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LONDON, Ont. – Tomas Kaberle was the 204th selection at the 1996 draft in St. Louis, the second to last player the Maple Leafs would draft on a day that saw the Senators pick Chris Phillips first overall. Kaberle, who could reportedly try out for the New Jersey Devils later this fall, stands as the only homegrown defenceman Toronto has sent to an All-Star game in more than 20 years, a fact that highlights the organizations difficulties drafting and developing talent of its own on the blue line. In fact, since 2000, the Leafs have drafted only six defencemen who went on to play 100 games in the NHL, a solid and yet unremarkable group featuring Carlo Colaiacovo, Jay Harrison, Ian White, Anton Stralman, Carl Gunnarsson and Luke Schenn – all of whom have since moved on from Toronto. Morgan Rielly will soon become the seventh in that group – he played 73 games as a rookie last season – the first in a pool of prospects thats become deepest and most intriguing for the Leafs on defence. "Weve got a stockpile there and theyre all different shapes and sizes," Jim Hughes, the teams director of player development said recently. Among them is Matt Finn, who finished last season as the second-highest scoring defenceman in the OHL, captaining Guelph to the leagues top record, an OHL championship and a berth in the Memorial Cup. He will make the jump to the American League this fall. "Its going to be tough," he said of the transition. "Youre playing against men now with families. Its serious. Its a job now. Its not just fun in junior anymore." "Youre not going to get all the opportunities," he continued. "Youre not going to be a superstar like you were in junior anymore. Youre going to have to earn your stripes and take it day by day. Its never going to be easy." A second round pick in 2012, Finn will now have to battle for ice-time with the Marlies, helmed by first year head coach Gord Dineen, overseeing the teams annual prospect tournament here in London. The 20-year-old Finn spent time on the ice and in the gym this past summer with some of that competition – not to mention a group from the Leafs – and understands that more will be expected. "You get a feel for what that pro level and that pro mentality is like," he said. "Being in the gym with them, seeing how they work, how hard the corner battles are, how hard it is just to get areas in front of the net to stand in position – theyre always trying to push you out and gain that ground. Being able to play with guys like that – the NHL guys, the AHL guys – who have been there and have played and have experience and not even verbally sharing it with you, but just on the ice learning it through the ways of hockey." Tom Nilsson is six months older than Finn and he too is expected to join the Marlies for the first time this fall, making the jump from his native Sweden. Hopes are quietly high for the 21-year-old, sturdy at 6-foot and nearly 200 pounds. "My goal is of course to play on the Maple Leafs, but if I start on the Marlies thats okay with me," Nilsson said. "I want to learn how to play the [North American] game and then Im going to develop from there." Nilsson has some Niklas Hjalmarsson to his game – Dineen offered a more physical version of Gunnarsson – mobile, sneaky physical, and willing to block to shots and offer a stable defensive presence. He started watching the Chicago Blackhawks defender more closely a couple years back, also studying the performance of fellow Swedes, Niklas Kronwall – "I like his hitting" – and Erik Karlsson, the slap-shot of the Senators defender a particular point of admiration. "Im trying to take small things off of players that I like," said Nilsson, who played with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League last season. Nilsson is anxious to make the adjustment to the smaller NHL rink; the organization believes his maturity and raw, hard-hitting game will aid in the transition. "Hes well-schooled," said Hughes. "Hell come over and it shouldnt be a very difficult transition for him." Nilsson might not be the only Swede making the jump to North America this fall for Toronto. He could be joined by Viktor Loov, the third-last pick of the 2012 draft and a fluid skater who played forward until the age of 15. Loov – long at 6-foot-2 and beefed up to the tune of 210 pounds – played with the teams top prospect, William Nylander, on MODO of the Swedish Hockey League last season. "He just oozes determination every shift," Dineen said of Loov (pronounced LOVE), who delivered a crushing open ice hit in the second game of the rookie tournament Sunday night. "Hes a guy that might [take] a little time in the future, but I think hes going to punch a hole for himself." The two Swedes will try to follow the path carved most recently by Petter Granberg, who made a solid adjustment to North America last fall and is expected to challenge for the seventh spot with the Leafs at training camp next week. That competition could also include Stuart Percy, a 2011 first round pick who impressed with a cerebral all-around game as a first-year Marlie last season, and Andrew MacWilliam, a hard-hitting defender who made some noise at training camp a year ago. Maybe the most NHL-ready of the Marlies group pushing toward the NHL is Korbinian Holzer, whose turbulent 22 games on the top pairing in 2013 has left him almost forgotten. The team raves about his character, leadership, and defensive ability – he was actually sturdy as a penalty killer in that brief spell with the Leafs. Far and away the biggest of the prospects on hand here in London, however, is Eric Knodel, picked in the fifth round of the 2009 draft. Knodel spent three seasons at the University of New Hampshire, employing the college route to add heft to his towering 6-foot-6 frame, while taking steps to improve his skating. He joined the Marlies at the end of his college campaign in the spring and will join the fight for ice in the fall. "I think thats the best part is everybodys going to be battling," said Knodel (pronounced KUH-nodle). "Great teams have great defence – great defence and goalies. Its always good to have good depth there." Whether any, all or even a few contribute is uncertain, but theres some upside and intrigue to a prospect pool thats been left mostly wanting. Haloti Ngata Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. San Antonio took the series lead Monday night with a 122-105 home victory in Game 1. The Spurs used a balanced scoring attack and clamped down defensively late in the third quarter to claim the win. Josh Sweat Eagles Jersey . According to Tony Barrett of The Times, the Liverpool captain is set to announce that he will leave the club at the end of the 2014-15 season. http://www.theeaglesfootballauthentic.co...t-black-jersey/. - Rookie Tesho Akindele scored three goals and Fabian Castillo added two in FC Dallas 5-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night. Josh Sweat Jersey .com) - Wayne Simmonds, Scott Laughton and Jakub Voracek each posted a goal and an assist as the Philadelphia Flyers thumped the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1, on Saturday. Haloti Ngata Eagles Jersey . Gomes drove in all three runs, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning, and Cleveland rallied for a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. HOUSTON -- The Los Angeles Clippers used a strong defensive effort and a spark from reserve Jamal Crawford at the just the right time to salvage a win on their three-game road trip. Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick scored 22 points, and the Clippers had an 18-0 run in the second half to rally for a 107-94 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Crawford had 16 points, Chris Paul added 14 points and 13 assists and DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and 18 rebounds for the Clippers. Griffin also had seven rebounds and Redick shot 8 for 15 from the field. Darren Collison added 10 points off the bench. Los Angeles trailed 71-60 with about 5 minutes to go in the third quarter before its big run that lasted into the opening minutes of the fourth. "I kept telling them to hang in there," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "We hung around and got it going and our defence won the game. Houston had, I think five points in the last six minutes (of the third quarter), and 37 points in the whole second half for a good offensive team. I thought Darren Collison was fantastic and Jamal made big shots." Los Angeles shot 14 for 23 on free throws, but just 9 for 24 on 3-pointers. Dwight Howard had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, but was just 5 for 11 on free throws. Chandler Parsons added 23 points and eight rebounds, while Patrick Beverley scored 19 points. James Harden, who was a game-time decision with a bruised left foot, had 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting. Houston finished 17 of 27 from the free throw line. Trailing by 11, the Clippers scored the final 13 points of the third quarter to take a two-point lead on a tip-in by Crawford at the buzzer. "We were on the line trying to get it to 13, and then it just snowballed from there," Houston coach Kevin McHale said about the end of the third quarter. "We missed some shots, and we started doubting it and we stopped taking some shots that we needed to take. Then, we got a lot of turnovers and we just got really passive. We just got nothing going from that point on." Los Angeles kept the run going to start the fourth, with Crawford capping it with a three-point play with 10:21 remaining in the game to increase the lead to 78-71. Crawford had seven points and Jared Dudley added five points in the spurt that lasted nearly seven minutes. "Chris got it started being a spark plug for us," Crrawford said about what changed in the third.dddddddddddd. "I think it was kind of slow to start the game, and we just followed the lead and coach kept challenging us to get defensive stops because that breaks a teams spirits. Our offence was coming from our defence." Paul pointed to the Clippers defensive intensity as a reason for the run. "We knew that this was a team that made some runs, but at the same time, they will let you back into the game," Paul said. "Once we started the third quarter, we came out and played with a lot more purpose, more passion. That tip in by Jamal at the end of the third quarter was huge for us." Houston pulled to 84-80 on Hardens three-point play with 7:21 remaining, but that would be as close as they would get. Los Angeles had a 9-3 run over the next three minutes to increase the advantage to 92-83 on Griffins free throw with 4:15 to go. Houston tried a Hack a Jordan tactic with 3 minutes remaining, and despite Jordan missing both free throws, Los Angeles countered by fouling Howard and taking Jordan out of the game. Howard made a free throw to get the Rockets to 97-90, but Redick hit two free throws and Collison made a 3-pointer with 1:39 remaining to stretch the lead to 102-90. Los Angeles outscored the Rockets 27-16 in the third quarter and 61-39 in the second half. "We just stopped playing the way we had played to get the lead, and when you are playing against a team like the Clippers, theyve been together a couple of years and play well together," Howard said. "We had to continue to do things that got us the lead, and we didnt do that tonight and they capitalized on it. They got a good road win." The Clippers opened up an 18-8 lead midway through the first quarter as Redick scored eight of Los Angeles first 10 points. Houston finished the quarter on an 11-0 run over the final 3:40 of the period. Howard had 10 points in the first, including the first four of the run. Houston kept it up in the second quarter, extending the lead to 10 at 39-29 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Beverley with 7:26 left in the period. The Rockets led 55-46 at halftime. NOTES: Los Angeles F Matt Barnes missed his third straight game with a right thigh contusion. ... Beverley had a career-high four steals. ... The Sandau Trio Russian Bar, who were on "Americas Got Talent" performed at halftime. 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