield.CINCINNATI – The Blue Jays come limping home after a 3-7 road trip in more ways than one. Jose Bautista and Brett Lawrie were lost to injury in Sundays 4-3 loss to the Reds on a sweltering day at Great American Ballpark. Lawrie will be placed on the 15-day disabled list on Monday with a fractured right index finger, suffered in the second inning when he was hit by a Johnny Cueto fastball. It was the third time on the road trip Lawrie had been hit by a pitch on the hands. He was emotional, welling up at the thought of missing significant time as the ballclub trudges through a difficult month, clearly frustrated at his bad luck in Baltimore, New York and Cincinnati. "I dont even know what to say to be honest," he said, before being prompted for more. "It hurt a little bit more than usual so it kind of made me feel like something might be going on," said Lawrie. "It just started to settle in when I was on first base and I had to go get it checked out. Its one of those things." An inning later, Jose Bautista came up with runners on first and second and nobody out. He stunned the Reds, the entire stadium for that matter, when he dropped down a sacrifice bunt. Bautista was safe on a bang-bang play at first, facilitated by a Johnny Cueto fielding error. Standing on the bag, he seemed bothered by leg pain. Two hitters later, Colby Rasmus singled through the right side to cash two runs. Bautista advanced to second and waved for trainer George Poulis. His day was done, tightness in the back of his left leg to blame. "I had a little tightness in the area for the past couple of days but playing through it and today just goot bad enough that I didnt want to risk serious injury," said Bautista.dddddddddddd "Just a precaution to come out; take a precautionary MRI just to make sure theres nothing going on there. Thats it, hopefully its not too bad and hopefully I can get back into the lineup whenever." Bautista said he "didnt feel too bad" after the game but wouldnt venture a guess on a timeline for his absence, preferring to wait for the results of the MRI. "Sometimes there are areas of your body you feel okay, if theres something going on, its better to rest it for a couple of days instead of rushing back and making it worse," he said. "Well see what the MRIs say." With Lawrie and reliever Brett Cecil on the disabled list and Bautista a possibility to join them, the Jays, losers of 11 of their last 15 after marauding to a 38-24 record to begin the year, will have to get creative with the roster. This could mean more playing time for Juan Francisco at third base. A Munenori Kawasaki and Steve Tolleson platoon at second base is less than desirable but may be required under the circumstances. At the moment, the Jays dont have a true fourth outfielder and would be well served to offset the disabling of Lawrie by recalling either Anthony Gose or Kevin Pillar. These are trying times for a club that only three weeks ago was the toast of baseball. "The bottom line is on this road trip we didnt pitch good enough other than a couple of days, we didnt hit enough and our defence was shoddy," said manager John Gibbons. "So, you know what? You get what you deserve and thats what we got on this road trip." China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '