Clan-Members » Scheifele, the centre the Jets too

The Buffalo Bandits acquired forward Ryan Benesch and transition player Andrew Watt from the Minnesota Swarm in exchange for first-round picks in the 2015 and 2016 NLL Entry Draft and a third-round pick in the 2017 NLL Entry Draft. "We are thrilled to be able to add Ryan and Andrew," said Bandits general manager Steve Dietrich. "I still believe that we are going to build this team through the draft, as we hold four of the top 20 picks in 2014, but adding both Ryan and Andrew helps fill two of our biggest areas of need for both now and the future." "Both Ryan and Andrew embodied everything that the Minnesota Swarm was looking for both on and off the floor during their tenures with the team," said Swarm head coach and associate general manager Joe Sullivan. "They were ambassadors for our organization and carried themselves as professionals. Buffalo has gained two great people as well as two great lacrosse players." Benesch, who was named NLL Rookie of the Year as a member of the Toronto Rock in 2007, has ranked in the top 10 in goal scoring in each of the last three NLL seasons, including a league-leading 46 goals and 95 points in 2011. "Ryan is a top-five scorer in the league who, at 28 years old, is entering the prime of his career," Dietrich said. "He is one of the best left-handed offensive players in the game." The forward from Kitchener, Ontario has amassed 486 points and 467 loose balls in 103 regular-season games during the course of seven NLL seasons with Minnesota, Edmonton and Toronto. In seven playoff appearances, Benesch has added 35 points (15+20) and 37 loose balls. Watt, another Kitchener native, has spent his entire five-year NLL career with Minnesota after the Swarm chose him eighth overall in the 2008 NLL Entry Draft. "Andrew is a very good defensive transition player who will fit into our up-tempo defense and, at 28, also fits into our long term plans," Dietrich said. Watt has totaled 67 points and 312 loose balls in 68 regular-season games, scoring a career-best 16 goals in 2011 before recording nine points (6+3) in each of the last two seasons. His 13 shorthanded goals are a Swarm franchise record. Vince Carter Magic Jersey . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Orlando Magic Jerseys . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. http://www.magicauthentic.com/kids-tracy-mcgrady-magic-jersey/ . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Jason Williams Jersey . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. Penny Hardaway Jersey . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday.When Zach Bogosian spoke to Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff after signing a seven-year, $36-million contract, his first comments werent about that but rather new deals for teammates Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little. In what has turned out to be a busy off-season, the Jets have committed $93.1 million to those three restricted free agents, a major showing of faith in a young core that has yet to make the playoffs. Thats clearly the next step for Bogosian, Wheeler, Little, Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien and the rest of that group. "A lot of people forget there are still a lot of young guys that have big roles on the team. Everyone is growing up together," Bogosian said this week. "Weve had a lot of good players on our team for a couple years now. So, its going to be a good challenge for us, and I think this group can do good things going forward." Bogosian believes this group can bring the Stanley Cup to Winnipeg, the No. 1 goal the 23-year-old defenceman said he and his teammates talk about every year. But the Jets were four points out of a playoff spot in a shortened 2013 NHL season and eight out in their first year in Winnipeg in 2011-12. It doesnt look like much will change roster-wise going into next season. The Jets traded for right-wingers Devin Setoguchi and Michael Frolik, signed defenceman Adam Pardy, watched restricted-free-agent centre Alexander Burmistrov leave for the Kontinental Hockey League and have not re-signed forwards Nik Antropov and Kyle Wellwood or defenceman Ron Hainsey. Cheveldayoff didnt shake things up, instead building around and extending the current core. "I think you first have to evaluate where your group is, you have to show faith in them," he said. "You have to try and show some consistency from an ownership group, from an organization that you have a plan in mind, that youre sticking to it, that youre not changing directions in mid-stream." The Jets havee continued to do that as they prepare for life in the Central Division of the NHLs Western Conference.dddddddddddd Eleven players are signed for at least the next three years, including blue-chip prospects Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba, forward Evander Kane, goaltender Ondrej Pavelec and No. 1 defenceman Tobias Enstrom. Management knows what to expect from Kane, Pavelec and Enstrom, but the key to playoff games taking place at MTS Centre could be improved contributions from Bogosian, the 25-year-old Little and 26-year-old Wheeler. "If you look at the age of the players that we have signed here over the course of the summer, theyre all within relatively the same age demographic," Cheveldayoff said. "Now we need to keep growing, we need to keep pushing. We need younger guys that maybe we have drafted, hopefully it is their time now to start coming into our organization and start pushing." Those younger players are Scheifele, the centre the Jets took with the seventh pick in the 2011 draft, and Trouba, the defenceman they selected ninth in 2012. Both figure to be the plans next season. "The real exciting thing for us is to see some of the younger guys, like Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba, can try and push and make some difficult decisions for us going forward with the way the roster continues to evolve," Cheveldayoff said. The roster likely wont evolve much before camp starts. Cheveldayoff completed his summer to-do list, but he wasnt about to start bragging about his off-season of maintaining stability. "Were not sitting here, trying to say that, This is great, this is great. This is the process that we planned out," he said. "The real evaluation process starts when you drop the puck. No awards, no trophies, no wins or losses happen in June, July, August and September. Its really, truly when the puck drops and as you continue to play throughout the season. Thats the evaluation that really matters." ' ' '