Der Fremde » Rookie G Dustin Tokarski was excellent

As an elite athlete and Olympic gold medallist, how did you make the transition to sports broadcaster?Well, the camera never scared me – I always enjoyed doing interviews and tried to have fun with them. Wholesale USWNT Jerseys . And when an opportunity presents itself, I like to dive at it head-first. When I was competing on Battle of the Blades, [I was asked] to come in for a screen test with Leafs TV. It was something I was interested in, so I immediately decided to jump at it. I fell in love with the job the second they put that mic in my hand, and Ive worked hard every day trying to get better. Its my new passion.How does your experience in sports shape your perspective on what athletes go through?Being an athlete is a privilege, its not something I took for granted. And its something that allows me to connect with and relate to other athletes as theyre competing at the top level. Having been able to play at such a high level, Ive seen a lot of fantastic athletes and the way they prepare. You can relate with steps theyre walking through: going over shifts in their mind, or even calming their nerves [in the clutch]. And the quality that all competitive athletes have in common is the fact that we all want to be perfect. Thats what we strive for, even though its never really attainable. So I understand that feeling, and I empathize with them. Youre well known as an Olympic hockey player, but do you play any other sports?I was most focused on hockey and soccer up until I went to college, and I ended up having to choose one, because you cant play both. But in high school I played flag football, softball, basketball, cross country, track and field, soccer, and of course hockey. I just enjoy competing, and I think it was also a cheap excuse to get out of class sometimes!One other sport Im passionate about: I recently fell in love with my road bike. Ive got the need for speed. Oh, and I also play tennis with friends for fun. By no means am I Serena Williams, though in my head sometimes I do think I hit as hard as she does!You were a panelist for womens hockey broadcasts on TSN during the Sochi Olympics. What was it like covering a team you played for?Those are my best friends – theyre my sisters. I spent years training with them. Weve laughed together, cried together, won together, and learned together. So to step in and cover it was an emotional experience, having just been released from the team. It was also a great learning experience for me. I wanted to give not only the Canadian women but the sport of womens hockey the best possible coverage, because I think they deserve it. I put a lot of pressure on myself to come up with unique points to break down the game differently, not only to show how skilled these athletes are, but to teach the viewer about our sport, because its a little different from the mens game. Due to the no body contact rules, its a speed and finesse game. It made me proud to be able to talk about my friends, not only from Canada, but the USA, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, and more. To share their stories with the rest of Canada, and to let viewers know how much attention they deserve.Youre also part of the Champions network with the Special Olympics, how did you get involved with it?It was actually through Jamie Salé. I got to know her through Battle of the Blades, and she was so helpful and patient – I dont know if Id have been able to half the things on that show if it werent for her. She reached out to me and asked if Id be interested in helping out. Im an honourary chair with Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer, and this was another chance to give back and stay involved with the athletic community, so it was an easy decision. Weve got a really good team in place, and there are many events to come.Who were your sports heroes growing up?As a kid, you always look up to your parents. My mom played baseball. She was a rover, and she had a hot glove. And my dad played hockey at the collegiate level and junior level in Sudbury. My dad coached a college team, the Cambrian College Golden Shields, and I lived at the rink, watching them play. So my dads hockey players were my first true hockey idols. They were a big, tough team, and it helped shape my game. I wasnt the biggest, but I played mean.When womens hockey emerged with the Womens World Championship in 1990, there was one player who I played a lot like, and that was Geraldine Heaney. She came to Sudbury one year to my dads hockey school, so I actually got to play with my idol at the age of 12. She snapped a picture with me wearing her silver medal from Nagano, and I knew immediately that the Olympics was something I was prepared to do anything for. Whats your favourite sports team?I went to college at Ohio State University, so Im a Buckeye. I bleed scarlet and grey through and through. Aaron Ward tries to make fun of me about it, but his Michigan Wolverines have a hard time standing up to the Buckeyes. Ohio State-Michigan football games are the best: I remember one game at the end of the year we beat them 52-49, and I rushed the field with everyone and ripped out part of the 50-yard line. We planted it in our front yard at the house I lived in.Youre currently hosting TSNs French Open Primetime broadcasts, who are some players youre looking forward to covering at the tournament?Well, I think Roger Federer owns the title of most talented, but Novak Djokovic is the most entertaining tennis player out there. I always like watching him because he brings lightheartedness to the game. He pushes the envelope of traditional tennis etiquette. And of course the young Canadian players: Eugenie Bouchard is so young and so talented, and Milos Raonic is just waiting for his breakthrough moment. This is the first tennis tournament Ive covered, and if he does well, obviously I must have had something to do with it, right? Maybe that will be my claim to fame.Tessa Bonhomme hosts French Open Primetime, airing every evening of the tournament on TSN. Visit TSN.ca for full schedule info. USWNT Jerseys 2020 . The 17-year-old had four goals and four assists in 38 games for Liberec in the Czech pro league this past season. Zacha had three goals and two assists in seven games at the world mens under-18 championship in April when the Czech Republic took the silver medal. Fake USWNT Jerseys .com) - Sporting Kansas City announced Thursday that club has signed former on-loan midfielder Jimmy Medranda to a permanent contract from Colombian side Deportivo Pereira. https://www.cheapuswnt.com/ . Basketball fans around the globe will be watching as Kobe Bryant makes his season debut - 240 days after tearing his left Achilles - against Toronto, a team he has used as his own personal punching bag.The New York Rangers bottled up the Montreal Canadiens and squeezed out a 1-0 win in Game Six to take the Eastern Conference Final, four games to two. After controlling play early, the Rangers didnt get on the board until 1:53 remaining in the second period, when Dominic Moore converted a nice feed from Brian Boyle. With their season on the line, the Canadiens managed just 18 shots against the Rangers, including five in the third period. In 99 games this season, regular season plus playoffs, it was the fifth time that Montreal had been held to 18 or fewer shots on goal and their 36 shot attempts was easily their lowest of the postseason (previous low was 47) and came in lower than that only twice during the regular season. The Rangers dominated possession in the deciding game, with 58 shot attempts to the Canadiens 36. Subban was even in terms of 5-on-5 shot attempts (16 for, 16 against), which meant that the Habs were left with 27.3% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts (12 for, 32 against) when Subban was off the ice. There were many occasions throughout the series when the Rangers used their speed to take advantage of the Canadiens and that worked in Game Six too. LW Chris Kreider was on for 84.2% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts when he was on the ice, the best rate of the eight Rangers to come in with possession numbers higher than 70% for the game. At the low end for the Rangers in Game Six, LW Carl Hagelin was on for just 21.1% (four for, 15 against) of the 5-on-5 shot attempts. Getting the worst of the possession stats for Montreal was D Andrei Markov, on for 17.9% of the shot attempts (five for, 23 against). With Markov off the ice, the Canadiens were getting 47.9% of the even-strength attempts. Heading towards unrestricted free agency, will that be the last game Markov plays for the Canadiens? Hes slowing down, but played a career-high 25:14 per game this season, so hes an integral part of the Canadiens blueline. Game Six hero Rene Bourque didnt register a shot on goal, team captain Brian Gionta didnt manage a single attempted shot and LW Max Pacioretty, who had three shots on goal, was the only Habs forward with more than two. As much as it was a nice playoff run for the Canadiens, it ended in disappointment. (Coughlins Law: Everything ends badly, otherwise it wouldnt end.) Bourque was a postseason surprise, with a team-leading eight goals and led Montreal with six points in the series against the Rangers. C Lars Eller led Montreeal forwards with 13 points and D P. Custom USWNT Jerseys. K. Subban, despite two points in six games against the Rangers, led the Habs with 14 points in 17 games, but the last 10 games of the playoffs were hard on Thomas Vanek, Montreals big trade deadline acquisition, who had two goals and two assists in that span, registering a total of 13 shots on goal. For a player who averaged a career-high 3.18 shots on goal per game during the regular season, that decline suggested that Vanek could have been playing hurt. Its hard to fathom such a collapse without some underlying reason, but if it was merely just a run of poor play from Vanek, it came at a most inopportune time. Rookie G Dustin Tokarski was excellent for Montreal in Game Six, turning aside 31 of 32 shots by the Rangers, leaving him with a .916 save percentage for the series; a nice unexpected contribution for the Habs. Will it be enough to change their plans for next season? Carey Price and Peter Budaj are under contract, which doesnt leave room for Tokarski, so maybe hes looking at another year in the AHL. Tokarski does have an inexpensive one-way deal in 2015-2016. For the Rangers, G Henrik Lundqvist rebounded from getting pulled in Game Five and while he wasnt tested much during his 18-save shutout, he did have a spectacular save off a Vanek scoring chance when the game was still scoreless. Lundqvist has a .928 save percentage in the postseason, the best among goaltenders with at least six games played. The other assist on Moores series-winning goal went to Ryan McDonagh, yet another shot through the Habs heart, as their former prospect had a monster series, with 10 points in six games. He had three points in 14 games through the first two rounds and goes into the Final tied with Martin St. Louis and Derek Stepan for the Rangers playoff scoring lead. The popular notion is that the Rangers are going to be easy pickings for either Chicago or Los Angeles, whichever team claims the Western Conference, but the Rangers shouldnt be dismissed so easily. They finished the regular season sixth in Fenwick Close (53.6%) and have one of the games premier puck stoppers behind them. That alone should give them a chance and for a team that last won the Stanley Cup 20 years ago, thats a pretty exciting proposition. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '