Dein erstes Forum » or nomination to the Sochi team. Duncan, Leman a

LONDON, Ont. Wholesale Nike Air Max 97 . – They were three years old at the time, sitting in the dressing room of a West Toronto rink, about to learn to skate. They wore matching jerseys that day, the same one with the little hockey player on the front. That was all it took for the two to become friends, friends who are one step closer to a shared dream of playing in the National Hockey League. Best buddies and teammates for the better part of the seventeen years that followed that first chance encounter, Connor Brown and Matt Finn have seen their paths converge once more – their two junior teams recently collided in the OHL playoffs. They are both prospects of the same organization, both picks of the same draft, both likely to become teammates as professionals with the Marlies and maybe one day, the Maple Leafs. Its a pretty cool story, says Brown, the elder of the two, but still the younger looking with short red hair. We dream about it, Finn continues, but it takes a while for a dream like that to develop into something tangible, something real. It was something they could only imagine all those years ago, all the hours spent playing street hockey and mini-sticks with an Etobicoke squad of friends that also included Flyers first rounder Scott Laughton. Finn calls it one in a million that he and Brown would be drafted to the same team. Youre a kid and youre optimistic, you think that you both have a chance to get to the next level, Brown says. I couldnt predict that were both going to be in this organization, though. Finn was picked in the second round of the 2012 draft, 31st overall by the Leafs. He was joined a few rounds later by Brown, his name called with the 156th overall selection. He called me right away, Brown says of Finn. He was pretty excited about the whole thing. We both were ecstatic. I saw him go to the Leafs [and] I was like Oh wow, thatd be awesome. They had been teammates for a span of 10 years or so they figure, right up until minor midget. He was tiny, Finn says of Brown, whom he guessed was barely 5-foot and 120 pounds, but still a force. You could see how smart he was with the puck and his playmaking ability and patience and how competitive he was, but he got overlooked because everyone just thought he was small – he was getting pushed off the puck – he cant play. But everyone grows, everyone is going to get bigger and once he did that, you could really see that part of his game come back full circle. Brown has been the constant underdog, overlooked time and again for one reason or another. Listed at 5-foot-7 and 130 pounds back then, he was picked in the 13th round of the 2010 OHL priority draft – 251st overall. A lot of people always try to doubt Connor Brown, says Leafs assistant general manager and former Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds GM, Kyle Dubas. It became harder to doubt or even ignore Brown this past season. The 20-year-old captain of the Erie Otters led the OHL in scoring, pried away the Red Tilson trophy as the leagues MVP and guided his team to 52 wins and a berth in the Western Conference Finals (they would fall to Finn and the Guelph Storm in five games). He has since sprouted up to 5-foot-11, continuing to add heft and strength to a listed frame of 170 pounds. He definitely just blew expectations out of the water, Finn says, labeling Brown as a very sneaky offensive talent. I dont think anybody would pinpoint him as a guy to do it, but thats been Brownie the whole way. Nobodys ever chosen him to do anything; hes always been small, hes always been kind of an underdog and hes done a great job. Finn was more the sure thing to get to this point. In that same 2010 OHL priority draft, he was gone early, off the board with the 12th overall selection, nearly 240 picks before Brown. He, too, was the captain of his OHL team, steering Guelph to the leagues best record, an OHL championship and a berth in the Memorial Cup last season. Listed at an even 6-foot and nearly 200 pounds, Finn tallied 61 points in 66 games, second amongst all OHL defenders in scoring. The Leafs were surprised to find him there for the taking in the second round of that 2012 draft, hopeful of his future as a capable two-way defender. We were not on the strong side of that too often in the Sault, playing against Matt and playing against the Storm, Dubas says. Hes proven himself over his time in the OHL to be a really strong prospect and its exciting to be on the same side as him versus having him torch us in the Sault with the Storm. Brown and Finn still live five minutes apart from each other in Etobicoke and remain the closest of friends. Their families, too, continue to be tight to this day. And after a four-year hiatus, they are likely to become teammates once more in the AHL, one step closer to reaching their shared goal of playing in the NHL – together. To be able to play with each other at a pro level as opposed to being three-year-olds on a backyard rink is pretty cool, Finn says. Pretty cool, indeed. Nike Air Max 97 Online . -- Isaiah Pead took a stutter step forward, then raced to the left sideline and travelled 60 yards up the field before finally getting tripped up by a leg tackle. Black Friday Nike Air Max 97 . As analysts we do the same thing, so here are some observations from week one. First there were two major upsets. I should say, major upsets in the eyes of the fans and prognosticators. https://www.fakeairmax97wholesale.com/ . Calgarys Bo Levi Mitchell and Montreals Troy Smith will be the starting quarterbacks in a CFL season-opener for the first time in their careers. Both want to reinforce their No. 1 status. You can watch the game live in the first half of a doubleheader on TSN and TSN GO at 3:00pm et/Noon pt.Chris Del Bosco entered this weeks World Cup skicross competitions in France knowing that a podium appearance would probably lock up a spot on the Canadian team for the Winter Olympics. He won gold Thursday in a weather-hampered event at Val Thorens, but he likely needs to do more to book his ticket to Sochi. The race was halted due to high winds and Del Bosco was given the victory based on his qualification results and win in his first heat. However, hell need to return to the podium Friday to really strengthen his chances for inclusion on the Sochi roster. "I definitely felt like I could have kept going, it was kind of frustrating because you want to win by winning the final but it was out of my control," Del Bosco said in a release. "Theres not really any more I could have done. "It was getting down to crunch time and I knew what I needed to do. I needed to podium. Sochi qualification is kind of a grey area. I dont really know how that works — Im going to just regroup here and get ready to give er again tomorrow." The second of back-to-back World Cup events will be held Friday at the same venue. The Olympic qualification window for skicross closes Sunday, so it will be the last chance for Canadians to qualify for nomination. The qualification process is very complicated and there are several freestyle events on tap this week. The selection committee will analyze all the results and data on Sunday and formally announce their decision the next morning. There are 26 spots available in the five disciplines that fall under the freestyle skiing umbrella —skicross, slopestyle, aerials, moguls and halfpipe — and there can be no more than 14 selections from either gender. The committee will look at results from previous years but performances this season have the biggest impact. For Del Bosco, all he can do is try again Friday and hope for the best. The 2011 world champion and X Games gold medallist has struggled of late and now has loads of pressure on him for the stretch drive. The 31-year-old Montreal resident finished second in the testt event in Sochi last season but his best result prior to this week was a 15th-place finish in Innichen-San Candido, Italy. Nike Air Max 97 Outlet. His victory Thursday didnt really offer much sway because he only raced one heat. "Chris is probably one of the most interesting and difficult situations," said Canadian Freestyle Ski Association CEO Peter Judge from Park City, Utah. "But certainly hes helping his cause today and hopefully hell get one more good go at it tomorrow and be able to remove all doubt." Sanna Luedi of Switzerland took gold in the womens competition Thursday. Marielle Thompson of Whistler, B.C., was the top Canadian in fourth to retain her hold on the red bib as overall leader. The depth of the national skicross team and the Canadian freestyle team as a whole leaves athletes who are on the bubble in a tough spot. Some very talented competitors arent going to make the cut because Canada is stacked in several events. Del Bosco competed at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, where skicross made its Olympic debut. He made the final heat of four skiers but crashed just before the finish while making a late push to move into a better position. A spokesman for FIS, the sports governing body, said in an email that Del Boscos victory Thursday would be treated just like any other result on the World Cup circuit, regardless of whether the race was cut short due to weather. That gives Del Bosco 100 points and moves him to 11th place in the World Cup standings. Dave Duncan of London, Ont., was seventh. He slipped to second in the mens overall standings, falling behind Andreas Matt of Austria. Tristan Tafel of Canmore, Alta., was 15th on Thursday and Brady Leman of Calgary was 18th. Georgia Simmerling of West Vancouver, B.C., was sixth in the womens event. Kelsey Serwa, the 2011 world champion from Kelowna, B.C., was seventh in the first qualification round but didnt start her heat. Thompson is the only Canadian who has met the qualification criteria for nomination to the Sochi team. Duncan, Leman and Serwa are considered virtual locks for inclusion. ' ' '