If you havent heard about Auston Matthews, you will. The 17-year-old centre from Scottsdale, Arizona, misses the 2015 NHL Draft by two days. He was born Sept. 17, 1997 – 48 hours after the eligibility deadline. He is the clear favourite to go No. 1 in the 2016 Draft. Were he available for next Junes draft in Sunrise, Florida, he would – in my view - be considered in the same category as Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. Matthews rocketed to stardom in 2013-14 with 24 goals in 44 games split between the USA U-17 (12-21-33 in 24 games) and U-18 (12-5-17 in 20 games) national teams. Watching Matthews, I see a player capable of impacting the game in multiple ways. The 6-foot-1, 194-pounder is an excellent skater who can beat opponents with speed or quickness and is capable of executing plays at high speed. His passing skills are precise and he has the ability to score off the rush, off the cycle, from a distance, from in close. He has the intelligence of high-end players and exudes an uncommon confidence. He swats away obstacles as though they are merely irritating flies. Matthews emergence gives new meaning to the term hockey hotbed. He is the first bonafide star from Scottsdale – one of the most desirable winter getaways in North America. Major League Baseball has spring training in Arizona and the Cactus League attracts baseball enthusiasts to the area every February and March. Peter Ward, the Director of Player Personnel for the National Team Development Program, must have felt like he hit a home run when he found Matthews, who eventually migrated north to the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based program in 2013. Ward received a call from the late Tim Taylor, an assistant coach for the NTDP and an iconic figure in USA Hockey circles, in 2010. He told me, there was a thirteen-year-old who was pretty good and that I should watch him, Ward recalls. Keep in mind that the NTDP is recruiting players who will turn 16 and 13-year-olds, while promising, are not on the recruiting radar. Ward says, Auston was playing in a tournament in New England and it so happened that he played against (2015 draft prospects) Noah Hanifin, Colin White and Casey Fitzgerald so it was a good base of competition. This is always a dilemma for scouting personnel, evaluating a talented player versus good competition. Ward added: It was very clear that Auston possessed the athleticism, the skills and the hockey IQ of top young players. One more factor stood out for Ward: He didnt play one position, he played them all. He would go off the ice playing one position and go on again and play a different one. It didnt matter if he was playing forward or defence, he excelled. Fast-forward to April, 2014, Team USA is playing in the IIHF World Under-18 Championship and a team led by Eichel is also being fueled by a 16-year-old underager. Matthews had five goals and two assists in seven games; Eichel, five goals and five assists for the gold medal-winning Americans. All indications are that Auston Matthews is pure gold. .C. -- Jackson Whistle made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Kelowna Rockets blanked the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-0 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. . Weise will have his hearing with the NHL head office over the phone, while the league has requested an in-person hearing with Kassian. Oilers centre Sam Gagner suffered a broken jaw after getting hit with a high stick from Kassian in Edmontons 5-2 win.
http://www.packersonlineteamstore.com/j ... y.html.com) - Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh called Joe Flacco the NFLs best quarterback last week. . In this weeks Leaf Report podcast, James Mirtle and Jonas Siegel debate whether Toronto can continue their shootout dominance and discuss what Dave Nonis game plan should be heading into the trade deadline. . -- The Chicago Bears say they have agreed to a one-year contract with centre Roberto Garza.St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Porter scored the game-winning goal with 1:54 remaining in the third period to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Monday. Maxim Lapierre, Ian Cole and Paul Stastny all scored for St. Louis, which has won its last two games. Martin Brodeur made 32 saves in his home debut. It wasnt pretty, but we got it done, said Brodeur. Theres games that are going to be a lot easier to win, but this one was a tough one. Nick Bjugstad and Aaron Ekblad both lit the lamp for Florida, which received 24 stops from Roberto Luongo in defeat. Disappointed to lose the way we lost at the end, but I thought we battled hard and competed hard with a really good club, Panthers head coach Gerard Gallant said. With the game tied at 2-2, Porter redirected Barret Jackmans right point shot and Stastny tallied an empty-net goal with 32 seconds remaining to seal the win. The Panthers appeared to get on the board 2:30 into the game as Tomas Kopecky rushed through the slot and fired a shot that Brodeur squeezed with his pads. The play was reviewed, but it was ruled no goal. Just over eigght minutes into the contest, the Blues had a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:54, but Luongo came up big and denied Jori Lehtera with his right pad on a tip-in attempt in tight.dddddddddddd Lapierre fired a shot from the right side that deflected off Panthers forward Vincent Trochecks skate and into the net to give St. Louis the lead 11:17 into the opening stanza. Coles slap shot from the high slot deflected off a Panthers defender and past Luongo for a 2-0 Blues lead with 2:26 remaining in the first. Bjugstad cut Floridas deficit in half after he elected to shoot instead of pass on a 2-on-1, and his wrister found twine over Brodeurs shoulder with 4:39 to play in the middle frame. The Panthers pulled even with 5:06 remaining as Ekblad jumped up on the play and beat Brodeur with a wrister from the right circle. Game Notes St. Louis has won five straight games against Florida ... The Blues improved to 13-3-1 when scoring first ... Panthers forward Dave Bolland returned to the lineup after missing 21 games with a groin injury ... The season series will conclude on Feb. 15 at BB&T Center. ' ' '
