Biete - Kristall » Most probably forgot about the match as th

NEW YORK -- Sundays NHL draft promises to be a boon for some bad teams. There is plenty of quality, with a few players ready for prime time next season. Prying away one of those top picks will be costly. There is rich cream at the top of this crop. "Youve suffered so greatly to end up picking first or second, it better be a heck of deal to have to move that pick, to go back or even to move forward," said Florida GM Dale Tallon, who holds the second overall pick after finishing runner-up to Colorado in the draft lottery. How deep is the Panthers hole? The worst team in the league last season is offering season tickets for US$7 a game, complete with a free jersey and parking. Defenceman Seth Jones, winger Jonathan Drouin and centres Nathan MacKinnon and Aleksander Barkov are seen as the top prospects available Sunday at the Prudential Centre in Newark, N.J. In an unusual turn of events, the Avalanche have said publicly that they are leaning towards the 17-year-old MacKinnon. If thats the case, Florida has first crack at Jones, rated the top North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. But Tallon says Colorados transparency hasnt made their decision any easier. "Were still talking about it," Tallon said Saturday after attending a USA Hockey news conference. "Before I came here this morning, we were still having heavy discussions on it. "Were very fortunate, were going to get a good player. At whatever position and whoever it is, its going to be someone thats really going to fit in with whatever we have coming as far as our prospects are concerned." Nashville president and GM David Poile, whose team picks fourth after Tampa Bay, sees difference-makers on the board. "Were real excited to find out who we get (Sunday)," said Poile. "Because if all goes well, theres about six players that could be what I call franchise players. And theyre the guys that are going to take us to the promised land for the next several years." "This is a great draft," said Tallon. "Were happy that at (No.) 31 (the first pick in the second round), were going to get a really good player too." Carolina picks fifth. Calgary, at No. 6, holds the highest pick among Canadian teams. The Flames also pick 22nd (St. Louis) and 28th (Pittsburgh) in the first round. Edmonton selects seventh followed by Winnipeg at No. 13, Ottawa at No. 17, Toronto at No. 21, Vancouver at No. 24 and Montreal at No. 25. Some have compared this draft to that of 2003, a talent-laden year that produced the likes of Patrice Bergeron, Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter, Marc-Andre Fleury, Ryan Getzlaf, Nathan Horton, Ryan Kesler, Zach Parise, Corey Perry, Dion Phaneuf, Eric Staal, Ryan Suter and Shea Weber. Ottawa assistant GM Tim Murray sees it as a good year, but not 2003 good. "I dont buy into the 2003 talk and that type of thing. But certainly the first round we like. ... I think theres a drop-off. Whether thats the second round or the third round, I think theres a drop-off that in the best drafts we havent seen. What makes a draft great is the depth obviously. "But theres a lot of talent in this draft," he added. "Teams picking high are going to get if not franchise players, impact players." Ottawa director of scouting Pierre Dorion is also less bullish than some. "It is a good draft," he said. "I think a lot of people that dont really scout have built it up to something that its not. I think were going to get a good player in the first round." Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff says its a draft that has something for everyone. "I was talking to one director of amateur scouting yesterday and hes really bullish about deep into the first round and bullish about a lot of different type of players, too," said Cheveldayoff. "I know what our thoughts are, and obviously its interesting to hear his take on what he thought. We didnt talk specific players but you could just tell that universally the people that are making the decisions or at least are recommending the decisions feel very good about it." Jones, who stands close to six foot four and weighs 205 pounds, is seen as NHL-ready, despite only having spent one year in the WHL. "Seth is one of those guys that just comes along every once in a while, when you look at the big defencemen in the league like the Charas and the Prongers," said Dan Marr, director of NHL Central Scouting. "Hes made for todays game under todays rules." Jones, the 18-year-old son of former Toronto Raptor and current Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Popeye Jones, collected 56 points (14 goals and 42 assists) and a plus-46 rating in 61 games, helping Portland to the Memorial Cup final. "Any time theres been a challenge put in front of him, hes met it and hes succeeded," said Marr. The six-foot, 182-pound MacKinnon, like Jones, is a player who rises to the occasion. His ability to accelerate is also remarkable. "Hes got a quickness to pull away with his speed that I havent seen in a number of years," said Marr. The five-foot-10, 186-pound Drouin, another Moosehead, is compared to a young Joe Sakic. "His intuition in the game, his quick read and react, its excellent," said Marr. "Theres not too many players available that read the game and see the ice and can make the play. And he can deliver, offensively and defensively." Other prospects worth watching are defenceman Darnell Nurse, whom Marr compares to Shea Weber, and goalie Zachary Fucale, touted as being cool as ice under pressure. The Avs willingness to discuss their preference with the top pick has drawn a variety of responses. Poile calls it "rather refreshing." "Good on them that they know what they do," he said. Tallon said it makes sense given the character of Sakic, Colorados executive vice-president of hockey operations, and coach Patrick Roy. "Theyre classy guys; theyre very honest guys. Theyre new, they want to have fun. Theyre invigorating, enthusiastic guys and thats the way they are," said Tallon. Ottawa GM Bryan Murray sounded a little more skeptical. "I dont know whether theyre following through with what they said totally or its just easier for them to say this is what were doing and go about doing it." There is no shortage of family ties to this draft. Forward Max Domi, son of Tie, has drawn kudos for his offensive skills. But teams can also get nostalgic and pick up a Bertuzzi, Brodeur, Comrie, LaFontaine, Mantha, Quenneville, Rychel, Subban, or Tambellini. NOTES -- Some 211 players from 12 countries were taken during last years draft. Canada led the way with 99 followed by the U.S. (56 ), Sweden (22), Russia (11), Finland (9), Czech Republic (6), Denmark (2), Latvia (2), Belarus (1), Germany (1), Switzerland (1) and United Kingdom (1) ... Top prospect Seth Jones goes by his second name. He prefers Seth over his first name Jared. Custom Yogi Berra Jersey . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. Roger Maris Jersey Large .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. http://www.customyankeesjersey.com/custom-mickey-mantle-jersey-large-204i.html . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. Paul ONeill Jersey Large . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. Custom Brian Roberts Jersey . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. Variety of Sports Aid in Stash Winners StreakEvery year on Streak for the Cash when we roll into June and the summer months, we often shuffle out of the hectic pace of picking due to major leagues wrapping up. It can cause the Dog Days of Summer to become more of a reality than it is. However, this year is quite different, as Copa America Centenario and Euro Cup ruled the month of June. Toss our usual MLB, CWS, NBA Finals and others and June turned into an exciting race for all!Right out of the gate, fans were treated to a rare summer Stunt Day on June 5, and aside from going for the $10,000 that day, it allowed many entries to climb the overall Streak leaderboard at a rapid pace. Throughout the next two weeks, the competition did not hit any stale points with several players going win for win. For one fan, the pile of W20+ streaks battling it out didnt phase him one bit. John V. of Greenville, NC reached W20 on June 17 and never took it to the competition. He would reach a W23 in the next four days, but at that point, still trailed a few slow-playing streakers. That didnt last for long though. John made five picks on June 23. FIVE! He was at a W27, and with four more picks in the following three days, John qualified for the extra $10,000 stash at a W31.Johns streak would come to an end when world #1 Novak Djokovic failed to win exactly 18 games in his 1st Rd match at Wimbledon against James Ward. With a handful days left, the go-get-em leader had to sweat it out to see if anyone would pass him up. Maybe a bead or two, but not much sweating was probably done after each would-be challenger easily fell by the waysiide.dddddddddddd Oh, forgot to mention the biggest challenger of them all...himself. On June 23, one of his five picks was Aga Radwanska to win her tennis match against Dominika Cibulkova. Radwanksa took the 1st Set and controlled the start of the 2nd when the rains fell and the match ended up being a push due to postponement. At that point, most players (on the chats at least) were obviously upset at the push because Radwanska appeared to be headed for a win. Most probably forgot about the match as the days went by, but a little fun fact emerged, as when the match resumed, Cibulkova stormed back and won the 2nd Set and eventually, the match itself. Might how different the month wouldve been if the push hadnt occurred or we decided to put the match back up when it resumed.The Most Wins contest was won by Gloria B. who outlasted the late charge of a former Most Wins champ and one of the best pickers in Streak history, Max C.. Amazing job by Gloria to snag her first Most Wins crown for $5,000, and hats off to Max as well for another incredible month of picking!With June 16 in the books, we head to July with a fresh $10,000 Stash, so if you put together the longest streak of the month and its at least a W30, you will take home $35,000! And, as always if you finished ahead of me, the StreakMaster, in the Beat The StreakMaster Group be sure to check your email over the next week here to see if you are 1 of the lucky 20 to be randomly drawn to win an awesome I Beat The StreakMaster t-shirt. ' ' '