ekansekans's blog: "df"

SAN JOSE, Calif. Brandon Weeden Womens Jersey . -- The San Jose Sharks chose centre Tomas Hertl of the Czech Republic with the 17th pick in the first round of the NHL draft on Friday night. Hertl is only the second first-round pick made by the Sharks in the past five drafts. They traded their only other first-rounder, 2010 pick Charlie Coyle, to Minnesota during last years draft with 2005 first-rounder Devin Setoguchi and a 2011 first-rounder for defenceman Brent Burns. Hertl, 18, was rated as the fifth-best European skater in the draft by the NHL Central Scouting service. Hertl had 12 goals and 13 assists last season for Slavia Praha in the Czech league, along with a plus-9 rating and 22 penalty minutes. His coach at Slavia Praha was former NHL player Vladimir Ruzicka. "He has the upside potential to be a centerman that you can use in all situations," Sharks scouting director Tim Burke said. "He will defend, he makes plays, he has long reach, he strips pucks, hes able to play low around the net. There are a lot of good qualities." Hertl, who is listed at 6-foot-2, 198 pounds, also had three goals and two assists in six games at the World Junior Hockey Championships this year. Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said he looked into trading up at one point and would have traded out of the 17th spot if Hertl had not been available. "Hes a versatile guy," Wilson said. "Hes a big body guy who played very well in the World Juniors. He played against men. He can play all forward positions." The Sharks expect him to remain in the Czech Republic next season, and Burke said he could be ready for the NHL the following year depending on his development and the teams needs. This marked the first time since 2004 that the Sharks used their top pick on a European player. They drafted Lukas Kaspar of the Czech Republic in the first round that year. The draft comes after a disappointing season for the Sharks, who were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs by St. Louis after making it to the Western Conference finals the previous two seasons. While Hertl wont be expected to contribute in the NHL for a few years, Wilson already made one move to bolster his team this off-season, acquiring the rights to defenceman Brad Stuart from Detroit for potential free agent Andrew Murray and a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2014. San Jose is close to signing a three-year deal with Stuart that will prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent on July 1, That would clear the way for Wilson to deal another defenceman to help improve the depth at wing. The Sharks still have five picks remaining on Saturday with one in each of the second, fifth and sixth rounds, and two in the seventh round. Despite the lack of high picks in recent years, San Jose has had success drafting under Wilsons leadership with his picks playing in the third most games (3,829) in the NHL since his first draft in 2003, trailing only Montreal and Chicago. That includes core players such as forwards Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski and defenceman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, as well as up-and-comers like defenceman Justin Braun and forward Tommy Wingels. Trent Richardson Womens Jersey . - Michael Catenacci had five points to lead the Kitchener Rangers to a 6-3 win over the Guelph Storm on Tuesday in Ontario Hockey League action. Josh Gordon Jersey . Confined to practices and film sessions for the past week -- and growing increasingly antsy in the meantime -- the Spurs expressed relief Sunday after watching the Los Angeles Clippers knock out Memphis in the NBAs last first-round playoff series to finish up and finally lock down their matchup for the Western Conference semifinals. http://www.nikeclevelandbrownsjerseyshop.com/jim-brown-jerseys . Then, suddenly, the momentum was all Philadelphias. Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek scored 47 seconds apart in the final minute of the first period to give the Flyers the lead, and they held on for a 2-1 victory over Boston on Thursday night to spoil the Bruins celebration of their Stanley Cup championship. Trent Richardson Jersey . The Czech Republics Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek both won their singles in straight sets against the Americans. Berdych fired 12 aces in defeating Andy Roddick 6-1, 6-2 and Stepanek routed James Blake 6-2, 6-1. Brandon Weeden Jersey . I wouldnt necessarily say this is the deal that ends the saga for the Phoenix Coyotes; I wouldnt say take it to the bank.SHAWINIGAN, Que. -- With all their skill and speed, the powerhouse Saint John Sea Dogs are not about to start trying to slow games down. But coach Gerard Gallant said Thursday his team knows how to protect a lead. An example came in the Sea Dogs final round robin game at the MasterCard Memorial Cup, when they took a three-goal lead and closed out a 4-1 victory over the host Shawinigan Cataractes. Afterward, Shawinigan coach Eric Veilleux looked surprised when he said "its rare to see Saint John shut down the play, but they did a good job." That brought a smile from Gallant, whose team usually is all about talent and keeping the game at a high pace. "Dont get me wrong, we practice the trap a little bit," Gallant said. "But when its 3-1, I want our guys to keep going, but to make sure our defencemen arent pinching and to make sure we have a high forward (one staying back in the attacking zone). I dont want to sit back. "Were never scared. Were responsible. You see our defencemen, its 3-1 and theyre still in the rush, they still play the game. We just keep giving them reminders that we dont want odd-man rushes. Play the game smart." The victory put Saint John into the semifinals, where they will meet the winner of Thursday nights contest between Shawinigan and the Western Hockey League champion Edmonton Oil Kings. The Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights, a strictly defence-first club, has earned a bye to the final on Sunday night. The Sea Dogs have been perhaps Canadas most gifted junior team for three seasons, but they lost in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs to Moncton in 2010 before roaring back to take their first Memorial Cup last spring. Most of the same players are back this year, including Floridas third-overall draft pick Jonathan Huberdeau, who leads the tournament with four goals, defence ace Nathan Beaulieu and NHL first-rounder Zach Phillips. With two of the best scoring lines in junior hockey and a mobile puck-moving defence, the Sea Dogs simply arent built for clogging the neutral zone, although they may have lapsed into a version of that as Shawinigan mounted heavy pressure in the third period. "When youre not a trapping team and you start to do something youre not familiar with, you make mistakes," said Gallant. "Then Shawinigans in your zone and putting pressure on you. "It changes the game. The game was going fine for us at 3-1, so why change a whole lot? We just tried to play it a little smarter." Gallant was in a good mood the day after the win over the team that finished second to Saint John in the reggular season. Jim Brown Jersey. The Cataractes arena, the Bionest Centre, was jammed and the noise level was deafening, but his team stayed calm and quieted things somewhat by taking an early lead on a slick combination between first-line stars Huberdeau and Charlie Coyle. The Sea Dogs opened the tournament with a dismal loss to London in which little effort was evident, but played progressively better in the next two outings. They look to be reaching cruising speed just in time for the single-game knockout portion of the tournament. The loss looks to have woken them up. "I think it did," the third-year coach said. "Id definitely like to be going right to the final, but were playing good the last two games. "Were in pretty good position. Were happy, were rested. Our schedule has been same -- one day off (between games) all week, so were in a good situation." It has also helped that the ice conditions have improved dramatically since the start of the event. Warm weather, large crowds and extra television lighting in the building combined to produce soft, slushy ice in the early games that worked against teams that play with speed and finesse. Since then, game-day skates were moved to another rink, dehumidifiers were installed and entrances to the seating areas closed off during the day to keep the rink cool and the ice noticeably harder. "They did a great job with the ice," said Gallant. "There were some minor issues at first, and some people (including Gallant) werent happy because it caused a lot of turnovers, but the ice was really good last night. "For our club, knowing what I hear from the kids, in the first game it was mental. They were talking more about that than the hockey game. But its got better every day so the kids are really excited. It helps our club for sure." There was old-time hockey action at the end of the game against Shawinigan. Three separate melees broke out in the final minute as frustration boiled over from the home team and its fans, some of whom threw beer cans onto the ice. Even Gallant got hit in the back of the head with a can, although happily for the coach it was empty. Veilleux got into a shouting match at the bench with Saint Johns coaches. On Thursday, organizers fined each team $2,500 for "conduct prejudicial to the welfare of the game and the tournament." "We dont do a lot of fighting, but we can respond any way you like," said Gallant. "Weve got big guys that play physical at times. "Our game is about puck movement, speed and skill, but we never shy away from the other stuff." ' ' '