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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. Swingman Kirk Hinrich Jersey . “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.” Mike Bibby Hawks Jersey . Dallas also Monday recalled defenceman Aaron Rome from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and assigned goaltender Jack Campbell to the AHL squad. Kirk Hinrich Jersey . -- LeGarrette Blount made one last big splash into a soggy end zone. http://www.nbahawksofficial.com/womens-mike-bibby-basketball-jersey/ .The league also seems to have a fairly active Twitter account www.twitter.com/bikinihockey that features the description “We provide a positive alternative to the hockey community and a venue for adult female hockey athletes to continue in their sport.MILWAUKEE -- Giannis Antetokounmpo is the rookie who gets most of the attention for Milwaukee. It was another first-year player who made the biggest shot Tuesday night to give the Bucks a rare victory. Nate Wolters hit a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left to give Milwaukee the lead for good in a 104-100 win over the Orlando Magic. With an NBA-worst 10-43 record, Bucks coach Larry Drew is giving plenty of minutes to young players. Antetokounmpo and Wolters made key contributions both offensively and defensively in the final minutes against Orlando. "They hit a dagger, that shot Nate hit," Magic guard ETwaun Moore said. Wolters missed 26 of his first 29 attempts from 3-point range this season but is 5 for 11 in the teams last four games. "Im feeling a lot better from 3. Im going to shoot with confidence, and hopefully I can keep it up," he said. "Ive been playing so many minutes. Coach is giving me the opportunity, so I have to knock some shots down." His 27-foot jumper with 6 seconds left on the shot clock helped Milwaukee snap a four-game losing streak. "I didnt have much time so I just decided to pull up and shoot it," Wolters said. "Sometimes those are the easiest ones, when you know you have to shoot it. Its nice to get a win." After Wolters gave the Bucks the lead, Antetokounmpo stole the ball from Arron Afflalo and was fouled, making one free throw for a 100-97 advantage. "I was focused tonight," Antetokounmpo said. "For a rookie that means a lot to be focused down the stretch, especially being a little bit panicked." Brandon Knight overcame a bizarre foot injury for the Bucks, scoring 18 points and making two free throws with 5.5 seconds left to seal the victory. He played 34 minutes despite slicing his foot open on a baseboard while stepping out of his bathroom shower Tuesday afternoon. Knight, unavailable for comment after the game, missed 10 of 13 shots from the field but hit all 12 of his free throws. Before the game, he said he was unsure whether he could pplay. Dominique Wilkins Jersey. . He started anyway. The Bucks made 22 of 30 free throws, while the Magic went 9 of 16. "The free throws were the big thing," Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn said. "Their ability to get in the bonus and get downhill and get into the lane was a big part of them winning." Orlando fell to 3-24 on the road. Despite snapping their four-game skid, the Bucks have lost 19 of 22 overall. Afflalo scored 21 points and Nikola Vucevic added 19 for Orlando. After Antetokounmpo made the free throw that gave Milwaukee a 100-97 lead, Afflalo missed a 3-pointer. Ersan Ilyasova hit a pair of free throws for a 102-97 advantage. Jameer Nelson made a 3 with 6 seconds to go to make it 102-100. Knight was fouled and made both free throws to clinch it. Caron Butler, returning after missing four games with a sprained ankle, led the Bucks with 21 points on seven 3-pointers but didnt score in the fourth quarter. Afflalo shot 9 of 15 to snap a mini-slump. The Magic guard had made only 15 of 44 shots in his past four games. Vucevic took a pass from Nelson and made a 14-foot jumper to give Orlando (16-39) a 97-96 advantage with 50 seconds left, its first lead since 4 minutes remained in the third quarter. Antetokounmpo capped Milwaukees 8-2 run to open the fourth. He blocked a layup attempt by Kyle OQuinn and hit John Henson for a dunk, giving the Bucks an 89-81 lead with 8:57 to go. Orlando scored the next seven points to pull to 89-88 on Maurice Harkless 3-pointer with 6:44 left. Butler made six 3s and the Bucks led 53-47 at halftime. It was only the 10th time in 53 games that Milwaukee has led at halftime. NOTES: Milwaukee F Khris Middleton left in the first quarter after twisting his ankle, but returned in the second. ... O.J. Mayo, who had missed nine consecutive games with what the Bucks termed "illness/conditioning," was expected to play limited minutes but remained on the bench the entire game. Drew said he had hoped to play Mayo, but was unable to due to game circumstances. NFL Jerseys China ' ' '