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The early albeit extremely long-range forecast for the 2014 NHL draft is cloudy, with not as many stars immediately visible as a year ago. By all accounts, this years draft, compared to the Nathan MacKinnon-Seth Jones sweepstakes of 2013, isnt quite as star-studded at the top end and isnt nearly as deep, but what it may lack in star power/depth, it will make up for in unpredictability and competitiveness. Indeed, in TSNs annual pre-season survey of 10 NHL scouts, no less than four players received at least one vote as the No. 1 ranked prospect. While two players – Kootenay Ice offensive centre Sam Reinhart and big Barrie Colts defenceman Aaron Ekblad – somewhat distanced themselves from the rest of the pack, everything about this draft is as far from clear cut as you can get. Reinhart and Ekblad were the only two prospects to show up on every one of the 10 scouts Top 10 ballots. Reinhart, the son of former NHL defenceman Paul and younger brother of New York Islander prospect Griffin and Calgary Flames centre Max, received five first-place votes from TSNs 10-man NHL scouting panel. Hes a skilled, point-producing forward with an extremely high hockey I.Q. Ekblad, the big defenceman who was deemed an "exceptional player" by Hockey Canada and permitted to play in the OHL as a 15 year old, received three first-place votes. Ekblad demonstrated strong two-way play with a stellar effort at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Underr-18 tournament in August, captain of Canadas gold-medal team. But eight of the 10 scouts had Ekblad no lower than No. 2 overall while some scouts had Reinhart as low as No. 3 or No. 4. By the time the voting points were tallied, Reinhart and Ekblad finished with identical voting points, though Reinhart gets the edge as TSNs pre-season No. 1 by virtue of more first-place votes (5) than Ekblad (3). "Its the classic offensive forward versus a big defenceman," one NHL scout told TSN. Historically, the forward almost always wins out, at least in this millienium. Last year, forward MacKinnon went No. 1, defenceman Jones went No. 4. In 2012, forward Nail Yakupov went first ahead of defenceman Ryan Murray, who went No. 2. In 2011, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins went first, defenceman Adam Larsson went fourth and in 2009, forward John Tavares went first to defenceman Victor Hedmans second. You have to go back to 2006 to find a defenceman who went first overall, when American Erik Johnson was No. 1. In fact, since 2000, more goaltenders (Rick DiPietro in 2000 and Marc-Andre Fleury in 2003) have gone No. 1 overall than defencemen. Johnson is the only one in that time period. Thats in stark contrast to the five-year stretch from 1992 to 1996, when defencemen (Roman Hamrlik, Ed Jovanovksi, Bryan Berard and Chris Phillips) were the top picks in four of those five years. In this years TSN survey of scouts, two other players besides Reinhart and Ekblad – rangy German centre Leon Draisaitl of the Prince Albert Raiders and Oshawa General forward Michael Dal Colle, who plays both wing and centre – received first-place votes. Draisaitl is ranked No. 4 on TSNs pre-season list and he showed up on nine of 10 scouts ballots. Dal Colle checks in at No. 9 on the TSN list and while one scout had him at No. 1, five other scouts didnt include him at all in their Top 10. Its that kind of year. William Nylander, the Calgary-born Swedish son of former NHLer Michael Nylander, is No. 3 on TSNs list. The skilled and exciting forward actually plays on the same line with his soon-to-be 41 year old father on Rogle, in the Swedish Allsvenska league. And Nylander, amazingly, isnt the only projected Top 10 prospect in this draft whos playing on the same team as his former NHL father in his draft year. Finnish forward Kasperi Kapanen is the son of former NHL winger Sami Kapanen, now 40, and that father-son combo is playing on KalPa in Finland. Kapanen, a dynamic albeit sub 6-foot offensive forward, is No. 8 on TSNs Pre-Season Top 15. Kingston Frontenac centre Sam Bennett, who plays a strong, heady two-way game, is No. 5 on TSNs list. Calgary Hitmen power winger Jake Virtanen checks in at No. 6, followed by big Peterborough Pete winger Nick Ritchie, who is the younger brother of Dallas prospect Brett Ritchie. With Kapanen at No. 8 and Dal Colle at No. 9, TSNs Top 10 is rounded out by Czech offensive-minded forward Jakub Vrana, who is playing with Linkoping in Sweden this season. Spots 11 thru 15 on TSNs list are occupied as follows: Swedish winger Anton Karlsson of Frolunda; Red Deer Rebel defenceman Haydn Fleury; American forward Nick Schmaltz of Green Bay in the USHL; Russian centre Ivan Barbashev of the QMJHLs Moncton Wildcats and Kingston defenceman Roland McKeown. Swedish forward Adrian Kempe of Modo and Plymouth Whaler forward Matt Mistele checked in as Honorable Mentions, just outside the top 15. "Its going to be a wide open draft," one scout said. "Youre going to see a lot of movement over the year. Its going to be a real sorting out process, much more than usual." Sneakers Online Australia Store . Born in Berkeley and raised in Oakland, where he later pitched for the As, Ross beat the Giants for the first time in six career appearances by throwing eight scoreless innings to lead the San Diego Padres to a 2-1 victory Friday night. Wholesale Sneakers Australia .com) - The Vancouver Canucks recovered from a fluke goal early last time out to knock off one of the top teams in the league. http://www.cheapaustraliasneakers.com/. The Ravens werent about to let it happen again. Carleton picked up its fourth straight national mens basketball title, and 10th in the last 12 years, with a 79-67 victory over its crosstown rival on Sunday. Clearance Sneakers Australia . The moves were the first punitive steps taken by the Dolphins since a report on the NFLs investigation of the case was released last week. Investigators found that guard Richie Incognito and two teammates engaged in persistent harassment directed at tackle Jonathan Martin, another offensive lineman and an assistant trainer. Sneakers Cheap Online Australia . Nat Borchers headed in the sole goal in the 54th minute, getting on the end of a Kyle Beckerman free kick. The defeat cost Sporting top spot in the Eastern Conference. Even a draw would have moved the Kansas City club above Columbus.CLEVELAND -- The Pacers dont win with artistic beauty. Most times, they simply pummel teams into submission. Indiana plays ugly, and ugly usually wins. "No style points," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "None. Zero." Paul George scored 16 points, Roy Hibbert made a putback and two free throws in the final 1:09 and the Pacers turned to their defence to hold off Clevelands late rally for an 82-78 win over the short-handed Cavaliers. The Pacers led by 16 in the fourth before guard Dion Waiters brought Cleveland back by scoring 12 straight points in a 16-1 run that got the Cavs within 75-74 with 3:35 left. Hibberts free throw with 7.9 seconds left put the Pacers up 81-78, and Indiana got the ball back when Cavs forward Earl Clark stepped on the sideline on a poorly executed inbounds play with 6.9 left. David West made one free throw with 5.4 seconds remaining, and the Pacers escaped with their seventh win in eight games. At 27-6, Indiana has the NBAs best record -- now thats pretty. "We didnt finish the game the right way," West said. "They hung around and made some shots, but our defence held strong." C.J. Miles scored 21 and Waiters had 14 for the Cavaliers, who played their third game in a row without All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving. He has a bruised knee and his backup, Jarrett Jack, sat with back spasms. The Pacers had to grind this one out after taking control with 14-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters. "I know coach is going to be on us about giving up a big lead, but we know how to play in that situation," George said. "Weve been through that before. The best thing for us is to stay together and we were able to hold them off the last couple of possessions." Lance Stephenson made a 3-pointer as Indiana closed the third with a 7-0 run and then extended the lead to 16 by opening the fourth with another 7-0 burst capped by Danny Grangers 3. Thats when Waiters, the subject of trade rumours for weeks, brought the Cavs back. He reeled off 12 in a row and fed Anderson Varejao with two nice assists to get the Cavs within 79-78. Hibbert split a pair of freee throws, but on Clevelands next trip, Waiters missed a 3 and then forced a layup in traffic.dddddddddddd Hibberts free throw gave the Pacers a two-point cushion, but Cleveland couldnt execute a simple inbounds pass without a turnover and West put it away with his late free throw. "Its another tough loss," Waiters said. "We fought back. We never put our heads down when they went up 16. These kinds of losses hurt because we were right there. Weve been there all year long, and once we find a way to close these games out well be really good." Hibbert added 15 points and West 11 for the Pacers, who shot just 36 per cent from the floor, but played their typically stout defence. Indiana has won nine straight over Cleveland and 15 of 16. Tristan Thompson added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavs, who have reportedly been involved in talks with the Los Angeles Lakers for a trade involving Andrew Bynum for Pau Gasol. The enigmatic Bynum was recently dismissed from the team for detrimental conduct and the Cavs would like to deal or release the 7-footer by Tuesday, when his contract will be guaranteed. The injury-ravaged Lakers would consider bringing back Bynum -- he spent seven seasons with Los Angeles -- so they could cut him, clear salary-cap space and avoid paying the luxury tax. The Pacers, who fell behind by 14 before rallying to beat New Orleans on Saturday, shot only 37 per cent in the first half but used a 9-2 spurt to close the second quarter and lead 44-35 at the break. NOTES: Indiana came in allowing a league-low 88.9 points per game. ... Cavs coach Mike Brown would not comment on the trade rumours swirling around his team, and particularly about Bynum, who was banned from all team activities on Dec. 28. Waiters and Varejao have both been mentioned in various deals. ... Vogel says his team is a target every time it takes the floor. "Its not so much that theyre gunning for us," he said. "I think everybody looks at us and says, If we beat the Pacers, thats going to be a quality win. You do get their best shot from that standpoint. Teams recognize that you have to play a great basketball game to beat us." ' ' '