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Too worried about his own draft night, Jake Virtanen didnt hear about his hometown Vancouver Canucks trading Ryan Kesler until late Friday.
PHILADELPHIA -- Too worried about his own draft night, Jake Virtanen didnt hear about his hometown Vancouver Canucks trading Ryan Kesler until late Friday. Derek Fisher Lakers Jersey . Of course he paid attention when he saw the Canucks kept the No. 6 pick. "I just tried to shake it off and try not to worry about it," Virtanen said. The next player up after the consensus top five of Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart, Leon Draisaitl, Sam Bennett and Michael Dal Colle, Virtanen got his "dream come true" when the Canucks used that sixth overall pick on him. "Its pretty surreal for me," the six-foot left-winger said. "Still trying to soak it in. Its an amazing feeling." Virtanen, a native of Abbotsford, B.C., becomes yet another piece of the Trevor Linden/Jim Benning retooling project on the day Kesler was sent to the Anaheim Ducks and defenceman Jason Garrison to the Tampa Bay Lightning. So does Sault Ste. Marie centre Jared McCann, taken with the No. 24 pick the Canucks got as part of the Kesler deal. Unlike centre Nick Bonino and defenceman Luca Sbisa, whom the Canucks got from Anaheim, and Derek Dorsett, acquired from the New York Rangers for a third-round pick, Virtanen seems like a long-term project. Not only could he probably use some more time with the WHLs Calgary Hitmen, but he had shoulder surgery in May and is targeting mid-October to be cleared to take contact. "If its not mid-October, I think I just want to be 100 per cent healthy," Virtanen said. "Im not going to rush anything. I just want to be healthy and be able to play my best game." Virtanen, a power forward who NHL Central Scoutings Peter Sullivan compares to Jarome Iginla, showed some of his best hockey this past season as a point-a-game player. He was also tied as Canadas leading scorer at the world under-18 championship. All that didnt mean Virtanen went into draft day relaxed and confident. He tossed and turned Thursday night worrying. Virtanen wondered if the shoulder injury would cause him to drop a few spots, but he hoped it wouldnt a big deal. Still, he was anxious about where hed get taken. "I kind of just sat at the hotel just sweating," Virtanen said. "The day was pretty crazy." Not just for him but the Canucks organization given the flurry of trades. Vancouver wrapped up its haul for Kesler by taking McCann, ranked 10th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, with the 24th pick. McCann, a native of Stratford, Ont., had 62 points in 64 games last season and is considered a gifted playmaker. LeBron James Lakers Jersey .Heres Ralph the Dog with the crew here at TSN jumping into the James Duthie TradeCentre selfie: Happy to drop by! RT @TSN_Sports: @tsnjamesduthie: Take this Ellen. Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys . LOUIS -- The Atlanta Braves used a two-run rally in the ninth to end their road trip with a win. http://www.lakersteamofficial.com/Magic-Johnson-Lakers-Jersey/ . That still leaves a big hole.You dont replace the leadership, defensive co-ordinator Billy Davis said. You just dont. Leadership is something that is earned over time. MONTREAL -- With veteran Henry Burris at quarterback, maybe the Ottawa Redblacks wont be quite the pushovers most expansion clubs have been. Burris threw for 247 yards in one half of a game -- on pace for a nearly 500-yard outing -- as the Redblacks downed the woeful Montreal Alouettes 26-10 in CFL pre-season play Friday night at Percival Molson Stadium. Former Hamilton Tiger-Cat Chevon Walker ran in two touchdowns and caught a five-yard pass for another to lead the Redblacks, who will be on a bye when the regular season opens next weekend and wont make their debut until July 3 in Winnipeg. "We knew we had to play well," said Burris, who signed as a free agent with Ottawa. "The fact that we dont play next week, we had to have a good feeling coming out of this game because now we have a few days off. "We know we made an improvement from last week (a 21-17 loss at Saskatchewan) and we wanted to carry the momentum of playing good football into the Winnipeg game in a couple of weeks." Brett Maher added a fourth-quarter field goal for Ottawa when Thomas DeMarco was in at quarterback. The Ottawa defence held Montreal without a touchdown, although some of that had to do with Troy Smiths struggles to find his receivers. Delbert Alvarado had a pair of field goals and Sean Whyte had another for Montreal, which went 0-2 in the pre-season under new coach Tom Higgins, and looked shaky on both sides of the ball heading into their season opener June 28 in Calgary. "It was definitely a pre-season game," said Smith, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner who has the tall order of replacing future Hall of Famer Anthony Calvillo as the Alouettes starting quarterback. "You understand things arent going to be as good as you want them to be all the time. "We did some positive things, we just werent able to capitalize on any drives." The less-than sellout crowd of 18,141 got their first look at former NFL star Chad (Ochocinco) Johnson, who is on a comeback after last having played in 2011. He made a 13-yard catch on the Alouettes first play from scrimmage but that was all. "Hopefully the timing with the guys will get better," said Smith. "Youve got to give Ottawa some credit. They played defence and came out with the win. Its very premature. Were embarking on something great. I can feel it in my bones. Elgin Baylor Jersey. But you have to go through trials and tribulations." A lot of Ottawa players made it difficult for coach Rick Campbell to make his final cuts on Saturday, when all nine CFL teams have to trim rosters to 46 players. Burris had six players make at least two catches, while the defence held Montreal to 290 yards in net offence. "When the decisions are easy, its not good," said Campbell. "We had some guys make some big plays, but it is a pre-season game. Well watch film and evaluate it. "Were not going to pat ourselves on the back too much. Well get back to work and try to get better." Burris couldnt get a first down on Ottawas first three possessions, but adjustments were made. Then he couldnt be stopped the rest of the first half. He completed 17 of 22 passes, all against Montreals first-string defence. The Redblacks led 22-7 at the intermission. Smith completed nine of 17 for 122 yards in the opening 30 minutes and gave way to the equally ineffective Tanner Marsh early in the second half. Alex Brink also saw action. The Alouettes got on the board first with Alvarados punt single, but then Burris threw 28 yards to Dobson Collins to set up Walkers three-yard TD 12:16 into the game. Montreal answered with a field goal, but Kierrie Johnsons 36-yard catch to the Montreal one set up Walkers second TD of the night 44 seconds into the second quarter. Just before the intermission, Burris led an eight-play 85-yard drive capped by Walkers five-yard TD catch. With second and third stringers on in the second half, neither team was able to move the ball very far and spectators were streaming out by the end of the third quarter. Unusually for the pre-season game, there were relatively few penalties called and there were no fumbles or interceptions. Last week, Montreal blew a lead in a 28-23 setback at Hamilton. Their bright spots were Alvarados powerful kicking and some long returns by Larry Taylor, who returned to Montreal from Calgary in the off-season. Notes: The Alouettes were missing running backs Brandon Whitaker (sore leg) and Tyrell Sutton (hamstring). Their replacement Brandon Rutley had a quiet game 29 yards on nine carries. Linebacker Kyries Hebert didnt dress, but he has returned to practice after suffering a concussion June 7. Cheap Chargers JerseysCheap Rams JerseyCheap Dolphins Jerseys