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shushu
Joined: 26 Feb 2019
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05 Mar 2019 04:20 |
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TORONTO – He hasnt played since breaking a bone in his right hand in a fight on Nov. 11, but Connor McDavid showed up for Hockey Canadas World Junior selection camp with his game face on. You dont reach the level hes at (16 goals, 35 assists in 18 games with the Erie Otters this season) at the age hes at (17) without being intense. That intensity was evident early in the camps first on-ice workout Thursday evening at the MasterCard Centre. McDavid, taking part in a full practice for the first time since having his cast removed Tuesday, mishandled the puck on consecutive plays in the same drill. He was clearly frustrated. He apologized, said Guelph Storm right winger Robby Fabbri, who was on McDavid’s line during much of the practice. Everyone makes mistakes, but he doesnt make too many of them. I just gave him a pat and told him to relax. You apologize to your teammates when you make a mistake, McDavid said. I messed up there and twice in a row with Robby so I felt bad about it. Hes a good friend of mine and he came over and told me not to worry about it. A little later in the practice the team was put through a shot-blocking drill. The assistant coaches fired foam pucks at players from a few feet away. McDavid, who has not yet been cleared for contact, wanted to be part of it. But after McDavid blocked his first shot head coach Benoit Groulx intervened asking the favourite to go first in the next NHL Draft to sit out the drill. I told him, You know what? I dont want my face on TV tomorrow [because you got hurt] for this reason so get out of there! Groulx said with a chuckle. I just went once, so I guess 1-for-1 so that makes me 100 per cent, McDavid said with a wry grin. Earlier in the practice, McDavid wired a slap shot past Jets goalie prospect Eric Comrie high on the glove side. It was a thing of beauty. McDavid was, of course, nonplussed when asked about it afterwards. I was taking slap-shots with my cast on so I think you guys are making too big of a deal about it. I’ve been skating for three weeks. Ive been skating fully for three weeks so this is kind of just another day. McDavid suggested his recent layoff from game action may actually be a blessing when it comes to the World Juniors, because hell be fresher than others. My legs have felt probably better than they did before I got hurt, he noted. There is a reason McDavids every move was and will continue to be under the microscope. Hes seen as the next big star in hockey: a generational talent, who can change a franchises fortunes. And for Canada he is someone, who will figure prominently in the quest to end a five-year gold medal drought. You can tell the legs are there, no problem, said Groulx. It was good to see him. Just having him on the ice was good for everyone. The Canadian bench boss, an assistant on Brent Sutters staff a year ago, says Hockey Canada is going to be very cautious when it comes to the emerging superstar. We want to be patient with him in order to have him at 100 per cent. We don’t want to put Connor McDavid on the ice at 75 per cent. We are going to have to wait and see to how he reacts to practicing. The hope is that McDavid will be able to play in at least one of the teams three pre-tournament games: Dec. 19 against Russia in Toronto, Dec. 21 against Sweden in Ottawa or on Dec. 23 against Switzerland in Montreal. McDavid, for his part, seemed supremely confident that he will be ready for the tournament opener on Boxing Day. Playing mostly on the wing, McDavid, a natural centre, had just four points in seven games last year when he became just the sixth 16-year-old to crack Canadas World Junior roster. This year hes poised to be a leader on the squad. It’s a big opportunity and perhaps the final one on this stage for a player, who appears destined to make the NHL early in his career. And the fact the event will take place on home soil makes it all the more special. Everyones excited, McDavid said when asked specifically about the added pressure of playing in Montreal and Toronto. Were not feeling too much pressure now. Being at home, its a blessing, honestly, its an opportunity that not a whole lot of people get to do. On Wednesday, Scott Salmond, Hockey Canadas vice-president of hockey operations, declared that he felt like Canada was an underdog at the event during an interview with QMI News Agency. But McDavid has high expectations. I dont see any reason why we cant [win] it all, he said. Wholesale Air Jordan . -- Maxence Parrot of Bromont, Que. Wholesale Air Jordan From China . Mark Teahen scored the go-ahead run in the home seventh on an error by Scott Sizemore, who had knotted the game with a solo homer in the previous half- inning. Paul Konerko then hit an RBI single which proved to be the winning run. http://www.wholesaleairjordanfromchina.com/ . Kripps, of Summerland, B.C., and Edmontons Barnett used a terrific second run to move up two spots, putting the Canadian duo in medal contention with the final two runs set for Monday (11:15 a.m. ET, streaming live at cbc. Cheap Jordans . - The Kansas City Royals are hoping All-Star catcher Salvador Perez will be back in a few days.MIAMI - Dwyane Wade was on the basketball court early Wednesday to take on a couple critics who thought it was a good idea to challenge the Miami Heat guard.His kids lost.We played a lot of different games, Wade said. I had to come back from behind in one of them.Their before-school backyard game was on the court adorned in Marquette colours at their home, and itll be the last time Wade plays in friendly surroundings for the next couple weeks. Wade and the struggling Heat start a five-game trip in Portland on Thursday, beginning a stretch that could help turn things around or just add to their tailspin.The only thing I do know, Wade said, is it cant get any worse.Miami (15-20) is clinging to the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference and this trip isnt exactly filled with easy games. Portland (27- had the NBAs second-best record entering Wednesdays action, and that game is followed by matchups against the Los Angeles Clippers (currently 23-12), the Los Angeles Lakers (11-24), Golden State (an NBA-best 27-5) and Sacramento (14-20).You dont want to come back from this road trip and be 10 games under .500, Wade said.Thats his way of saying what awaits is a challenge.A great challenge, Wade said. These teams are playing very well and we havent played that well. So its time for us to go out there and just play basketball and not have to worry about the pressure of losing games at home. ... Now that goes away. Its not going to be easy at all, but we can just focus on the game and whatever it takes to win..ddddddddddddSomewhat strangely, the Heat are better on the road (8- than at home (7-12), which is one of the reasons why they are fighting this uphill battle in the standings. They have shot a tiny bit better on the road than in Miami so far this season, average nearly three more assists per game, one fewer turnover and score at roughly the same clip.But even with LeBron James back in Cleveland and this roster looking nothing like the ones that went to the last four NBA Finals, Heat centre Chris Bosh thinks opponents still have Miami circled as an important game.For sure, absolutely, Bosh said. Guys want to get their just due, man.This trip is an annual tradition of sorts, coinciding with the circus annual stop at Miamis home arena. It might not have the same cache as San Antonios annual rodeo trip or the road swings that the Clippers and Lakers make when theyre displaced from Staples Center by awards shows, but its been valuable to Miami in the past.Bosh, Wade and coach Erik Spoelstra all spoke Wednesday of the opportunity that Miami has on this trip to bond, since the team will be together for nearly two full weeks.I want to bond and win, Bosh said. I dont want to just bond.NOTES: The Heat recalled G Shabazz Napier from their NBA Development League affiliate in Sioux Falls. ... Spoelstra said Miami made the decision to waive G Andre Dawkins earlier this week for roster flexibility, though cautioned that no move was imminent to fill the lone open spot on the teams 15-player list. ' ' '
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