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Sat Nov 23, 2019 5:42 am
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PHILADELPHIA -- Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo are gone, but the goaltending position has not been forgotten by the Vancouver Canucks. Authentic Custom Jerseys . With their second-round pick in Saturdays NHL draft at No. 36, the Canucks took the highest-ranked goalie on the board, Thatcher Demko, as new general manager Jim Benning begins the process of replenishing the organizations goaltending depth. "I believe youve got to have a succession of goalies coming through the system," Benning said Saturday afternoon. "Goaltending is the most important position in an organization. ... I believe to be a top, contending team in the league, you need good goaltending. You can never have enough good goalies." Benning believes Demko, who plays at Boston College, is capable of developing into a No. 1 goaltender. He immediately becomes the Canucks goaltender of the future, especially considering the uncertainty that comes with Eddie Lack and Jacob Markstrom. "Hopefully theres an opportunity for me," said Demko, a native of San Diego, Calif., who brushed off the idea of pressure. "I think once I get there, youll start to feel it a little bit more with the Canucks fans and how passionate they are." It was at last years draft when ex-GM Mike Gillis traded Schneider -- coincidentally also a Boston College product -- to the New Jersey Devils for the ninth pick, which Vancouver used on London Knights centre Bo Horvat. Just before the trade deadline, the Canucks sent Luongo to the Florida Panthers for Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias. Markstrom started just three games for the Canucks since the trade. Demko, who has the option of playing one to three more years at Boston College, isnt worried at all about the microscope that goalies are under in Vancouver. He cant wait to see what its like to play in a Canadian market. "Im going to thrive in it," he said. "Youve got to play in pressure and thats kind of just the nature of it. Youve got to thrive in those situations or youre not going to have success." Demko might get a taste of a pressure situation at the world junior championship because hes a candidate to start for the United States in the tournament that takes place in Montreal and Toronto. "Obviously you want to be the starter at world juniors, (it) is a goal," he said. "But theres a lot of other guys that could easily have that position." Part of drafting Demko was Bennings familiarity with him from living in Boston and watching him play often. The same can be said for winger Linden Vey, whom the Canucks acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday for the 50th pick. At 22, Vey has just 18 games of NHL experience and five assists in that time. But Benning watched him play with the Kings AHL affiliate in Manchester and said hell make the Canucks next season. "Hes ready to play in the NHL now," Benning said. "Hell start out as a third-line guy. I think once hes up and going, maybe it takes a year, maybe it takes a year and a half but I think hes got the skill to be a second-line centre at some point." It doesnt hurt that Vey also played for new coach Willie Desjardins with the WHLs Medicine Hat Tigers. Derek Dorsett, acquired from the New York Rangers on Friday, also was in Medicine Hat with Desjardins. That No. 50 pick wasnt the Canucks until they traded defenceman Jason Garrison to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday afternoon. The Kings used it on Victoria goalie Alec Dillon. Vancouver took six-foot-seven Russian defenceman Nikita Tryamkin 66th, Swedish defenceman Gustav Forsling 126th, Erie Otters centre Kyle Pettit 156th and Prince Albert Raiders defenceman MacKenzie Stewart 186th. Those players join the Canucks youth movement along with first-rounders Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann. But the most intriguing addition on Day 2 was Demko, who has prototypical NHL goalie size at six-foot-three. "My size is a tool, but I dont like to rely on it," Demko said. "I can use it, but I still like to react to pucks and kind of play athletic. Its something Im still working on, but its one of the biggest pieces of my game." Demko isnt just confident in himself but also in his ability to withstand the heat in Vancouver. He grew up considering Martin Brodeur a role model but ultimately might want to get some advice from Luongo. "Hopefully I can appeal to the fans up there and make them love me instead of hate me," Demko said. Custom Germany Soccer Jerseys . -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp. Custom Chicago Cubs Jerseys . 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. https://www.cheapcustomjerseysonline.com/custom-borussia-dortmund-jerseys/ .C. -- Al Jefferson said he feels like hes playing the best basketball of his 10-year NBA career.Richmond, VA (SportsNetwork.com) - Kendall Anthony scored 22 points, and the Richmond Spiders upset cross-town rival No. 14 VCU, 64-55, on Saturday. The Spiders (12-9, 5-3 A-10) handled the Rams Havoc defense in a 42- point second half. The Rams shot just 40.7 percent overall and made just 3- of-20 attempts from 3-point range. We rebounded very well, defensively, said Richmond coach Chris Mooney. Not turning the ball over and our defense were the story for us. Terry Allen added 15 points and seven rebounds for Richmond. VCU (17-4, 7-1) saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end. Treveon Graham paced the Rams with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and seven boards. Briante Weber chipped in 11 before leaving late in the game with a knee injury. Were hopeful its something he can come back from, said VCU coach Shaka Smart. I dont want to say more than that because I dont know. Tight defense dominated the early portion of the game. Allens jumper with 8 1/2 minutes to go in the first half tied the game at 11 before VCU went on a run. The Rams made seven shots in a row from the field, capped by JeQuan Lewis layup to put VCU up 28-17 at the 1:48 mark. Richmond recovered with the last five points of the half to trail 28-22 at the break. Richmond hit three triples coming out of the break to go up 31-30. It took four minutes for the Rams to make their first shot from the field, but they would never take the lead again. Custom Minnesota Twins Jerseys. Neither team shot well in the second half, but Richmonds ability to get to the free throw line and take advantage of its opportunities was the difference. The Spiders were 18-of-22 from the charity stripe in the second half while VCU was just 8-of-13 for the game. Weber left the game with VCU down 50-41 at the final media timeout. He would not return to the court, but he came back to the bench on crutches with ice on his right knee. With under three minutes remaining, the Rams hit four shots in a row to cut their deficit to four points with 52 seconds to play, but they could not get any closer as Richmond closed the game hitting all six free throw attempts in the final minute. Alonzo Nelson-Ododas emphatic slam with four seconds to play punctuated Richmonds upset win. Game Notes Richmond started the season 0-7 on the road ... The Spiders had not beaten a ranked opponent on the road since Jan. 22, 2004 at Kansas ... VCU still leads the all-time series, 45-27 ... The Rams had won 16-straight conference games at home ... VCU was 13-0 when leading at halftime ... Richmond outrebounded VCU, 39-27 ... VCU travels to in-state rival George Mason on Wednesday while Richmond plays at La Salle on Thursday. ' ' ' |
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