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The Colorado Avalanche were true to their word at the 2013 NHL Draft, selecting Nathan MacKinnon of the Halifax Mooseheads first overall. The Avalanche had said they preferred MacKinnon to Portland Winterhawks defenceman Seth Jones in the days leading up to the draft. The Avalanche, who the NHLs Draft lottery to leapfrog Florida for the first pick, said they like Jones, but felt the teams need was greater at forward. MacKinnon helped lead the Mooseheads to a Memorial Cup title this past season, leading the tournament with 13 points, scoring seven goals including a hat trick in the championship game, and was chosen as tournament MVP. He also scored 32 goals and 75 points during the regular season for Halifax. "I kind of blacked out for a second, but its so cool," MacKinnon said after being chosen. "They have such a promising team and such good young talent, and hopefully I can be a part of that... "This is unbelievable, Im part of the Colorado Avalanche and I cant wait to get to training camp." Jones, the top-ranked prospect by NHL Central Scouting, surprisingly ended up slipping to fourth overall where he was taken by the Nashville Predators. "Yeah, well Im competitive, I have a competitive nature. And I get that from my parents," Jones said when asked whether he would be motivated by the slide. "You definitely want to prove them wrong. You definitely want to show them why they should have picked you. Thats not my only goal next year but its definitely on my list." The Predators meanwhile were clearly delighted to have Jones fall to them with the fourth pick. "This a franchise-type player," Predators GM David Poile, said of the six-foot-four, 205-pound defenceman. "So I really feel good about our defence right now." Jones will join one of the NHLs top defencemen in Shea Weber on the Predators blue line. The Florida Panthers surprised with the second overall pick, taking Finnish prospect Aleksander Barkov ahead of both Jones and Mooseheads forward Jonathan Drouin. The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Drouin third overall. "I think its a good fit. Theyve got a young prospect, great old players, too, that are experienced, and I think its the best fit for me," said Drouin. The Carolina Hurricanes who were rumoured to be entertaining a number of offers for the fifth pick opted to hang on to their selection and select Swedish centre prospect Elias Lindholm. The Calgary Flames were the first Canadian team to pick in the draft and they used the sixth overall pick on Ottawa 67s centre Sean Monahan. The Flames also selected Gatineau Olympiques left winger Emile Poirier 22nd overall and Regina Pats forward Morgan Klimchuk with the 28th pick. The Edmonton Oilers followed the Monahan pick by selecting Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defenceman Darnell Nurse. The Vancouver Canucks made a big splash in the first round, moving into the top-10 by sending goaltender Cory Schneider to the Devils in exchange for the ninth overall pick. They used the selection on London Knights centre Bo Horvat. The Canucks also selected forward Hunter Shinkaruk of the Medicine Hat Tigers with the 24th pick. The Winnipeg Jets, selecting 13th overall, chose Josh Morrissey of the Prince Albert Raiders. The Ottawa Senators meanwhile selected Edmonton Oil Kings centre Curtis Lazar 17th overall. Lazar scored 38 goals and 23 assists last season, helping the Oil Kings finish first in the Western Hockey Leagues Eastern Conference The Toronto Maple Leafs used their first round selection, 21st overall, on 6-foot-4, 217 pound Rimouski centre Frederik Gauthier. The Montreal Canadiens, last Canadian team to pick in the first round at 25th overall chose 6-foot-5 American forward Mike McCarron. The Buffalo Sabres made Rasmus Ristolainen the second Finnish prospect selected in the draft at eighth overall. The Sabres also held 16th pick which they used to select Nikita Zadorov. The Dallas Stars rounded out the top 10 by selecting Russian prospect Valeri Nichushkin. The Stars also held the 29th pick which they used on versatile forward Jason Dickinson. The Philadelphia Flyers chose defenceman Sam Morin of the Rimouski Oceanic 11th. Max Domi, the son of former NHLer Tie Domi, was selected 12th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes. The Columbus Blue Jackets used their first of three first round selections on Swedish centre Alex Wennberg at 14th overall. The followed that pick with Kerby Rychel at 19 and Marko Dano 27th overall. The New York Islanders selected Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman Ryan Pulock 15th overall. San Jose traded up to the 18th selection sending the 20th and 58th overall picks to Detroit. The Sharks selected defenceman Marco Mueller of the Everett Silvertips. Detroit used the 20th pick on Anthony Mantha from Val Dor, the only 50-goal scorer in the CHL this season past season. Washington selected Swedish prospect Andre Burakovsky 23rd overall. Anaheim chose Seattle defenceman Shea Theodore 26th overall. The Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks rounded out the first round by selecting Plymouth Whalers winger Ryan Hartman 30th overall. Matt Guokas Jersey Signed . The same for both the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. Jack Coleman Jersey Signed . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . https://www.cheapnbajerseysjustwholesale.com/. Raymond, 31, started 15 regular-season games for the Stamps in 2013, racking up 51 tackles. He also returned two kickoffs for 79 yards including a 61-yarder. Nolan Smith Jersey Signed . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. Thomas Jordan Jersey Signed . - Free agent defensive end Will Smith has signed with the New England Patriots.The Netherlands can reach its second consecutive World Cup final with a victory over Argentina on Wednesday at the Area de Sao Paulo. Listen to the game live on TSN 1050, TSN 690, TSN 1200, TSN 1260 and TEAM 1410 at 4pm et/1pm pt. The Dutch reached the World Cup final in South Africa in 2010 after topping Uruguay, 3-2, but faced Spain in the final and fell 1-0. Louis van Gaals side will surely draw motivation for Wednesdays clash from that defeat, something not lost on midfielder Wesley Sneijder. "Sometimes you have to suffer to obtain success," he said. "The final in 2010 was very painful but the disappointment drives you on. "We feel we have more experience, a strong squad, some great players and now we know it is so close for us again. We have come through so much together and grown with the tournament. Now it gets even harder." The Dutch should be riding high on confidence after knocking off the tournaments Cinderella squad on Saturday, topping Costa Rica 4-3 on penalty kicks after the sides played to a scoreless draw in extra time. The Dutch controlled much of the match but only created their first real scoring opportunity in the 21st minute when Robin van Persie latched on to Memphis Depays through ball and fired a left-footed shot on target, but Keylor Navas was able to parry the attempt to the top of the penalty area. The clearance only went as far as Sneijder, who lashed the rebound back toward goal, but Navas was equal to the task once again. Navas denied Sneijder again in the 39th minute when the Galatasaray midfielder uncorked a brilliant free kick from distance that looked destined for the upper corner, but the Levante keeper pushed the shot aside to send the two sides into halftime scoreless. The Dutch continued to find scoring chances in extra time as Costa Rica looked absolutely exhausted. Sneijder hit the woodwork for a second time when he took a layoff from Jeremain Lens in the 119th minute and curled a superb effort toward goal with his favorite right foot, and a relieved Navas could only help but watch the strike come back into play off the crossbar. Heading into the penalty shootout, Van Gaal used his final substitution to replace goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen with Newcastle United keeper Tim Krul and the move was a masterstroke as Krul stopped two Costa Rica penalties to hand his side the victory. "In terms of team spirit and togetherness, this is the best group Ive worked withh.dddddddddddd I thought we had more quality than Costa Rica and deserved to win. I dont know how much ball possession we had, how many times we hit the woodwork and how many chances we had -- in the end its all about scoring," Van Gaal said. "We have practiced pens, I believe when youre used to a certain way of shooting youll be more comfortable taking that shot. We told Tim Krul that he would be the best goalkeeper for the penalties as hes bigger; we didnt tell Cillessen, as we didnt want to ruin his preparation and concentration. There is no question about who will start next game, it will be Cillessen. But we felt Krul was the better choice here -- and he proved that. He guessed the correct way for every penalty." Argentina heads into its first semifinal since 1990 hoping to earn a chance to play for its third Jules Rimet trophy, having already advanced further than their 2010 campaign when the side was thumped, 4-0, by Germany in the quarterfinals. Argentina also knocked off a potential Cinderella in the quarterfinals after earning a 1-0 victory over Belgium courtesy of a goal from Gonzalo Higuain at the Estadio Nacional. Through this World Cup, Argentinas performances have left plenty to be desired, but theyve gotten the necessary results and Wednesday represents an opportunity to put in a quality performance against a very good opponent. The goal came after just eight minutes as Angel Di Maria attempted to deliver a pass into the penalty area that was deflected by a Belgium defender. The ball fell kindly to the feet of Higuain and he hammered a first-time shot perfectly inside the left post. "Ever since the first game Ive been saying that I wasnt worried, that my first goal would come, and fortunately it came at a crucial time," Higuain said. "Its been a long time since Argentina reached the semifinals and Im happy its this group of players that managed it, because they deserve it. Now we want to keep going and reach the final." Alejandro Sabellas team will have a significant void to fill on Wednesday as Di Maria was forced off the pitch in the 33rd minute with a thigh injury 33rd minute, was replaced by Enzo Perez, and is unavailable for Wednesday. Despite the injury, Sabellas team will hope for more than just a semifinal appearance. "Weve achieved our minimum objective, which was to reach the last four, but we want more. Thats what weve come for," Sabella said. ' ' '