ITPV » . After all, the CHL is producing a large percentage

TORONTO - As anticipated, Thursday nights NBA Draft turned out to be a historic evening for Canadian basketball, however the Raptors, the countrys lone team, became reluctant spectators despite their best efforts to get in on the festivities. In many ways it was a celebration of how far the country has come and how much the sport has grown within it. In total, four Canadian players were selected - setting a league record - including three in the top 18, all from the Greater Toronto Area. For the second consecutive year Canada produced the top pick, 19-year-old phenom and Vaughan-native Andrew Wiggins, who will join last years No. 1 selection Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson and Dwight Powell - picked in the second-round of Thursdays draft - in Cleveland. Mississaugas Nik Stauskas followed suit, going to the Sacramento Kings at pick No. 8 before the Phoenix Suns - owners of the 18th pick - nabbed Brampton point guard Tyler Ennis, a player that sat atop the Raptors board when he heard his name called. It was a bittersweet moment for the 19-year-old Ennis, who was finally realizing his lifelong dream, albeit two picks away from beginning his career with his hometown team. The Raptors, drafting 20th, struck out on their top target but it wasnt for a lack of effort or interest. "We tried everything," Dwane Casey admitted shortly after the first-round concluded. "It just didnt work out." Masai Ujiri and his staff tracked Ennis throughout his freshman year at Syracuse and quickly became enamoured with his poise at the point guard position. Until recently they believed there was little chance he would fall to them, or even come close. With his stock fluctuating leading up to the draft, Ujiri hoped Ennis would be available to them, also exploring several scenarios to trade up and even entice the Suns to give him up after the selection had been made. With Ennis off the board, Ujiri opted for the next player on his wish list, Brazilian mystery man Bruno Caboclo "We decided we lost one," said the Raptors general manager, "were not going to lose the other one. So we jumped on it." The Raptors came that close to drafting what would have been the first Canadian selected in their 20-year franchise history, but given the rate in which the country is producing high-level talent its only a matter of time until that vision - which once seemed like a pipe dream - becomes a reality. "Ennis was a target for us but he was picked by another team," Ujiri lamented. "We will have Canadians on our team. Definitely we will have Canadian players on our team. Theyre all over the league now. The last two first picks have been Canadian." "We tried and it didnt work out this time," he continued, "but were glad theres a lot a lot of them in the league and eventually well get a couple of Canadians here, trust me. Itll come, well get them here." Thursday served as a friendly reminder, Canada isnt going anywhere. After hemming and hawing for weeks, the Cavaliers finally decided on Wiggins with their No. 1 overall pick. Decked out in a captivating black suit decorated with white floral print and topped off with a black bow tie, the one and done Kansas star couldnt hide his joy when first-year commissioner Adam Silver called his name. "A thousand thoughts are going through my head right now," Wiggins said minutes later. "Its a dream come true. Ive been dreaming of this moment since I was a little kid. My dream was just to make the NBA and now going to high school and college the opportunity of going number one came into talk and now I accomplished that. So its a crazy feeling right now. I dont even know how I feel. It doesnt feel real right now." "I always believed it," Stauskas added. "I believed in myself and I dont think many other people did but this is something Ive always felt is a possibility for me and I just kept working my hardest to make it happen. Its a cliche but dreams really do come true when you put all your effort into it." What could this night mean for the country? "I just think its huge," Wiggins said. "It opens doors for all the youth and everyone in Canada. It gives them hope. Because coming up when I was Canada, I wasnt ranked or nothing, I wasnt known. I didnt have no offers or anything like that. But I just kept my head straight and kept working on my game and look where I am today. So I just think it gives everyone hope that they can do the same thing and accomplish whatever I do because its possible if they work hard." The Raptors, like most of the 29 other teams, did pass up on four other eligible Canadians that went undrafted Thursday. Montreals Khem Birch, Calgarys Jordan Bachynski, Toronto-native and reigning Big 12 player of the year Melvin Ejim and the 7-foot-5 Sim Bhullar, also from the Toronto area, didnt hear their name called. Instead, Toronto opted for UConn forward DeAndre Daniels with an early second-round pick and traded the 59th overall pick to the Brooklyn Nets. Ujiri has maintained that if and when the Raptors do add a Canadian he wont be employed for his passport and he wont be sitting at the end of the bench. The pressure surrounding that type of player in that situation would be unfair, hes said. All four of the undrafted Canadian players are expected to catch on with Summer League teams, hoping to earn a spot on an NBA roster before weighing their options overseas or in the D-League. Buy Air Max 720 Uk . - The Minnesota Vikings have ruled Christian Ponder out for Sundays game at Baltimore, because the quarterback has not yet passed all of his post-concussion tests. Cheap Authentic Air Max 720 .com) - Stanley Johnson had 18 points and No. http://www.airmax720ukcheap.com/ . Smith, an eighth overall pick, had two goals in only 276 minutes of playing time over 16 appearances last season. The left side midfielder played only 43 minutes in three games this season. Air Max 720 Uk Sale . The 25-year-old Brazilian player has only made four Premier League appearances for United this season and underwent a medical test in Italy on Friday. Air Max 720 For Sale . Sixteen teams have moved on. Sixteen teams have gone home.By TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button and TSN Hockey Managing Editor Steve Dryden Don Maloney said it. Surely, other GMs are thinking it. That is, wouldn’t it be good if NHL teams had the option to send their best teen prospects to the AHL rather than be required - under terms of the NHL-CHL agreement - to return them to the CHL until their major junior eligibility runs out. We all understand top junior players are valuable assets for their junior Clubs,” Don Maloney told ESPN.com. “However, for any elite junior player who has played three full CHL seasons, the option to place the player in the AHL would be invaluable to us and a real benefit to the player’s development. Of course, the CHL would prefer the status quo remains because its main players, its main attractions, would play in the Quebec, Ontario and Western leagues as long as possible to drive revenues. It’s a reasonable perspective. After all, the CHL is producing a large percentage of players and the development model needs to be self-sustaining. “Any change - even on a restricted or limited basis - would be devastating to the CHL,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com. “So, no, I dont see this changing in the near future.” The current agreement doesn’t expire until June, 2020 - and Daly said, We actually surveyed the GMs before last years CHL deal and it wasnt an overwhelming need” - so there’s no reason to believe any change is imminent. But should it be a one-size-fits-all system for CHLers? Consider this: Players not drafted from the CHL are now eligible to be sent to the AHL as teens. Is it time a similar option existed for exceptional major junior players. The answer is, yes, provided limitations are placed on such a system. Here’s our criteria for major junior-eligible players being sent to the AHL: 1. Players must have been selected in the first round of the NHL draft and have played three full seasons in the CHL. 2. Players must pass a tryout period – say 9 games in the AHL to mirror the NHL 9-game tryout period - to prove they have effectively outgrown the CHL. Here’s the logic: 1. Only NHL-rated elite players (e.g. first rounders) would be included to guard against a new system cutting too deeply into the CHL talent pool. 2. CHL teams should consider three full seasons fair return on their investments. Consider that NHL players are technically free agents after going through the three-year entry level system. If you can play in the NHL as a 19-year-old, why not the AHL? Now before you think that there are going to be 30 elite CHLers being sent to the AHL each year, let us tell you how many we think wwould be sent to the AHL this season if that criteria were followed: 9.dddddddddddd And that number includes Sam Reinhart (Kootenay), who is expected to be sent back to their CHL teams, plus Bo Horvat (London) and Curtis Lazar (Edmonton), who may well remain with their NHL teams. That’s nine players – and it could be as few as seven - spread over 60 teams in three leagues. The others on the tsn.ca list of CHLers/AHLers are Darnell Nurse (SSM), Sam Morin (Rimouski), Max Domi (London), Josh Morrissey (Prince Albert), Shea Theodore (Seattle) and Nick Ritchie (Peterborough). By the way, Jonathan Drouin would go back to Halifax, not the AHL, because he has played 2-1/2 seasons, not three full seasons. So, under this system, some teams would suffer more than others: notably London, potentially losing two players to the AHL. But that’s to be expected when any change is made and, not to minimize the impact, but in time there would be a new normal and acceptance that that’s just the way it is and greater flexibility is generally for the greater good. And a final thought: Let’s not forget that some of these players have already had exposure to the AHL – most prominently Morrissey. The 2013-14 WHL defenceman of the year runner-up played eight regular season games and 20 in the 2014 AHL playoffs, where he shone with two goals and 9 points for the Calder Cup-finalist St. John’s IceCaps. It seems counter-intuitive the AHL isn’t an option for him this season. Here are nine CHLers – including current NHLers Horvat, Lazar and Reinhart - who would be candidates to play in the AHL this season if rules were amended to permit first round draft picks with three full seasons experience to play in the top minor pro league. Player Pos CHL Team League NHL Draft No. Darnell Nurse D Sault Ste. Marie OHL Edmonton 2013 7th Bo Horvat C London OHL Vancouver 2013 9th Sam Morin D Rimouski QMJHL Philadelphia 2013 11th Max Domi C/LW London OHL Arizona 2013 12th Josh Morrissey D Prince Albert WHL Winnipeg 2013 13th Curtis Lazar C Edmonton WHL Ottawa 2013 17th Shea Theodore D Seattle WHL Anaheim 2013 26th Sam Reinhart C Kootenay WHL Buffalo 2014 2nd Nick Ritchie LW Peterborough OHL Anaheim 2014 10th ' ' '