导出博客文章WEEHAWKEN, N.J. -- The Colorado Avalanche say they have crunched the numbers and they are looking for offence in Sundays NHL draft. Top prospects Nathan MacKinnon and Seth Jones insist they are both in the dark about whose name will be called first at the Prudential Centre in Newark., N.J. But the Avalanche are not shy about saying that they are leaning towards MacKinnon, a forward, with their first overall pick. Jones, a defenceman from the Portland Winterhawks, is the top-ranked North American skater on the NHL Central Scouting list. But Rick Pracey, Colorados director of amateur scouting, says their research shows that picking an elite forward at the top of the draft pays dividends. Pracey notes that four of the top five scorers this season were No. 1 overall picks in the draft (Steven Stamkos, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane). The exception was the undrafted Martin St. Louis. And over the last five years, some 48 to 50 per cent of the top 20 scorers were selected in the top five of the draft. So the Avs -- who ranked 27th in scoring this season with 116 goals -- are looking to a forward. "Were leaning towards Nathan MacKinnon," Pracey told The Canadian Press, adding his voice to that of Avs executive vice-president of hockey operations Joe Sakic and new coach Patrick Roy. Colorado likes the 17-year-old MacKinnons history of elevating his game when it counts and his ability to handle pressure. "We think he has elite speed. We like his (hockey) sense, we like his offensive ability and we think he comes to play," Pracey said. "His competitive nature is another factor in his game that were fond of." Halifax Mooseheads winger Jonathan Drouin and Finnish Elite League centre Aleksander Barkov are also on the Avs radar. Scouts say Drouin reminds them of a young Joe Sakic, according to NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr. Barkov, who is coming off a shoulder injury, has been playing against men since he was 16. The three forwards, along with Jones, represent the cream of a crop seen as rich towards the top. Colorado has first crack at the talent, followed by the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes. NHL Central Scouting ranked Jones first ahead of MacKinnon and Drouin among North American skaters. Barkov was rated the top international prospect. Ask MacKinnon and he will tell you Drouin is the most skilled player in the draft. "The things he can do with the puck are pretty cool," he said. "He slows the game down, he kind of controls the tempo." But as to who goes where Sunday, Marr said nothing would surprise him. "Its going to be a difficult choice but its going to be a great one for their franchise," Marr said Friday at a New Jersey media availability overlooking Manhattan. Marr said all four could be NHL-ready. Of course, Colorados open-door policy on its pick could be subterfuge. But Pracey repeated the franchise line, that the Avs wanted to keep their fan base in the loop. That Jones has Denver ties might be a factor in that transparency. The prized defenceman essentially took up the sport in Colorado while his NBA-playing father Popeye Jones was with the Nuggets. By pointing to MacKinnon, the Avs have played down talk of taking the local boy. Still, Pracey had dinner with Jones in Dallas last week. Marr sees Jones as a rare talent built for todays NHL -- smart, a fluid skater with a good passing touch and with a big-game sensibility. Both MacKinnon and Jones are old beyond their years, both on and off the ice. They handled the media with aplomb Friday, having done it all before at the NHL Combine and Stanley Cup final. Although MacKinnons Mooseheads beat Jones Hawks in the Memorial Cup final, the two have become friends and are rooming together here. Asked about what Jones is like away from the ice, MacKinnon mischievously offered that he is always willing to order room service. They both say they are in the dark about who will go where on the draft menu Sunday. MacKinnon says he is not paying attention to draft talk, saying he doesnt want his expectations too high. The Avs have said nothing to them, the two players said when asked. MacKinnon did say he would look forward to working under Roy, who coached Quebec in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this season. "It would be an awesome experience," MacKinnon said. "He develops young players very well." Colorado won the opportunity to go first in the draft lottery, dropping Florida to second spot. The Panthers had the worst record in the league in 2012-13 at 15-27-6, finishing three points behind Colorado (16-25-7). The Avalanche, during their days as the Quebec Nordiques, picked first overall three time before. They scooped up some marquee names in Mats Sundin (1989), Owen Nolan (1990), while Eric Lindros (1991) held out and forced a trade to Philadelphia. At No. 6, Calgary holds the highest pick among Canadian teams. The Flames also pick 22nd (St. Louis, via the Jay Bouwmeester deal) and 28th (Pittsburgh, Jarome Iginla trade) in the first round. Edmonton selects seventh followed by Winnipeg at No. 13, Ottawa at No. 17, Toronto at No. 21, Vancouver at No. 24 and Montreal at No. 25. Like Calgary, Columbus has three first round-picks -- its own at No. 14, the Rangers 19th pick (from the Rick Nash trade) and L.A.s 28th pick (from the Jeff Carter deal). Buffalo (eighth and 16th) and Dallas (10th and 19th) have two first-round picks apiece, meaning four teams -- Buffalo, Calgary, Columbus and Dallas -- control one-third of the first round going into the draft. That combined with the decrease in salary cap for next season could lead to deals ahead of Sunday. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defenceman Darnell Nurse is also expected to go high. Marr sees him as having a bit of Shea Webber in him. Nurse, the son of former CFL receiver Richard Nurse and nephew to former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb, says he has pondered over who might take him. But he added ultimately it doesnt matter. "Id like to play anywhere in the NHL," said Nurse, who grew up a Devils fan. "Thats the honest truth." The goalie crop is seen as thin but not without talent. Marr enthused about Halifaxs Zachary Fucale, citing his mental toughness.
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Reggie Jackson Jersey . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. LAWRENCE, Kan. -- David Beaty could stand at a pulpit and go toe-to-toe with the most long-winded, passionate and downright positive preachers to ever step foot inside a church.Its a nice ability to have when youre trying to sell Kansas.By now, the depths of the Jayhawks ineptitude the past five years are well known: the 15-game losing streak, the poor recruiting classes under Turner Gill and Charlie Weis, the winless season in Beatys debut, the subpar stadium and apathetic fan base.Yet as Beaty stood at a lectern inside a team meeting room this week, appraising the first three weeks of the season, he launched into an unscripted address brimming with optimism.Were excited about moving forward, he said. Really as we get into it, you start looking at it, theres a lot of surprising things that youre actually doing a little better than you thought.Like passing yards allowed, where the Jayhawks rank ninth nationally. And in total defense, where they have gone from 120th out of 125 schools last season to 62nd through their first three games.Similar improvements have been made on offense and special teams, too.Beaty is also a realist, though. He understands the only statistic that truly matters is number of wins, and a victory over Rhode Island followed by losses to Ohio and Memphis is hardly progress.Theres some positive things there, he said while meeting with reporters during the Jayhawks bye week, but the details are in the things were not doing well, but they need to hear about the ways were improving as a team because we are making improvements. We just havent done enough yet, so the details are going to be huge for us as we go through this week.Two major areas of emphasis: ball security and field position.Turnovers have destroyed any chance of winning the past two weeks -- nine of them in total. The Jayhawks lost a pair of fumbles and threw a pick against the Bobcats, and last week coughed it up four times and threw two interceptions in a six-turnover melltdown against the Tigers.ddddddddddddKansas has no prayer against Big 12 foes making those kinds of mistakes.The thing that we learned as we look at the tape is its never as simple as you think it is. Ball security is an everybody deal, Beaty said. All those things are coached, and weve just got to coach them harder, because when we do, the results will be a lot different. Theyll fall in suit.The same rings true for trouble with field position, where the Jayhawks have made a habit of starting in the shadows of its own goalposts. The turnovers have contributed to the problem, but so has a mixed bag on offense and scattershot performances by special teams.Starting drives inside your 5 or inside your 10, that makes it tough sledding, and conversely, if were not making our opponents start their drives inside their 20, that makes it tough sledding, Beaty said. I want to say of 14 drives or 15 drives last week, Memphis started inside their 25 twice, and we started inside of our 12 six times.That certainly wont fly against the high-powered offense of Texas Tech, which kicks off Big 12 play next week. The meet Thursday night for a game that will be showcased on national television.There were still questions for Beaty to answer Tuesday after his lengthy oratory, ranging from the future of decrepit Memorial Stadium -- our fan base deserves a quality, wonderful, great fan experience -- to his own self-scout, where he admitted to a number of personal faults.But one point he drove home time after time was his steadfast belief in progress.These arent the same old Jayhawks. Beaty is sure of it.Youre never going to be there. We are always going to be developing, he said. Youre going to hear me say that from now until we win a conference championship, which we will do. Im not sure when, but we will get to it, and we will always be developing.
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