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MALMO, SWEDEN - Mathew Dumba has been rooming with 17-year-old Aaron Ekblad during the World Junior Hockey Championship and has noticed something about his younger teammate. "He has the body of like a 35, 40-year-old. The guy shaves his chest every week. I cant believe it. Hes a man-child. Hes like, I dont know, just a huge human being. I call him Shrek," said Dumba while a bemused Ekblad stood a few metres away shaking his head. Dumba isnt the first person to notice that Ekblad, along with Kootenay Ice forward Sam Reinhart - a top contender to be the No. 1 pick in the next NHL draft, seems to be growing at a ridiculously fast rate. "The Shrek thing actually started with Boone Jenner when we were playing against the Oshawa Generals back in the day," explained Ekblad, a 6-foot-4, 216-pound defenceman, who plays for the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League. "A couple of the guys, [including] Michael Dal Colle, picked it up and a guy on my team, Brendan Lemieux, picked it up and some other guys started calling me that and it kind of caught on a little bit. "Im not sure I like it too much, though." Wait a second. Is Ekblad not a fan of Shrek, a 2001 movie named for the main character, a large green ogre voiced by Mike Myers? "No, I like Shrek," Ekblad says not missing a beat. "Im just not sure I look like him." The quick-witted Ekblad, the second of now four players granted exceptional status in the OHL allowing them to be drafted at age 15, thinks just as fast on the ice. Despite being the second-youngest player on Team Canada, he has been among the top minute munchers while playing alongside Pittsburgh Penguins 2012 first-round pick (eighth overall) Derrick Pouliot. Ekblad has learned a lot from the Portland Winterhawks blueliner. "Wow, poise, hes got so much poise and patience with the puck," Ekblad said. "He can hold onto the puck and just wait for the other guy to move and pull it back, pull it back ... paying attention thats what Ive learned: just be more patient and poised with the puck and things will work out." Being paired with Pouliot allowed Ekblad a chance to ease into an event normally dominated by 19-year-olds. "Hes so good with the puck and so poised with it that it kind of lets me play more of a defensive game," he said. "I can kind of support him and let him do his thing and Ill be behind him if he makes a mistake or something like that." But Ekblad would not be able to maintain his prominent role on Team Canada without an ability to adapt quickly. Head coach Brent Sutter has already shown the leash will be short with players regardless of age as 16-year-old Connor McDavid found out on Saturday. He was stapled to the bench after a pair of penalties in a loss to the Czech Republic and started the next game, Monday against Slovakia, as the 13th forward. "With young kids mistakes at this level are going to happen," said Sutter, "but Ekblad learns from it. Hes a sponge for the game. Thats what happens with an intelligent player: they pick things up quickly. You dont have to tell him twice. He gets it pretty quick." "If he does something a little off hell correct it right away," Pouliot said. "Thats what you have to do at this tournament and it shows how mature he is that hes able to make those switches on the fly." The latest tweak Ekblad has made has to do with the defensive side of his game. "I didnt block a shot in the Czech game, which was one of the things Ive been focusing on a lot since then," the Belle River, Ont. native said. "In the U.S. game I had quite a few blocks and tried to focus on making sure no pucks are getting through to the net." At Wednesdays practice, Ekblad and his teammates drew the ire of Sutter for a sloppy start to a drill. And Ekblad received the message loud and clear. "You can never be too precise. The takeaway was: lets get pucks on the stick. Lets do things right and things will work out for us." Ekblad has remained even-keeled even as Canada stumbled at times during the round robin. "Its been a roller-coaster of emotions throughout this entire tournament so far," he admits. Its also been a learning experience. "Ive just learned that at every level its going to get faster and faster and you have to be ready for it. You cant make the same mistakes twice. You have to just take in everything that happens out there and realize youre going to get better and learn things every day." Ekblad is relishing this opportunity, because he didnt think he was going to get it. Back in September he considered himself a longshot to make the squad after not being among the 35 players invited by Hockey Canada to a summer evaluation camp in Lake Placid, NY. And now here he is kibitzing with Dumba, who has been playing in the NHL this year with the Minnesota Wild. "Hes a good guy," said Ekblad. "Theres not much to say about him. He likes to just be a weird guy once in a while." "What?" Dumba, who was standing beside Ekblad in the interview area, exclaimed in mock horror. "What is this guy talking about? I cant even do these interviews." Both players laugh along with the assembled reporters. "Yeah," Ekblad says with a sigh, "we have a good time together." Washington Wizards Jerseys . - The Pittsburgh Pirates plan on keeping promising left fielder Starling Marte playing alongside National League MVP Andrew McCutchen for years to come. Wes Unseld Jersey . Chan captured two silver medals at last months Sochi Winter Games — mens singles and the inaugural team event. But he doesnt have the urge to resume training to defend his world title when the event is held in Saitama, Japan, later this month. http://www.cheapwizardsjerseyssale.com/k...wizards-jersey/. Mark Van Guilder, Austin Watson and Colton Sissons also scored for the Admirals (22-13-10), who are 2-0-2 in their last four outings, while Roussel tacked on an assist for a two-point night. Greg Pateryn scored once for the Bulldogs (20-22-4), who lost their fifth straight contest, and also assisted on Gabriel Dumonts goal. Ramon Sessions Jersey .com) - Jahlil Okafor erupted for 25 points and 20 rebounds as No. Troy Brown Jr. Jersey . Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players Association adviser Kevin Johnson.PITTSBURGH -- Coach Dan Bylsma knows that the disappointing finish of the U.S. Olympic mens hockey team in Sochi will linger. But now he has shifted his focus back to the Pittsburgh Penguins and looks to get his first-place team to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. "I dont think you get rid of the disappointment," Bylsma said Tuesday. "But you have to put it behind you. The task at hand is coming back here and playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and I think thats the best way to put it behind you." The U.S. nearly knocked off Team Canada in Vancouver in 2010, falling just short of a gold medal and instead settled for silver. The Americans wanted to win an elusive Olympic hockey gold for the first time since the "Miracle on Ice," in 1980, and U.S. executives felt Bylsmas team had the right blend of skill, speed, and grit to get the job done. The U.S. offence got off to a strong start through the first four games of the tournament, outscoring the opposition 20-6. Included was the exhilarating, 3-2, eight-round shootout victory against the host Russians, one of the most memorable games of the tournament. "The Russian game was as unique of a game as Ive ever coached," Bylsma said. "The stage in terms of the tournament doesnt mean a whole lot because everyones going to play a fourth game, but trying to compare it to a Stanley Cup or a Game 7 was completely different. It had a different feel." The U.S. cruised past the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, setting up a semifinal showdown with Canada. "Its a game we all wanted," Bylsma said. "Maybe the biggest disappointment is that it wasnt the gold medal game." Regardless, the U.S. had to get through Canada to win gold, and for the second straight time in Olympic competition, the Canadians topped the U.S. Canada, which went on to win its second straight gold medal, blanked the Americans in a suffocating 1-0 effort that wasnt as close as the final score. Bylsma was criticized after the loss, some drawing comparisons to the BBoston Bruins four-game sweep of a punchless Penguins team, which had trouble scoring during the 2013 Eastern Conference finals.dddddddddddd "You can draw the comparisons, but I dont know if theyre valid or applicable," Bylsma said. "The one thing we would like to go back to in that game was playing faster and playing quicker, allowing us to be on the forecheck in a better manner." Penguins GM Ray Shero, also the associate general manager for Team USA, credited Team Canada. "That might be the greatest Olympic hockey team ever," Shero said. "You can look at how we wanted to play, but sometimes the opponent doesnt let you get to your game." The Canadians, who never trailed in the tournament, flexed their defensive muscle, allowing just three goals in six games to become the first team in 30 years to go unbeaten through an Olympic tournament. "Canada was very good," Shero said. "We came in with high expectations and theres nothing wrong with setting a high goal." Both wanted to see a different outcome after a humiliating 5-0 defeat the following day against Finland in the bronze medal game. "The bronze medal game was a tough one for us to rebound and get to," Bylsma said. "Thats the biggest disappointment of the tournament." But now the attention shifts back to Bylsmas Penguins where Olympians Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz are back with gold medals from Team Canada, while Jussi Jokinen and Olli Maatta earned bronze with Finland. Bylsma returned empty-handed along with U.S. Olympians Brooks Orpik and Paul Martin, who broke his hand in the quarterfinal round and is out four to six weeks. Russian star Evgeni Malkin is also without a medal, motivation that Bylsma hopes will further fuel a deep playoff run for the Metropolitan Division-leading Penguins. The Penguins return to action when they host Montreal on Thursday. "We have 24 games to get back and focus on this team being the best it can be, getting to the Stanley Cup and winning it," Bylsma said. 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