TORONTO – Mason Raymond doesnt much like talking about himself. [url=http://www.cheapsalomon.us/]Salomon Shoes Sale Clearance[/url] . "First of all, Im not a guy that [is] going to sit here and blab about myself," Raymond said in conversation with the Leaf Report, asked if he had something t

TORONTO – Mason Raymond doesnt much like talking about himself. Salomon Shoes Sale Clearance . "First of all, Im not a guy that [is] going to sit here and blab about myself," Raymond said in conversation with the Leaf Report, asked if he had something to prove this season. "You go and you play hockey. Thats the way it goes. Theres not much more to say than that." Fortunately for the Maple Leafs, his play on the ice has done all the talking. Raymond has 11 goals and 25 points in 37 games this season and is on pace to either match or exceed career-highs in goals, assists, points and ice-time. The 28-year-old has been one of the few bright spots in Toronto this season. Drafted and developed by the Canucks – he was a second round pick in 2005 – Raymond spent his first six NHL seasons in Vancouver. But he went unsigned by the organization this past summer and found himself without a job right up until the eve of training camp, a victim no doubt of the cap crunch in 2013 – which saw the caps upper-limit fall to $64 million. He landed with the Leafs on an unlikely pro tryout and was signed subsequently for a very modest $1 million on a one-year deal. The deal has proven a bargain thus far and his adjustment to Toronto – at least on the ice – has appeared seamless. "Sometimes change is good," said Raymond, who played 374 regular season games with Vancouver. "For me here, [Im] getting different opportunities, playing with some good players and playing minutes. "Id only known one thing – Id only known Vancouver," he continued. "I went from one city to this city; different coach, different players, different systems, different everything, so theres things to adjust to and thats part of being a pro and adjusting to it and learning." Raymond chalks up his exit from the Canucks to business, though he concedes that "youre out to prove that possibly they made a mistake in not signing you". "I was a free agent and they chose not to pursue with me anymore and so be it," he said. "Thats hockey and thats just the way it went." His addition, a strike for speedy depth initially, has been of considerable importance for the Leafs, who have struggled to find their way this season. Be it because of injuries – mostly down the middle – or suspensions, the club has needed every bit of offence it has received from Raymond, who sits third in team scoring, trailing only Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. Among the more consistent and versatile options in the Toronto lineup, Raymond has not gone more than four games without a point and is tied for second in December scoring after leading the team in November. He is averaging what would be a career-high of more than 18 minutes. With the increased opportunity, Raymond is on pace to best the career year he had in 2009-10. That season, playing mostly alongside Ryan Kesler, he totaled 25 goals and 53 points, numbers hes in line to match or even exceed this season. Is he a better player now? "I like to think I have more experience and have learned from a lot of situations that Ive been through," said Raymond, his recovery from broken vertebrae in his back and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011 among the challenges and experiences. "All those things, any person will tell you in any aspect of life, having experience will help you in many situations." Raymond may not like "putting the spotlight" on himself, but the Leafs have to hope his play keeps doing it anyway. Discount Salomon Shoes Online . - Defensive end-linebacker Mike Neal apparently is returning to the Packers. Wholesale Salomon Shoes .com) - A top-10 showdown is on tap in at the McKale Center on Saturday, as the 10th-ranked Arizona Wildcats play host to the eighth-ranked Utah Utes in a key Pac-12 matchup. http://www.cheapsalomon.us/ . Still, its a start. Josh Baileys goal with 1:40 left capped a furious third-period rally, and the Islanders edged the Penguins 4-3 on Friday night.The fly-by. Five guys skating by the bench for high fives after a goal. Ubiquitous in NHL arenas. When did it begin? I wanted to find out, so I called Darcy Tucker. Wed heard that Vancouver Giants head coach Don Hay has said he thinks the three-time Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers – his former team – may have started the trend in the early 90s. Tucker remembers doing the fly-by, but not starting it. Ryan Huska, a former Blazer teammate and current Kelowna Rockets head coach, said the same. Drew Bannister played for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the 92 Memorial Cup final against Kamloops. He says the Hounds were already doing the fly-by themselves, as were other OHL teams. Square one. I turned to my colleagues. Ray Ferraro figured it was a thing by 2000, but not a thing he warmly embraced. "I hated it," he wrote in an email. I watched old tapes. The fly-by was definitely happening by 2000. I found examples as early as the 95/96 season, like this one: Saku Koivu in his rookie year. Young players were more likely to do it than old, which is consistent with the widely held belief that junior hockey players were doing the fly-by before NHLers. It trickled up. "It was totally a junior thing. I think it started close to my first year – 95," said Jeff ONeill, who shares Ferraros distaste for the fly-by. "I hate it." But he did give me my first solid lead. "I may be wrong, but I think the Peterborough Petes may have started it." I called Jeff Twohey. Twohey is the GM of the Oshawa Generals, but was with the Petes for 30 years. He started as a scout in 1980, and was general manager for 17 seasons. "I think we were the first team to ever do it," says Twohey. "My gut was that we started it. We had such a tight-knit group back in the early 80s." Definitely smoke. But fire? I asked around. "It was not done when I was in junior from 81-84," wrote Dave Reid in an email. "Late 80s is probably close." Andrew MacVicar played from 86-89 with the Petes. He remembers doing the fly-by, but only on big goals or in the playoffs. "It was supposed to be something really special," says MacVicar. MacVicars specific memory that teammate Billy Huard began doing the fly-by more often and earlier in games as a way to get under the skin of Petes opponents was a dead end, too. Huard has no recollection of doing it at all, let alone having a hand in its evolution. MacVicar thought Jamie Hicks (86-90) would remember. He doesnt. He also thought Mark Freer (85-88) might remember. Freer does, vaguely, but he named Kris King as the possible creator of the fly-by, and King has no memory of it. King then suggested that Twohey might have something to say on the matter. This is about the time I got dizzy. I called Corey Foster, who played in Peterborough from 86-89. He says the Petes were definitely doing the fly-by in his final year with the team, when they went to the Memorial Cup. I went back to the tape library. No Petes games. But we do have the final, and I found a fly-by. Scott Scissons, playing for the Saskatoon Blades. Its a beta version of the fly-by – instead of flying past the bench, the players sort of turn around and just stand there – but it counts. Thats the earliest video evidence we have. It seemed unlikely that the Scissons goal was the fly-bys big bang. I was getting nowhere, so we put the question to twitter. Curious theories poured in. One suggestion had it that the fly-by grew out of Brian Propps unique and unusual guffaw goal celebration. Propp says no. Others blamed Hollywood. I knew the Top Gun hypothesis was a joke, but I watched all of D2: Mighty Ducks and Slap Shot before I realized those were probably tongue-in-cheek suggestions, and references to the Flying V and Steve Hanson. Salomon Shoes Outlet Store. "Bring the kids. We got entertainment for the whole family." Plenty of people figure the fly-by started at the World Juniors, but we cant find any examples of it before 1991. In Red Deer in 1995, Team Canada was doing the fly-by in its current form: all five players skating by the bench. Before that, the video evidence is less compelling. There are solid signs of it at the 94 and 93 tournaments. In 92 and 91, we know that the goal-scorer on at least a few occasions did the fly-by, though in most cases we cant tell if his teammates joined in, and in some cases we know they did not. (As in this goal by Paul Kariya, for example). Did it start with the Montreal Canadiens? For a brief time, the Habs bench would empty for every goal: everyone celebrating on the ice together. When a rule was implemented to end that practice, the theory goes, the team began the fly-by. Mark Napier, a Canadien from 1978-84, said no. Did it start with the Edmonton Oilers in the mid-80s? Napier (84-86 with the Oilers) said no again. As did Paul Coffey, adamantly. "Why do (the fly-by)? Whats the point? Just celebrate with the guys on the ice, and go line up." That sounds suspiciously like Jester talking to Maverick: "Get your butts above the hard deck and return to base immediately." Maybe I should revisit the Top Gun theory. At this point, I got a tip that the fly-by started in Moose Jaw in the mid-to-late 80s. Lorne Molleken – an assistant coach in his first season with Moose Jaw in 89 – remembers it. He thinks. "What sticks out in my mind is moreso the players high-fiving the fans," said Molleken. The Moose Jaw Civic Centre – or the Crushed Can – had unusually low glass beside the benches, says Molleken, and at some point players got the fans involved in goal celebrations. "We came out of our end and there were piles of kids hanging over the glass," recalled Scott Reid, who played in Moose Jaw from 88-90. "No one else was doing it at the time that I can remember." "Wed do our whole bench and fans from the bench to the hash mark," said Jerome Bechard, a Warrior from 85-90. "We probably skated 20 or 25 feet." But not everyone shares that memory. "I dont remember that," said Theo Fleury, who played four seasons in Moose Jaw. "You just didnt do that," said Fleury, laughing. "If you wanted to start a brawl, you did it." Fleurys last season with the Warriors was 87/88, which means the earliest the fly-by was a thing in Moose Jaw is the following season, 88/89: the same time it was probably happening in Peterborough, and the same time it definitely sort-of happened by seasons end in the Memorial Cup final. Clear as mud. Which brings us to the oddest and most intriguing theory of all: the fly-by was born on a French Canadian television drama about a fictional Quebec City hockey team. Lance et Compte (which roughly translates as He shoots, he scores) aired from 1986 to 1989 in its first incarnation, and, sure enough, theres the fly-by in Season 1, Episode 5, albeit with just the one skater and not the full team. "I remember that the director at the time wanted that shot because it was easy to shoot," says Rejean Tremblay, who wrote on the show. "One camera, five guys skating in front of the beach, you could make it in less than ten minutes." Is it possible that the origin of the fly-by was the brainchild of a cost-conscious French Canadian director? It seems unlikely, but really, its about as likely as anything else. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '