ERST LESEN! » chances he gets, he could leave a fantasy own

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.Swell Waterfles Nederland . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Swell Drinkfles . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. http://www.swellnederlandkopen.com/ .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Swell Waterfles . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. Swell Fles Nederland . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. "This record is incredible," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said.With just one crucial week left in the fantasy regular season, Week 12 snuck a few shots of chaos into the mix.Most notably, Rob Gronkowski, declared active after missing Week 11 with a punctured lung, left the game against the Jets with a back injury. There is no telling this early in the week how severe this may be or if Gronkowski will miss time, but -- thankfully -- the Pats play early in Week 13 so his fantasy owners wont have to guess on his status in a late game.MORE INJURIES- Jeremy Hill tweaked an ankle in Cincinnatis loss to the Ravens. And while Hill returned to the game after a brief absence, its an injury worth monitoring as the week goes by, as -- this season, in particular -- a player returning to a game with an injury doesnt preclude an MRI or X-ray discovering something more severe early the following week. According to Pro Football Focus Nathan Jahnke, Rex Burkhead played 38 snaps to Hills 37. Burkhead should be a top waiver wire target this week.- Lamar Miller hobbled off the field at the end of Houstons loss to the Chargers. While Akeem Hunt has pulled off some electric plays, Jonathan Grimes may also factor into the backfield mix if Miller cannot go.- Tyrell Williams suffered a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter and did not return. Look for Dontrelle Inmans role to grow in the passing game if Williams misses time.- Allen Hurns has put together a season to forget, and a hamstring injury Sunday may keep him out for significant time. Marqise Lee now has touchdowns in consecutive games and is owned in just 13 percent of CBSSports.com leagues.- DeVante Parker, John Brown, and Chris Ivory also missed time Sunday and should be monitored as the week goes by.THE KENNETH DIXON ERA MAY BE UPON USAfter two weeks with six carries in each game, Ravens running back Kenneth Dixon carried the ball 13 times for 49 yards, while catching four passes for 31 yards. His backfield mate, Terrance West, carried 13 times for 48 yards, with three catches for 16.This may cause some serious consternation for owners of both players in Week 13, who have to try to squeeze out logic where there may be none: Will Dixon contiinue to siphon carries from West, who arguably had just as effective a performance? Has Dixon played his way into a timeshare with West? Will Dixon revert to the six-carry backup he was in previous weeks? Is there some weird fourth scenario that we havent even considered yet?With fantasy playoff berths on the line, Dixon and West are seeing their roles redefined at the worst possible time for their owners.ddddddddddddTAYLOR GABRIEL IS DOING A LOT WITH A LITTLEDespite playing just 36 of a possible 70 snaps, Falcons wide receiver Taylor Gabriel managed to put up another stellar game in Week 12, with four catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns (along with a rush for 27 yards). Gabriel now has touchdowns in two consecutive games and hasnt dipped below 52 receiving yards in the last four weeks.While Gabriels numbers look nice, potential owners should proceed with caution -- Gabriel has just 18 targets over the last four games. So if he fails to connect on the few chances he gets, he could leave a fantasy owner with little to show for a big-play risk.MISCELLANEOUS- Marquess Wilson (eight receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown) seems to be Matt Barkleys favorite target. The Bears get the 49ers and a great matchup in Week 13.- Quick note on the Bears -- according to Pro Football Focus, receivers had 10 drops, the most since 2006.- Week 13 brings with it two crushing bye weeks for the Titans and Browns. Owners of Terrelle Pryor, Marcus Mariota, DeMarco Murray, Rishard Matthews, and Delanie Walker may see their fantasy playoff hopes dashed by nutty NFL scheduling. Owners of Mariota, in particular, will have to sift through sub-par waiver wire options to replace a quarterback who has 22 touchdowns since Week 5.- Sammy Watkins played just 25 out of a possible 55 snaps on Sunday, catching three passes for 80 yards. Expect him to see a significant jump in playing time in Week 13 against the Raiders.---This column was provided to The Associated Press by the Fantasy Sports Network, http://FNTSY.com ' ' '