DETROIT - The San Jose Sharks bus was late, so Tomas Hertl had to wait. That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Hertl has seven goals and three assists in his first eight games and is an early front-runner for the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year. That production even caught coach Todd McLellan a little off-guard. "Id be lying if I said I wasnt (surprised)," he said after San Joses morning skate Monday in Detroit. "We expected him to be able to come in and make an impact on our team, but not to the extent that he has to this point." Hertls four-goal game Oct. 8 against the New York Rangers put him in the spotlight, spurring plenty of talk about showmanship because he shot between his legs and scored. Washington Capitals coach Adam Oates caused a stir by saying its important for young players like Hertl not to "disrespect the league," while an off-colour locker-room comment by captain Joe Thornton spun the attention in a different direction for a little while. The 2012 first-round pick has cooled off slightly since that breakout performance, but its not like the Sharks expect multi-goal games out of him that often. Given the ups and downs rookies tend to face, he might not finish the season with 20. Thats OK, because as general manager Doug Wilson puts it, "Tomas is not a one dimensional player." "Its not just the offensive numbers," Wilson said in a phone interview. "This kid is very poised in his own zone, he makes really smart plays protecting the puck, and to us hes a three-zone player that just fits in with how we want to play and where were going with our team." Where the Sharks are going is back on the rise, thanks in large part to the next generation of offensive players, including Hertl, potential Canadian Olympian Logan Couture and likely U.S. Olympian Joe Pavelski. And Wilson sees parallels between Hertls growth and what Couture and Pavelski went through as they blossomed into established NHL players. "We just think hes got a great combination of skill-sets: Obviously the size and the hands, but his vision and just how he can play all three zones," Wilson said. "Weve gone through this before and even though its a very different physical dynamic than Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski, but he has the vision and the ability to do things, I think, that high-end players have." Having just moved to North America after two full seasons in the Czech Extraliga in his native Czech Republic, Hertls English is limited. On the night he scored four goals, he kept saying how much of a dream it felt like. Monday he credited linemates Thornton and Brent Burns for his play and fellow Czech Martin Havlat for tutelage off the ice. "Our team is very good," he said. Wilson does believe playing alongside Thornton and Burns has helped Hertl, but the rookie gets points for thinking the game at a high enough level to click with such skilled veterans. The Sharks saw that in him dating to his time at the world junior championships. Of course the NHL is a long way from the junior level, and McLellan expects Hertl to hit a rough patch. "As a 19-year-old and all the emotions of starting the year and scoring seven goals early, its going to catch up to him at some point," he said. "Then well have to work him through those down times as well." The Sharks are prepared for that. Wilson said the organization doesnt go out of its way to promote young players — "we never have and we never will." So if the hype that surrounded Hertl after his four-goal game fades away or picks up, theres a strategy for getting the most out of him. "The most important thing is that theyre a trusted teammate and a trusted player by the coach, who can put them out on the ice in many different situations," Wilson said. "The other stuff, obviously the attention is he scored four goals or hes done this. The respect and equity he earns within our dressing room is how he plays the game shift-to-shift, day-to-day and hes earned that." As for Hertl being a reliable three-zone player, Thornton figures hell find out eventually. "With him and Burnsie, they just forecheck so hard, so I really havent seen him play too much defence all year," Thornton said with a smile. "I think weve only been playing in the offensive zone, to be honest with you." Thats not a bad place to be for a player with Hertls abilities. Bobby Wagner Youth Jersey. The last two games, however, the Padres have been resolute. Chris Denorfia hit a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning and San Diegos bullpen was stingy with runners on base, leading the Padres to a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. Anthony McCoy Jersey. It has only been a year since the Saints were 0-3, shrouded in scandal and going nowhere. It might as well have been a lifetime ago. Brees passed for three touchdowns to go with his scoring run and the Saints beat the Arizona Cardinals 31-7 on Sunday to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2009, when they won the Super Bowl. http://www.theseahawksofficialonline.com/Seahawks-Kevin-Pierre-Louis-Authentic-J... Eric Hosmer added an RBI single for the Royals, who were able to earn a split in the series and won for only the second time in their last eight games overall. Luke Hochevar (4-6) worked seven effective innings, allowing two runs on six hits to pick up his first win since defeating Minnesota on May 1. Jeremy Lane Seahawks Jersey. -- Kaitlyn Lawes was given a tremendous opportunity in 2010 when she joined an experienced and successful Winnipeg rink skipped by Jennifer Jones. Earl Thomas III Seahawks Jersey.ca takes a look at three possible flag bearers for Canada in the Closing Ceremony.RENTON, Wash. - Somewhere along the way, "pedestrian" became a favoured word for the Seattle Seahawks receivers. Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse and Golden Tate each used the word in some fashion after the Seahawks beat San Francisco to win the NFC championship Sunday. It was their way of responding to critics who have panned Seattles receiving corps as one of the weak points in the Seahawks roster. "It irritates the hell out of me when weve got guys who constantly want to talk about our receiving corps," Baldwin said after the 23-17 win over the 49ers. "Talking about were average. Were pedestrian. Were going to walk our ... to the Super Bowl. Pedestrians." Seattles receiving crew was supposed to have more experience and be considered a strength before the season began. Thats when the Seahawks were expected to have Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice as their starters, with Baldwin, Tate and Kearse filling secondary roles as extra receivers catching passes from Russell Wilson. But then Harvin missed 15 of 16 regular-season games following hip surgery in August and Rice was lost for the year after Week 8 with a knee injury. Its left an unheralded, underappreciated group as Seattles pass catching options. And while they despise being cast as a weak link, they also are more than happy to use those slights as motivation. Perhaps no player feeds off the negativity more than Baldwin. Before the NFC title game, the undrafted free agent out of Stanford talked about carrying a "boulder" around on his shoulder, not a chip. Then he made sure to note that pundits on Sunday morning were again pointing to Seattles receivers as the reason Wilson and the pass game had been struggling. "They were talking about Russell Wilson was struggling and the reason he was struggling was his receiving corps was appetizers," Baldwin said. "Ill take that. Ill be an appetizer. But thats a good ... appetizer if you ask me." Baldwin responded with one of the best games in his career on Sunday. He finished with six catches for 106 yards — the second-most in his three seasons — including a 51-yard reception in the first half that helped loosen the 49eers defence.dddddddddddd But he wasnt alone. Tate had four receptions and Kearse made one of the biggest catches in his young career. On fourth-and-7 early in the fourth quarter, Wilsons hard count got the 49ers to jump into the neutral zone. Knowing it was a free play, Seattles receivers broke off the original routes and headed vertical to the end zone. Kearse was able to get a step on Carlos Rogers and pulled in a 35-yard TD pass from Wilson with 13:44 left that gave Seattle a 20-17 lead that the Seahawks did not relinquish. "When you run a route you got to always expect that the ball could come to you. But when the ball is in the air its all instinct, its all play-making ability," Kearse said. "Russ threw a good ball at me, it just shows the trust he has in us and you know well just try to make the best of every opportunity." Then later, prodded by Baldwin, Kearse followed the line in the wide receivers room. "Im just a pedestrian trying to walk my way to the Super Bowl," he said. What makes Seattles group of receivers unique is the lack of credentials. Take Harvin out of the equation, and of Seattles top five receivers, four were undrafted: Baldwin, Kearse, Ricardo Lockette and Bryan Walters. Tate was the only draftee, taken in the second round in 2010. Its another example of general manager John Schneiders ability to unearth hidden talents, but the group also comes with a built-in motivation to prove wrong anyone who overlooked or undervalued their potential. They also play in an offence where numbers will never be extraordinary. Only four times in 18 regular and post-season games this season did Seattle attempt 30 or more passes. Three times they didnt even attempt 20 throws. That leaves limited opportunities when the offence calls for the tight end and running backs to be involved in the pass game as well. And all that is without Harvin, who is expected to have recovered from a concussion in time for the Super Bowl. "At the end of the day, we want to be a team that makes the big play when we need to," Wilson said. "Always make the consistent ones, but make the big play when we need to, and the guys have done that all year." cheap jerseys　 Cheap NFL Jerseys　 ' ' '