Impressum » Zetterbergs third assist of the night after Justin A

PHILADELPHIA – One year ago at the NHL draft in Newark, the Maple Leafs picked Frederik Gauthier with their first selection, a hulking centre with likely third-line potential and a low offensive ceiling. They swung for a much higher fence with the eighth overall pick on Friday night, landing the "electrifying" William Nylander from Sweden. A speedy, highlight-reel winger, he is the son of longtime NHL centre Michael Nylander and the first European Toronto has drafted in the first round since Jiri Tlusty in 2006. Nylander is also the first draft pick of the Brendan Shanahan era and an injection of homegrown game-breaking ability, long-starved within the Leaf organization. "Hes got high, high-end skill," gushed general manager Dave Nonis, shortly after the pick was made. And that fills a need within the prospect ranks of the organization, considerably deprived over the years. Though hopeful that the likes of Carter Verhaeghe, Connor Brown and Andreas Johnson may eventually make an impact of sorts with the big club, the Leafs simply did not boast a game-breaker with Nylanders ceiling beyond the NHL club (and have not historically). They havent landed many at all from the draft. Vincent Damphousse, picked sixth overall in 1986, was the last homegrown player to register at least 80 points in a season as a Leaf. Toronto has, additionally, sent only two homegrown players to the All-Star game in the past 20 years, neither of whom was a forward (Tomas Kaberle and Felix Potvin). Dealing first round picks – as they did five times from 2003-2011 – certainly didnt help the matter. Nylander may or may not make it, but he, at the very least, represents the kind of high upside, homegrown talent the organization has mostly lacked, especially up front – Nazem Kadri, who scored 20 goals as a 23-year-old last season, was a recent exception. Nonis wouldnt go as far as to say that adding skill was a priority, but labeled it "an area of weakness". "He might be the most skilled player in the draft," said the Leafs GM of Nylander. Nonis saw that skill firsthand at the Under-18 tournament in Finland this past April. Nylander, playing for Sweden, led all players with 16 points in seven games, notching six goals along the way. As a teenager, he spent part of last season in Swedens top league, totaling a goal and seven points in 22 games – notable given his age and size (5-foot-11, 169 pounds). "He has NHL speed, NHL hands, an NHL shot right now," Nonis said. "Its whether or not the rest of his game can catch up." Unwilling to pay Dale Tallons price for the first overall pick and rights to draft Aaron Ekblad, Nonis said he actually considered moving down if one of two players – Nylander among them – wasnt there to be had with the eighth pick. Nylander grew up around the NHL, his father totaling 920 NHL games for seven different teams. That kept the younger Nylander in North America until the age of 14 when he moved to Sweden, eventually playing alongside his 40-year-old dad last year (with Rogle in the second-tier league). "I like to score goals and make plays," Nylander said, projecting an aura of confidence and cool, noticeably unfazed by all that surrounded him. A free agent and thus able to come to North America next year if he and the organization so choose, Nylander will audition for the Leafs in the fall. "Hell definitely have a chance to make our team," Nonis said. "[But] I really dont care how skilled you are, its very difficult to make the NHL as an 18-year-old. I think itd be a long shot for him to do that, but hes going to be given that opportunity and if hes good enough to stick and play and contribute then we would keep him. If not, well decide at that point whether its best to keep him over in North America or to have him go back to Sweden to play in the Elite League." Nylander boasts a "VERY high ceiling" according to Mark Seidel, chief scout for North American Central Scouting, but has been trailed by attitude questions, something Nonis brushed aside as outward confidence. Like most draftees, the new Leaf prospect will have to get bigger and stronger before he is likely to make the leap to the NHL, additionally requiring some acclimation to the North American ice surface. "It may take him a month to acclimate, it might take him over a year – I dont know that," said Nonis. "But the skill-set is very high end." Off White Air Max 90 For Sale . Manager Alex Ferguson says the injury was sustained while the player tried to hit a volley toward the end of training on Tuesday. Off White X Air Max 90 Ice White . Beanballs were the theme Friday night as the Red Sox and Rays had another AL East rumble, with Boston earning a 3-2 victory on A. http://www.outletairmax90cheap.com/ . The deals were announced on Friday. Beckham will receive $4.175 million in base salary, while De Aza will receive $4.25 million. Beckham hit .267 with five home runs and 24 RBIs over 103 games last season, his fifth with the White Sox. Off White Air Max 90 Wholesale . -- Theres something about playing on Orlandos floor lately that seems to bring out the best in the Dallas Mavericks. Air Max 90 Black Buy . Bradley is one of eight players selected to the team who also played in this years World Cup in Brazil. The MLS all-stars will compete against German giants Bayern Munich in Portland on Aug.DETROIT -- The offensively challenged and banged-up Detroit Red Wings proved to the defending Stanley Cup champions that theyre still tough to beat. Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. "Were a little depleted, but we still have a great team and we showed that," said Patrick Eaves, who had the second of his teams three goals in the shootout and a game-tying goal in the first period. "It was nice to get rewarded for playing well." The Blackhawks faced Detroit for the first time since beating the Red Wings in overtime in Game 7 of their second-round series last year to complete a comeback from a 3-1 deficit. They are only scheduled to play one more time in the regular season because the Red Wings were moved to the Eastern Conference this season as part of the NHLs realignment. "Any time you play the Red Wings, its going to be an intense game given the rivalry and whats happened in the past," Chicagos Patrick Kane said. "Theyre playing through some injuries and havent had any luck as of late in that area, but its still a dangerous team. Sometimes you get these young guys that come up from the minors, they want to prove themselves and prove they belong." Chicago captain Jonathan Toews scored on his teams first attempt in the shootout and Patrick Sharp scored on the second before Kane was stopped with a chance to win a game the Blackhawks led 2-0 in the first period. "They played better as the game went along," Toews said. Gustavsson, playing for the injured Jimmy Howard, made 31 saves in his first game in nearly a month. "It was a good test and I felt good," said Gustavsson, who has been on injured reserve three times this season with a groin injury. "I didnt feel any pain." Corey Crawford gave up four goals on the first 17 shots hhe faced and finished with 27 saves for the Blackhawks.dddddddddddd "We werent very good," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "They worked hard. They were a hard-working team." Chicago took a 2-0 lead when Marian Hossa and Shaw scored 1:45 apart midway through the first period and it looked like the Red Wings were in trouble. Tomas Tatar, though, scored less than a minute later and Eaves tied the game at 2 late in the opening period. "To make it 2-1 was a key in the game," Eaves said. Sharps slap shot just seconds into a power play early in the second put the Blackhawks ahead again, but Kyle Quincey responded 1:17 later in the period with a game-tying goal. Detroits Gustav Nyquist was set up perfectly in front of the net on a go-ahead goal off Henrik Zetterbergs third assist of the night after Justin Abdelkader hustled for loose puck in a corner. "Abby played hard and chased down the puck and set up Z," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. The Red Wings were without injured forwards Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Daniel Alfredsson and Joakim Andersson. They did get defenceman Jonathan Ericsson in the lineup for the first time since Dec. 23 when he broke ribs in a game against the New York Islanders. "Getting Big E back made a huge difference for us matchup-wise," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. NOTES: Datsyuk missed his eighth straight game with a lower-body injury, but has begun to skate again and said he will "for sure" play for Russia has its captain next month at the Winter Olympics. ... Crawford hadnt given up four goals since Dec. 5, 2013, since a 4-3 loss to Minnesota and had allowed five goals in two games earlier in the season. ... Chicago was 9-0-1 in its previous 10 regular season games in Detroit. ... Kane hasnt scored in 11 games, the longest streak without a goal since going 12 games without a goal during the 2008-09 season. ... Detroit plays March 16 at Chicago. ' ' '