yyys123
Joined: 08 Jul 2019
Posts: 885
|
 Posted: 22.02.2009 Post subject: r-best second for his first |
 |
|
|
| LONDON, ONT – For Brad Ross, it was quite the adjustment. A second round draft pick in 2010, Ross was still cooking from a year that saw him score 42 times, adding 12 more in the playoffs for the WHLs Portland Winterhawks. But there with the Toronto Marlies in the fall of 2012, Ross, a rookie, was on the outside of a veteran squad peering in. "It wasnt too good to be honest," he said of his introduction to pro hockey during a conversation with TSN.ca. "The games that I would get in I would only play four or five shifts so its hard to really improve doing that. "But its hard to talk to the coach and be like Look I want to play when you have Matt Frattin, Kadri, all those guys down [in the AHL]." Ross tiptoed in and out of the lineup for 40 games, scoring only eight goals, and even spent a bit of time in the ECHL. This year promises to be different for Ross and a barrage of other top Leaf prospects though with the once potent and veteran Marlies veering in a youthful direction. Gone are a cast of mainstays who helped the club to a Calder Cup final two years ago, among them captain Ryan Hamilton, Mike Zigomanis, Will Acton, Greg Scott and the man who led the resurgence, Dallas Eakins. His replacement behind the bench, Steve Spott, will focus on the development of a youth-infused group. "And thats why Im excited about it," said Spott with enthusiasm, "because were going to see the progression." The head man in Kitchener for the past five seasons, Spott has a track record of cultivating young talent, a challenge hes prepared to take on at the next level in Toronto. "I dont have a lot of ready-made guys," he said of the roster hell guide with the Marlies. "Ive got guys that Im going to have to work with and develop along with Gord [Dineen] and with Derek [King] to get them ready to play in the next step. I take a lot of pride in that challenge. Its going to be a lot of video, a lot of teaching and something that we pride ourselves in, but ultimately, yeah, theres not a lot of ready-made products we have with our team." The Marlies will be built on the foundations of those looking to rise up to the next level of their respective careers. There will be the likes of Jerry DAmigo and Carter Ashton, aiming for the NHL stage and those like Ross, Greg McKegg, Tyler Biggs, Stuart Percy, Josh Leivo, David Broll, and Petter Granberg, trying to assert their place on the still new stage of the American League. An offensive star in junior, McKegg waded uncomfortably in his first year with the Marlies, gaining some steam late in the season. Training camp last fall brought with it a loaded roster, NHL talent in the form of Frattin, Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner lingering because of the lockout. The results saw McKegg, among others, dangling on a tight rope of sorts. "Even if you make a mistake in junior youre used to going right back out the next shift and that wasnt the case when we turned pro last year," he told TSN.ca, noting the constant worry of tripping up with mistakes. "I was a lot more nervous last year," added Ross, who hopes to rediscover the feisty offensive game which made him successful with the Winterhawks. "With the lockout it was so tough to get a spot." Each player will, in many ways, represent a project for Spott and his staff, an opportunity to shape individuals through their habits on and off the ice and "transform them into becoming day-to-day professional players." "I think thats maybe a big reason why Im here," said Spott, a longtime protégé of Devils coach Pete DeBoer, hired by the Leafs organization in early July. "…the pride in the development and making sure the players, once they have a chance to play, that theyre complete players. When you look at the Skinners, and the Landeskogs and the Roys, those guys we took a lot of pride in developing them the right way." For Percy, a first round pick in 2011 who thrived in Mississauga last season, that process involves "putting the pressure on himself to become an elite player". For Biggs, selected three picks before Percy that same year, its "playing with that passion every night", Spott stressing the physical elements required of the 6-3 winger. Leivo, a power winger who drew acclaim from Leafs brass for his goal-scoring efforts last season, will be equally tested under Spott, having spent 39 games under him in Kitchener. "The training, the nutrition side of the game, thats all going to be new to him," Spott said. "Those are the types of projects individually were excited about." Kole Calhoun Angels Jersey .Mack, a reserve guard who came in averaging 3.8 points, made all six of his 3-pointers as the Hawks went 16 for 28 from behind the arc.Trailing 50-38 midway through the second quarter, Atlanta outscored Cleveland 89-48 the rest of the way and sent the Cavaliers to their largest loss of the season. Fred Lynn Jersey . Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy. http://www.baseballangelslockroom.com/brian-goodwin-angels-jersey/ . 2015 Oscar nomination pending. Here is an open letter from Steven Stamkos to his fans: When I shot this final Moment Zero film last August, it was a fun few days on set with Coke Zero and Jordan Eberle in my hometown of Markham. Cody Allen Angels Jersey . Osmond, of Marystown, N.L., fell in the middle of her routine and placed fifth in the ladies free skate at Iceberg Skating Palace (110.73 points), but that was all the Canadians needed after a strong performance by Kevin Reynolds in the mens free earlier Sunday. Shohei Ohtani Jersey . -- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft wanted to keep Logan Mankins with the team for a long time.HOUSTON -- Not everything was bigger in Texas on a hot and humid weekend in which a pair of small IndyCar teams claimed the commemorative cowboy boots from the Grand Prix of Houston. Sam Schmidts drivers went 1-2 on Sunday for the first time in team history as Simon Pagenaud grabbed the win and led rookie teammate Mikhail Aleshin to the checkered flag. Pagenaud used the win, his second of the season, to climb back into the championship race. He came to Houston trailing Will Power by 91 points, and cut it to 59 after the two races. "Its fantastic for the race team and the entire organization," said Pagenaud, who admitted after the race to feeling "a little faint" from temperatures that soared into the 90s. "The whole team has elevated to top team level." Aleshin, the first Russian to compete in IndyCar, was a career-best second for his first podium and said a tire problem nearly prevented him from making it to the finish. "Its definitely an amazing day for the team," he said. "We are one of the fastest cars on the track and I think we did an amazing job today. The whole team did an amazing job." Third went to rookie Jack Hawksworth, his first career podium. It capped a breakthrough weekend for the British driver, who finished a career-best sixth Saturday. "Its been rough this year, weve been fast sometimes and just not quite made it happen," said Hawksworth. "Weve not quite put it together and today we did." A day earlier, Dale Coyne Racing scored its first win of the year with rookie Carlos Huertas. The rookie led a Colombian sweep of the rain-soaked podium alongside countrymen Juan Pablo Montoya and rookie Carlos Munoz. It was a race Pagenaud thought he should have won. He spent the previous week training in California for the heat and humidity, and won the pole for the first race of the doubleheader. His race was ruined, though, first by a spin and then when he was collected in Scott Dixons crash. He finished 16th in the first race. "I was so disappointed Saturday because we had such a fast car this weekend," he said. Power, the points leader, rallied from another poor qualifyying effort to put himself in position for a third-place finish.dddddddddddd But he failed to make it to the finish line when a part broke on his car two laps from the finish. Pagenaud, Aleshin and Power had peeled away from the pack, leaving Hawksworth behind for a spirited battle to hold on for fourth-place. Then Power went off course and fell to 11th. Still, he entered the weekend with a 39 point lead in the standings and that was unchanged. Hoping to close ground on Power this weekend was Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves, who was ninth Saturday but started from the pole on Sunday looking for a win. Instead, he was chasing Pagenaud from second for the lead early in the race when he drove into Sebastien Bourdais. Castroneves had been setting up his pass of Pagenaud and apparently didnt see Bourdais when he suddenly tried to cut into the same lane as Bourdais. Castroneves wound up 21st. "I was attacking and trying to pass Pagenaud, and I had no idea (Bourdais) was there," Castroneves said. "When I am attacking, I cant have my eyes on the back. Its absolutely ridiculous why the guy had to put the car over there. Its the rules of traffic, when a guy hits a guy in the back, its his fault. I am upset, yes, because we had a great car and its just a shame to have drivers like that who do not use common sense." The contact broke Bourdais front wing while he was running third, caused him to fall through the field, but he rallied to finish fifth, behind Charlie Kimball, despite the damage. It marked consecutive top-five finishes for the first time this season for Bourdais. "He changed lanes and we made pretty heavy contact," Bourdais said of Castroneves move. "That busted my front wing pretty good. After that it was a tough fight. I had to be really creative to compensate for the balance of the car." Huertas, winner Saturday, and Munoz, who finished third on Saturday, both failed to finish on Sunday and were the first two cars out. It was a topsy-turvy weekend like that in which Munoz was the only driver from the big three teams -- Andretti Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske -- to earn a podium. ' ' ' |
|
