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od **lxt1217** » pát 03. srp 2018 6:22:55

MALMO, SWEDEN - Mathew Dumba has been rooming with 17-year-old Aaron Ekblad during the World Junior Hockey Championship and has noticed something about his younger teammate. "He has the body of like a 35, 40-year-old. The guy shaves his chest every week. I cant believe it. Hes a man-child. Hes like, I dont know, just a huge human being. I call him Shrek," said Dumba while a bemused Ekblad stood a few metres away shaking his head. Dumba isnt the first person to notice that Ekblad, along with Kootenay Ice forward Sam Reinhart - a top contender to be the No. 1 pick in the next NHL draft, seems to be growing at a ridiculously fast rate. "The Shrek thing actually started with Boone Jenner when we were playing against the Oshawa Generals back in the day," explained Ekblad, a 6-foot-4, 216-pound defenceman, who plays for the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League. "A couple of the guys, [including] Michael Dal Colle, picked it up and a guy on my team, Brendan Lemieux, picked it up and some other guys started calling me that and it kind of caught on a little bit. "Im not sure I like it too much, though." Wait a second. Is Ekblad not a fan of Shrek, a 2001 movie named for the main character, a large green ogre voiced by Mike Myers? "No, I like Shrek," Ekblad says not missing a beat. "Im just not sure I look like him." The quick-witted Ekblad, the second of now four players granted exceptional status in the OHL allowing them to be drafted at age 15, thinks just as fast on the ice. Despite being the second-youngest player on Team Canada, he has been among the top minute munchers while playing alongside Pittsburgh Penguins 2012 first-round pick (eighth overall) Derrick Pouliot. Ekblad has learned a lot from the Portland Winterhawks blueliner. "Wow, poise, hes got so much poise and patience with the puck," Ekblad said. "He can hold onto the puck and just wait for the other guy to move and pull it back, pull it back ... paying attention thats what Ive learned: just be more patient and poised with the puck and things will work out." Being paired with Pouliot allowed Ekblad a chance to ease into an event normally dominated by 19-year-olds. "Hes so good with the puck and so poised with it that it kind of lets me play more of a defensive game," he said. "I can kind of support him and let him do his thing and Ill be behind him if he makes a mistake or something like that." But Ekblad would not be able to maintain his prominent role on Team Canada without an ability to adapt quickly. Head coach Brent Sutter has already shown the leash will be short with players regardless of age as 16-year-old Connor McDavid found out on Saturday. He was stapled to the bench after a pair of penalties in a loss to the Czech Republic and started the next game, Monday against Slovakia, as the 13th forward. "With young kids mistakes at this level are going to happen," said Sutter, "but Ekblad learns from it. Hes a sponge for the game. Thats what happens with an intelligent player: they pick things up quickly. You dont have to tell him twice. He gets it pretty quick." "If he does something a little off hell correct it right away," Pouliot said. "Thats what you have to do at this tournament and it shows how mature he is that hes able to make those switches on the fly." The latest tweak Ekblad has made has to do with the defensive side of his game. "I didnt block a shot in the Czech game, which was one of the things Ive been focusing on a lot since then," the Belle River, Ont. native said. "In the U.S. game I had quite a few blocks and tried to focus on making sure no pucks are getting through to the net." At Wednesdays practice, Ekblad and his teammates drew the ire of Sutter for a sloppy start to a drill. And Ekblad received the message loud and clear. "You can never be too precise. The takeaway was: lets get pucks on the stick. Lets do things right and things will work out for us." Ekblad has remained even-keeled even as Canada stumbled at times during the round robin. "Its been a roller-coaster of emotions throughout this entire tournament so far," he admits. Its also been a learning experience. "Ive just learned that at every level its going to get faster and faster and you have to be ready for it. You cant make the same mistakes twice. You have to just take in everything that happens out there and realize youre going to get better and learn things every day." Ekblad is relishing this opportunity, because he didnt think he was going to get it. Back in September he considered himself a longshot to make the squad after not being among the 35 players invited by Hockey Canada to a summer evaluation camp in Lake Placid, NY. And now here he is kibitzing with Dumba, who has been playing in the NHL this year with the Minnesota Wild. "Hes a good guy," said Ekblad. "Theres not much to say about him. He likes to just be a weird guy once in a while." "What?" Dumba, who was standing beside Ekblad in the interview area, exclaimed in mock horror. "What is this guy talking about? I cant even do these interviews." Both players laugh along with the assembled reporters. "Yeah," Ekblad says with a sigh, "we have a good time together." Marcus Martin Cowboys Jersey . -- Patrick Kueng of Switzerland was nearly flawless as he captured his first World Cup and halted Aksel Lund Svindals streak of four straight super-G victories on Saturday. Dalton Schultz Jersey . Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship. http://www.cowboysrookieshop.com/Chidob ... ys-Jersey/. Gustafsson controlled the first round after getting top position on a throw, and came out much more forcefully in the second, buckling Manuwa with a Muay Thai knee, and finishing him off with strikes on the ground. Terrell Owens Cowboys Jersey . The commissioners office said Friday that Sears tested positive for metabolites of Methandienone. Sears will be 23 in March. He signed with the Braves in June 2013 out of Arizona Christian, an NAIA school, and is on the roster of the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Braves. Jihad Ward Jersey . Erik Cole scored on a breakaway with 4:49 to play, and the Stars rallied to defeat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Saturday night. OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics are opening up quite a cushion in the AL West. Josh Donaldson hit a two-run single in a four-run third inning against Oakland nemesis Jered Weaver and the As completed a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels with a 6-3 victory on Sunday. "We played well this series," Donaldson said. "Got some timely hits and we pitched well. I definitely think its one of those series we walk away and feel good about ourselves." Jed Lowrie homered and drove in two runs and Coco Crisp added an RBI double against Weaver (6-4) to give the As their first home sweep of at least three games against the Angels since June 29-July 1, 2004. Oakland leads the AL West by 4 1/2 games over Los Angeles, its largest pre-All-Star break lead since being 5 1/2 up in 1990. "We stubbed our toe this weekend but were looking at the big picture," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Were a good team and our pitchers are a big part of that." The big inning was more than enough support for Sonny Gray (6-1), who allowed a pair of sacrifice flies and an RBI double by Erick Aybar in 6 2-3 innings to rebound from a rare rough start. Gray has 11 quality starts in 12 outings this season for a 2.45 ERA. "We all knew coming in it was tight and they were playing really good baseball and we needed to take care of business at home," Gray said. "The way we were able to put these three games together ... that was awesome." As good as Gray has been this season, Weaver has been even better against the As of late. He allowed just two runs in 44 1-3 innings over six starts the past two seasons against Oakland, proving to be the one Angels pitcher who befuddled the As on their way to back-to-back AL West titles. Oakland more than doubled that scoring output in the fourth inning with a rally that got started when Craig Gentry hustled to beat out a potential double play. Gentry went to third on Eric&nbbsp;Sogards single and scored on Crisps double.dddddddddddd Donaldson added his two-run single and Lowrie capped the inning with a two-out single that made it 4-0. "This is a totally different As club," Weaver said. "They have great pitching, guys who can get on base at the bottom of the order and who can do the little things. I had one inning that got away from me. I wish we played better this series, but it is not the end of the year. Well see them again." Grey escaped a bases-loaded jam by striking out Hank Conger to end the fourth inning before allowing the sacrifice flies to Aybar and Albert Pujols in the fifth. Lowrie, who entered the game in a 4-for-30 slump, hit his solo homer in the bottom of the fifth to put Oakland back up by three and the As added an unearned run in the sixth as Oakland matched its highest scoring output ever against Weaver in 27 career starts. "I think he just left some pitches up," Donaldson said. "He tries to execute up at times, but there are times when he left some off-speed pitches up and that gives us a chance to definitely hit the ball a little bit harder." Grey was replaced by Dan Otero after Aybars two-out double in the seventh made it 6-3. Otero struck out Pujols to end the inning. Luke Gregerson pitched a scoreless eighth and Sean Doolittle struck out the side in order in the ninth for his fifth save in six chances. NOTES: Weaver allowed six runs -- five earned -- and 11 hits in six innings. ... Angels OF Mike Trout missed a second straight game with a stiff back. ... C Stephen Vogt started after being called up from Triple-A Sacramento early in the day to give Oakland another bat with 1B Brandon Moss (right calf) and outfielder Josh Reddick (right knee) day to day with injuries. ... Both teams are off Monday. The Angels open a three-game series in Houston on Tuesday, while the As start a three-game series against the Yankees in New York. Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys China Womens NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Jerseys NFL China Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap ' ' '