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TORONTO, Ontario - Moments after Canada narrowly edged Latvia 2-1 to book their ticket to face the United States in the semifinals of the Olympic mens hockey tournament, Jonathan Toews was asked about going head to head against his Chicago Blackhawks teammate Patrick Kane. “Hes alright,” laughed Toews, “but that Kessel guy is even better.” Whether Toews was sharing his true belief or not is beside the point. The fact that the captain of two different Stanley Cup champions would even think to make that comparison shows that Kessel is being thought of among the games elite, not just by pundits but, more importantly, by his peers. And rightly so. Finishing up with points in thirteen of his final 15 games before the Olympic break (11-16-27) to put himself fourth overall in NHL scoring with 65 points – second overall in goals with 31 behind only Alex Ovechkin – Kessel has continued to excel in Sochi, leading the mens tournament in scoring with eight points in four games while sitting tied with Michael Grabner for the lead in goals with five. Let that sink in for a moment. In a tournament involving undisputedly the best players in the world, Phil Kessel has arguably been the top performer. “We all believed that hes able to do it,” said Kessels centre in Toronto, Tyler Bozak. “Who knows what other people think outside of our locker room but we believe in him to be one of the best players in the league and hes proving it yet again.” Now 26 years old and in his eighth NHL season, Kessel is on pace for his best statistical season, poised to set new career highs in goals, assists and points. If he keeps up his pace set through the first 60 games, he could well break the 40-goal plateau and finish just shy of 90 points. To put that in perspective, not since Mats Sundin scored 41 goals in 2001-02 has a Maple Leaf reached 40 goals. The 90-point milestone hasnt been met in Toronto since Sundin did it in 1996-97. Nazem Kadri feels its time for Kessel to be recognized among the NHLs best. “I think he should be, if he wasnt already,” he said after the Maple Leafs reconvened for practice on Wednesday. “I think we all knew that Phil was going to achieve more, especially on that big ice. Not too many players in the league can skate with him. Phil does a great job finding areas to get open; he can find his own teammates and score goals.” The knock against Kessel has long been that he is too one-dimensional of a player but the Madison, Wisconsin native has been aggressively debunking that myth in recent times. An inspired effort during the Leafs seven game playoff series against the Boston Bruins in the spring of 2013 was an eye opener. Hes shown a willingness to stand up for himself, as he has done on two separate occasions against Alex Burrows this season. “I think Phil kind of likes that stuff secretly,” revealed Bozak after Kessels latest altercation with Burrows on Feb. 8. “It kind of fired him up.” Perhaps most impressive though has been Kessels ability not only to score goals but to enhance the play of his teammates, a much more difficult task as a winger than as a centre. Only Patrick Kane (36), Taylor Hall (36) and Kyle Okposo (35) have more assists as wingers this season than Kessels 34. To any longer cast Kessel in the light of solely a one dimensional goal scorer is inaccurate. Hes proven that he is one of the most purely skilled players the Leafs have had in the last thirty years and right now, among the best in the NHL. “Phil has definitely taken strides here and has grown as a player,” explained Coach Randy Carlyle. “Hes not a one dimensional player as people described him previously. Hes a guy that still has some things that wed like him to stop doing but hes become more of a two way player, hes stopped on pucks a lot more, hes been in the shooting lane a lot more. Hes not just a rush player, he can do a lot of different things with the puck and hes provided this hockey club and now the USA team with a lot of different intangibles.” Tom Jackson Youth Jersey .com) - Nate Buss 3-pointer with 5. DeMarcus Ware Broncos Jersey .A. Dickey, even though he was coming off a Cy Young Award in 2012. Many felt the Jays would regret giving up righthanded pitcher prospect Noah Syndergaard and catcher Travis DArnaud over the long haul. http://www.broncosrookiestore.com/Bronco...t-Jones-Jersey/. TSN platforms will broadcast 75+ live games per season – tripling the networks current slate of MLB games. With the new deal TSN retains rights to ESPNs SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL and, for the first time, acquires rights to ESPNs MONDAY NIGHT BASEBALL and WEDNESDAY NIGHT BASEBALL. Tom Jackson Jersey . The club says its first-choice centre back "underwent medical tests on Wednesday morning" which confirmed he has injured his right hamstring. The injury was caused in the second minute of Tuesdays 4-1 league win over Real Sociedad in the Camp Nou when teammate Sergio Busquets accidentally struck Mascherano just above the knee with an outstretched boot. Karl Mecklenburg Broncos Jersey . After Mariota was pushed around by Stanford on Thursday, finishing 20/34 with 250 yards and two touchdowns in Oregons Title hope-crushing defeat, hes going to need a poor performance or two from the remaining frontrunners to have a shot at the most coveted individual trophy in college sports.The Florida Panthers have acquired forward Mark Mancari from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for left winger Eric Selleck. The teams announced the trade on Sunday. Mancari has nine goals and 22 assists in 44 games with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL this season. Mancari has previously played for the Buffalo SSabres and Vancouver Canucks.ddddddddddddnbsp; He has three goals and ten assists in 42 career NHL games. Selleck has three goals and a total of seven points in 42 AHL games with the San Antonio Rampage this season. He had one assist in two regular season appearances with the Panthers last season. ' ' '