on the ice, playing harder roles probably first, giving them to

We dont look at birth certificates around here That was Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice responding to a question about the big per-game minutes Mark Scheifele (21) and Jacob Trouba (20) will play this season. Despite both being in only their second full NHL seasons, they will be relied upon to be contributors, or players that can help us win, as Coach Maurice puts it. And that is totally fine with both players. Scheifele, along with many other NHL players, spent the summer working out under the guidance of former long-time NHLer Gary Roberts. I dont think I took a day off in the summer. I made huge gains. I ate the right food, drank the right water and did everything I could to put the best things into my body and make myself the strongest and fastest I can be. Upon their return to the NHL the Jets made Scheifele their first pick in the 2011 Draft. Following an excellent pre-season he played seven regular season games, scored his first NHL goal in Toronto, and was then sent back to the Barrie Colts of the OHL. After his junior season was done, he joined the IceCaps for their playoffs. What would have been his second training camp was wiped out by the lockout. Because he was a first round pick he was able to leave his junior team and join the Jets for a very short camp. He played four regular season games before going back to the OHL where he became a dominant player, putting up big time numbers in both the regular season and playoffs. But many viewed his return to junior as the Jets made a bad selection. He will not be the player they thought he would be. That is all history now following a 13-21-34 output in 63 games last season. And he was playing the best hockey of the season when he went down with a knee injury and was done for the year. He recorded 29 points, including 12 goals in his final 39 games. In his first 16 games under Coach Maurice he went 6-5-11. But it may very well have been a late November six-game road trip where it became clear that he was an NHL player. He scored the first goal of the trip in New Jersey and the final goal of the trip – an overtime winner in Tampa. And coincidence or not, the Jets were on an 11-3-1 run when he got hurt and as other injuries piled up, won only seven of the remaining 19. What turned out to be a huge positive for Scheifele was Maurice being named to the coaching staff of Team Canada for the World Championship in Belarus. It was a big help to my mental state to play in the Worlds after my knee injury. I didnt have to worry about the knee coming into camp. Plus I learned a lot. By the end of the tournament Scheifele became one of the teams best face-off men. Over the summer Maurice toyed with what his lines may look like to start the season. The combination that drew a lot of discussion, and anticipation, was Scheifele between Blake Wheeler and Evander Kane. Three players will skill, size and speed. Unfortunately early in Game 1 Kane suffered a lower body injury, so that experiment has been put on hold. Jacob Trouba was the Jets top pick in the 2012 Draft, number nine overall. He joined the team the following spring but did not play. After a very good training camp, he made the team for the 2013-14 season. His rookie year was probably WAY more than anyone expected. He played 25:02 in his NHL debut, a road game in Edmonton. He was a plus-2 and scored his first NHL goal. To Trouba, the big minutes were no big deal. He always played big minutes, so why not at this level? All went well until an injury in the eighth game of the year put him out for 17 games. When all was said and done he set a franchise record for goals scored by a rookie defenceman with 10 (including a short-handed goal and an overtime goal), led all rookies in per-game average ice time at 22:26 including a career high of 27:43 in a home game in March against Vancouver, and 21 times led the Jets in per-game ice time as he played in all situations. Like Scheifele his hockey season too ended with a trip to the World Championship, as he was part of Team USA. An injury brought him home early, but did not keep him from a hard summer of preparation. Going into his second season Trouba knows his role will be expanded. Coach has made that very clear, and that is fine with him. Trouba feels hes gotten off to a slow start. There are areas I need to be better at and I will work on that. Need to move the puck a little quicker for one. Both players know it will not be easier in year two. They perhaps flew under the radar for a bit of last season, but that will not be the case this season. Although opposition teams did try and expose the two youngsters last season, without a whole lot of success. When asked about the two, this from Coach Maurice. The sophomore jinx is not on the player, its on the expectations of what happens to a man for four months, five months, in the summer. They are five months older, not five-year vets. So my expectations are that Im hoping for both those guys to be a bit better than they were last year and that would be a good curve. We wont do it statistically, whether Scheif scores 12, it wont be looked at as a down year, its about development, getting on the ice, playing harder roles probably first, giving them tougher assignments. But I didnt look at those two guys names on the board and expect them to go from five months older to being a lot better than the rest of the guys in the league. That being said, in our structure and on our team, weve got them in really important positions. Positions that sometimes take players years to get to. So they are going to have some times where they look like theyve really come on and well be excited about that, and there is going to be times both struggle a bit with their role. Weve asked them to do a big job. Yes, the NHL has become a young league, and Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba are two great examples. But both are ready for the challenge that lies ahead. Cheap Dave Concepcion Jersey . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Cheap Pete Rose Jersey . Curtis Davies and Robert Koren secured the victory with goals inside 35 minutes of the fifth-round replay against the second-tier side. http://www.cheapredsjerseys.com/?tag=che...ny-bench-jersey. Casey Janssen was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday due to a strain in his left abdominal area and lower back. Cheap Reds Jerseys Authentic . Kevin Durant certainly played like there was on Sunday night, scoring 36 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as the Thunder made quick work of the visiting Pacers with a 118-94 win. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . Among the six changes: Drivers are now eligible if they have competed for 30 or more years in NASCAR or turned 55 in the calendar year before nominating day. Previously, drivers were not eligible until they had been retired for three years, so drivers can continue to compete and still reach the hall. SUNRISE, Fla. -- Roberto Luongo got the best of his former goalie teammate yet again. Scottie Upshall scored the go-ahead goal, Luongo stopped 28 shots, and the Florida Panthers beat the New Jersey Devils 5-3 on Friday night. Vincent Trocheck, Brad Boyes, Quinton Howden and Brian Campbell also scored for Florida. Jonathan Huberdeau had two assists, and Boyes also had an assist. Patrik Elias had a goal and assist, and Bryce Salvador and Jaromir Jagr also scored for the Devils. Cory Schneider -- Luongos former teammate with the Vancouver Canucks -- made 17 saves. Luongo and Schneider faced each other for the first time with their new teams. Schneider was traded to the Devils last summer, and Luongo was sent to the Panthers in a trade on March 4. Luongo beat Schneider for the third time this season, twice with the Canucks, but didnt take any special pleasure in beating his ex-teammate. "No, I actually feel bad," Luongo said. "I gave it my all, and so is he. Happy to get the win, for sure, but its too bad for him." The Panthers snapped a three-game losing streak and handed the Devils their first loss in three games. Schneider has struggled lately, allowing 15 goals in his last three starts, including seven in a loss at Detroit on March 7. "Whatever Im doing right now is just not working, and Ive got to find a way to get out of this," Schneider said. Behind 3-2, the Panthers scored three times in the third period to win it. Florida tied it on Boyes goal. Boyes stole a pass from Mark Fayne in the slot, and his shot went between Schneiders pads at 4:24. Upshalls wrist shot from the right circle at 10:00 gave the Panthers a 4-3 lead. "Im really not happy with that last goal. It deflates the team. I never like goals to go under me or through me," Schneider said. Luongo is hoping that Schneider can turn around his season. "It happens to everybody. Its a long season. Hes been lights out the whole year," Luongo said. "You go through stretches where things dont go as well. Hes a great goalie and hes strong mentally. Hell get out of it." The Panthers have accepted their rolee as spoiler, with a lot of young players filling in for injured veterans.dddddddddddd "It was a battle of a desperate team and us, who are trying to play spoiler with a lot of young guys," Upshall said. "I?thought both teams played good, but it was nice to come out on top." Trochecks empty-netter, his first NHL goal in his fifth game, with 32.5 seconds left made it 5-3. "Its definitely a weight off my shoulders. Five games felt like an eternity to get that first one," Trocheck said. "It feels good, and hopefully theyll keep coming now." The Panthers had gotten within 3-2 on Howdens goal in the second period. Scott Gomezs shot was blocked, but he grabbed the rebound and passed the puck to Howden in the low slot for a shot past Schneider at 14:30. They were the only two shots of the period for the Panthers. The Devils went ahead 2-1 at 2:02 of the second on Salvadors goal. It was the first goal for Salvador since March 10, 2010 against the New York Rangers -- a span of 173 games. New Jersey stretched its lead to 3-1 at 13:13 of the second. Elias shot from the right circle beat Luongo on the short side. "We had opportunities to build on the lead that we had, and we didnt take advantage of it," Devils coach Pete DeBoer said. "We let them hang around, and thats what happens." The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on Campbells goal at 9:59 of the first. The Devils tied at 1-all on a power-play goal by Jagr. Travis Zajac fired a slap shot from above the left circle. Luongo tried to glove it but it bounced out. Damien Brunner got the rebound and swept the puck toward the net. Jagr tipped it past Luongo with 1:15 left for his 22nd goal. The Panthers outshot the Devils 13-6 in the first period, but were outshot 14-2 in the second, tying their season low for shots in a period. The Panthers had two shots in the first against Detroit on Feb. 6. NOTES: Jagr has three goals and six points in the past five games. ... Panthers L Tomas Fleischmann played in his 500th NHL game. ... Panthers LW Sean Bergenheim missed the game with a lower-body injury. ... This was the fifth game in eight days for the Panthers. ' ' '