dn Fleury was chosen seventh overall by the

TORONTO - They came into the CFL combine as the top prospects and Pierre Lavertu and David Foucault didnt do anything Sunday to diminish that standing. The two offensive linemen capped the weekend with solid performances in the one-on-one drills at Varsity Stadium although Foucault, who was battling the flu, also showed he was human. The six-foot-eight, 300-pound tackle was knocked on his backside in a one-on-one matchup with Western defensive end Dylan Ainsworth, who gave up six inches and 75 pounds on the Montreal Carabins offensive lineman. "He did the bullrush and kicked my ass," Foucault said with a chuckle. "I was too high in my stance and he took advantage of my weakness. "It was a good experience here to see all the best guys in Canada as well as the CFL teams. It was a good weekend." Lavertu, a six-foot-three, 300-pound lineman from Laval, and Foucault finished the season ranked second and third, respectively, on the CFL scouting bureaus top-15 prospects for this years draft. McGill tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who ended up No. 1, didnt attend as hell hold his pro day in Montreal next week for both NFL and CFL officials. That left the offensive line contingent with three of the remaining four top-ranked players — Simon Frasers Matthias Goossen ended the year at No. 5. The other was fourth-ranked St. Francis receiver Devon Bailey. Ottawa Redblacks scout Miles Gorrell, who played 19 CFL seasons as an offensive lineman, gushed about the O-line talent at the combine. "Their footwork and hand placement are very good, its clear theyre well coached," Gorrell said. "You see guys like Pierre Lavertu, David Foucault and Matthias Goossen stepping up to the plate and being able to prove to the coaches and scouts theyre ready to take the next step. "But a kid like Jaskaran Dhillon of UBC really impressed me, this was his first year playing on the offensive line. I also thought Terry Hart from Mount Allison did a great job and I also liked Kyle Patterson of Regina and Aaron Wheaton from the U of T." Gorrell also had words of encouragement for Foucault. "Ill guarantee you every offensive lineman has had that day," he said. "You consider a defensive lineman has 12 sacks in 18 games and hes had a great year but that means the offensive line has stopped him 98 per cent of the time. "Its all about how many times did you stop your opponent and David Foucault got beat on one play and Id say he was out there for 30 plays so what would you grade that as? Yes, Dylan Ainsworth rolled him but its going to happen to the best of them ... you just hope it doesnt stay on film forever." Mike OShea, the former CFL standout linebacker whos now the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, was impressed with Lavertus play. "Polished, he looked very good," OShea said. "Theres a bunch who look ready to go in the CFL and contribute right away." Predictably, Lavertu was hard on his performance Sunday. "I think it was half and half," he said. "I won some, lost some, but overall Im satisfied. "We were up against the best (defensive linemen) in the country and I have to show the scouts Im one of the top-ranked players." Unfortunately for Lavertu and the other prospects, the CFL draft wont be held until May 13. But Lavertu has plenty to keep himself occupied with between now and then. "Ill go back to the gym to make sure I am ready," he said. "Ill work on my core, my leg strength and my technique." Manitobas Evan Gill, the scouting bureaus top-ranked defensive lineman at No. 6, displayed impressive brute strength Sunday. However, not having been in pads since the end of the season took its toll on the six-foot-three 300-pound Winnipeg native. "It was tough knocking the rust off," he said. "Youre getting a lot of reps at once and youre getting gassed out there, its tough moving at that fast pace. "But its not necessarily how you perform, its how you move, how your body works ... theyre the top coaches, theyre professionals and theyll mould you into what they want. Overall, I think the weekend was a success because I met with all nine teams and I wanted to tell them my story and I feel I accomplished that." Laval defensive back Adam Thibault was a standout individually. Thibault, ranked No. 13 on the CFLs top-15 list, had the top 40-yard dash time of 4.454 seconds and also finished first in the left and right agility drills as well as the shuttle. However Thibault, who had a personal-best 18 reps in the bench press Saturday — tops among the defensive backs — couldnt go in the one-on-one drills due to an apparent hamstring injury. Many prospects showed their versatility Sunday. Concordia defensive lineman Quinn Smith performed quite well lining up as an offensive lineman while both Ainsworth and Saint Marys Nigel Romick also worked with the linebackers. As well, Simon Fraser linebacker Casey Chin was impressive as a long-snapper. Given the limitations of a CFLs 42-man active roster, versatility is a much sought-after commodity by coaches and GMs. "The more you can do the better," Gorrell said. "If you can carry the water jug and get the coaches doughnuts, its all good." Here is a list of all the top performers in each event. Bench Press Rank Player Pos School Result 1 David Menard DL Montreal 33 T2 Pierre Lavertu OL Laval 32 T2 Terry Hart OL St. Francis Xavier 32 4 Kyle Paterson OL Regina 30 T5 Matthias Goosen OL Simon Fraser 29 T5 Evan Gill DL Manitoba 29 Complete results 40-Yard Dash Rank Player Pos School Result 1 Adam Thibault DB Laval 4.45 2 Antoine Pruneau DB Montreal 4.48 3 Derek Jones DB Simon Fraser 4.51 4 Anthony Coombs RB Manitoba 4.52 5 Tore Corrado WR Simon Fraser 4.56 Complete results Vertical Jump Rank Player Pos School Result 1 Evan Pszczonak WR Windsor 40.00 2 Jesse Briggs LB McGill 38.5 3 Adam Thibault DB Laval 37.5 4 Anthony Coombs RB Manitoba 37.0 5 Andrew Lue DB Queens 36.5 Complete results Broad Jump Rank Player Pos School Result 1 Andrew Lue DB Queens 105 2 Raye Hartman DB St. Francis Xavier 104 3 Dylan Ainsworth DE Western 102.5 4 Kris Bastien WR Concordia 101 5 Kris Bastien WR Concordia 1005 Complete results Shuttle Rank Player Pos School Result 1 Adam Thibault DB Laval 4.03 2 Antoine Pruneau DB Montreal 4.05 3 Anthony Coombs RB Manitoba 4.15 4 Devon Bailey WR St. Francis Xavier 4.19 5 Tore Corrado WR Simon Fraser 4.22 Complete results Three-Cone Drill Rank Player Pos School Result 1 Tore Corrado WR Simon Fraser 7.03 2 Andrew Lue DB Queens 7.07 3 Derek Jones DB Simon Fraser 7.21 T4 Guillaume Bourassa RB Laval 7.22 T4 Eric Black DB St. Marys 7.22 Complete results Keon Broxton Jersey . 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Christian Yelich Jersey . -- Michael Bennett gambled last off-season that playing on a one-year deal in Seattle would pay off in the future with the long-term contract he always wanted.PHILADELPHIA -- Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon kept everyone guessing right up to his announcement to open Fridays NHL draft. "We proudly select, with the first pick overall of the 2014 NHL draft from the Ontario Hockey League," Tallon told a feisty full house at Wells Fargo Arena. And then he paused for dramatic effect. "Aaron Ekblad," Tallon finally pronounced. "I did not know. I was freaking out there for a second when he stopped," said Ekblad, a normally unflappable 18-year-old defenceman from Belle River, Ont., seen as perhaps the most NHL-ready player in the draft pool. "It was breath-taking to say the least." Said a straight-faced Tallon: "I thought we were in show-business. This is entertainment isnt it?" "I made Ekblad sweat a little," he added. With Kingston Frontenacs forward Sam Bennett ranked No. 1 ahead of Ekblad among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, there was Ontario competition for the top pick. Bennett eventually went fourth to the Calgary Flames. Kootenay Ice centre Sam Reinhart went second to the Buffalo Sabres and Prince Albert Raiders forward Leon Draisaitl was selected third by the Edmonton Oilers. Draisaitl becomes the highest-drafted German-born player in NHL history. Previously that honour was held by Marcel Goc, taken 20th overall by San Jose in 2001. Tallon had two "really substantial" offers for his pick, but elected to stick with the big Barrie Colts blue-liner. "We decided at noon we were going to go this way," he said. Ekblad, who spent three seasons with the Colts, is seen as a potential franchise defenceman who is ahead of many of his fellow juniors in terms of size, strength and maturity. The teenager with Hollywood good looks feels he can help the Panthers in the fall. "Ive said that from the very beginning that I believe in myself and Im confident," he said. "I think if you dont believe in yourself and youre not confident, youre putting yourself behind the eight-ball right off the bat. I believe that if I work hard this summer, I can really step into the NHL next year. Obviously Im going to need a lot of help and its going to be a learning curve, but again Im confident in myself." The six-foot-three 216-pound Ekblad, granted exceptional player status by Hockey Canada to enter the OHL at just 15, had 23 goals, 30 assists and 91 penalty minutes in 58 games last season. Ekblad says he plays "strong responsible defence" while trying to contribute on offence. He is the 13th defenceman to go first overall in the draft and the first since 2006 when St. Louis took Erik Johnson. The Panthers (29-45-8) won the draft lottery ahead of Buffalo (21-51-10) to kick off the draft for the first time since 1994 when they selected defenceman Ed Jovanovski, now 38 and on his second stint in south Florida. Florida also won the draft lottery in 2002 and 2003, but traded away the pick both years. There was a run on blue-liners in the 90s with Roman Hamrlik (1992, Tampa Bay), Jovanovski (1994, Florida), Bryan Berard (1995, Ottawa) and Chris Phillips (1996, Ottawa) all going first overall. The Panthers will be hoping to repeat the success of Colorado last year with the first pick. Centre Nathan MacKinnon jumped directly to the NHL from the Halifax Mooseheads, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as top rookie along the way.dddddddddddd After Bennett, Oshawa Generals winger Michael Dal Colle went to the New York Islanders and Calgary Hitmen winger Jake Virtanen became a Vancouver Canuck. Red Deer defenceman Haydn Fleury was chosen seventh overall by the Carolina Hurricanes, ahead of Modo forward William Nylander (Toronto), Halifax winger Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg) and Peterborough winger Nick Ritchie (Anaheim in a pick obtained earlier from Ottawa). Ehlers becomes the second-highest drafted Danish-born player in NHL history after Mikkel Boedker, picked eighth overall by Phoenix in 2008. The Canucks selected Sault Ste. Marie centre Jared McCann with the 24th overall pick and the Montreal Canadiens took Russian winger Nikita Scherbak of the Saskatoon Blades with the 26th selection. Ottawa did not have a first-round pick, having traded it to Anaheim in the Bobby Ryan deal. After Fridays first round, there will be six more rounds Saturday. Apart from Tallons cheeky delay at the mic, there were few other surprises. The top names all went high. Ekblad was ranked second among draft prospects by the International Scouting Services, which had Reinhart No. 1. Reinhart, an 18-year-old from North Vancouver, is seen as an elite playmaker with good skating and puck skills. The six-foot-one 185-pounder, named WHL player of the year in 2013-14, has true hockey bloodlines. Brother Max was selected by the Calgary Flames in the third round (63rd overall) in the 2010 draft, while brother Griffin was chosen fourth overall by the Islanders in 2012. Father Paul, a 12th-round draft pick of the Atlanta Flames in 1979, played 11 NHL seasons with the Flames and Canucks. The crowd at Wells Fargo Center started a "Lets Go Flyers" chant before the opening roll call of teams. Every other team was greeted with the word "Sucks" as their name was announced -- with the exception of Pittsburgh and Boston, who drew deafening boos. Comcast president Dave Scott, head of the company that owns the Flyers, congratulated the Los Angeles Kings on winning the Stanley Cup -- and defeating the rival Rangers in the final. The feisty crowd loved the kicker. Commissioner Gary Bettman was booed long and loud when he took the stage. "I love your passion," said the unflappable commissioner. The crowd kept booing and Bettman kept up the one-liners as the evening wore on. The Canucks stole much of the pre-draft thunder earlier Friday, sending centre Ryan Kesler to Anaheim and defenceman Jason Garrison to Tampa Bay while acquiring forward Derek Dorsett from the Rangers. For Ekblad, it was "by far the longest day of my entire life." But it ended well. He is the sixth OHL player drafted No. 1 overall in the last eight years, following in the footsteps of Patrick Kane, Steve Stamkos, John Tavares, Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov. NOTES: The 30 players selected in the first round were born in 10 different countries: Canada (14), United States (five), Czech Republic (two), Finland (two), Russia (two), Denmark (one), England (one), Germany (one), Sweden (one) and Switzerland (one) ... 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