SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2015 SPORTS Oilers pick McDavid as NHL Draft EDMONTON: Connor McDavid, a standings last season as the top Canadian ice hockey prodigy given the increased odds of win- whose skills have been compared ning a weighted lottery, and rights to Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky’s, to the top pick, the more a team was selected by the Edmonton lost. Oilers with the first pick of the McDavid joins a struggling National Hockey League Draft on Edmonton team that has missed Friday. the playoffs in each of the last nine The 18-year-old center’s selec- seasons despite owning the first tion was not a surprise to anyone as pick in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 he has been considered the most NHL Drafts. coveted prospect for years given The Buffalo Sabres used the his hockey sense, skating wizardry, draft’s second pick to choose deft passing and vision for the American center Jack Eichel, also game’s finer offensive points. considered a can’t-miss prospect McDavid said the sky-high that experts say would’ve been the expectations that await him when top choice in most any other draft. the 2015-16 NHL season opens in The Boston University center is one October, along with comparisons of the most highly-touted to some of the game’s greatest American prospects ever following players, are nothing new. a season where the freshman won “It’s something that I’ve been the Hobey Baker Award, U.S. col- dealing with for a long time now lege hockey’s top individual prize, and there’s nothing I can do about after leading the nation with 71 them,” he said shortly after slipping points in 40 games. on his No. 97 blue and orange Picking third, the Arizona Oilers jersey. Coyotes selected McDavid’s Erie “The hardest person on me is teammate, center Dylan Strome, me and my expectations exceed who is one of the more creative any of those put on me so I am just playmakers in the draft and gives going to do the best that I can and the team size and skill. With the go out there and work as hard as I fourth pick, the Toronto Maple can.” Leafs took high-scoring Mitchell Considered the NHL’s most mar- Marner, a smallish, dynamic ketable prospect since Sidney winger who has drawn compar- Crosby was drafted by Pittsburgh in isons to three-time Stanley Cup- 2005, McDavid racked up a stagger- winning Chicago Blackhawks for- ing 120 points in 47 games while ward Patrick Kane. The Carolina playing junior hockey for the Hurricanes rounded out the top Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters five by picking Boston College last season. defenseman Noah Hanifin, con- The hype surrounding him was sidered a smart, puck-moving so intense that there was as much blueliner who already has NHL SUNRISE: Fifth overall pick Noah Hanifin of the Carolina Hurricanes focus on the bottom of the NHL size.—Reuters poses for a portrait during the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. —AFP Hurricanes blow into final ASSEN: Valentino Rossi reacts standing on his Yamaha after winning the Dutch WELLINGTON: The Wellington Hurricanes about 20 minutes north of Wellington, had quietly smiling to himself knowing his ‘broth- MotoGP Grand Prix. —AP have had to bottle up their emotions for the grieved at his funeral last week. ers’ were doing their best to honor his memo- past three weeks and use it to try to inspire But for the wider Wellington public there ry. themselves to a maiden Super Rugby title. had not been the chance to commemorate the The Hurricanes were brutal on defence, Those emotions were still bubbling life of the Wellington cult hero, who prowled stopping the Brumbies attack before it really Rossi wins beneath the surface for the players on the green swathe of grass at the ‘Cake Tin’ for got into gear, with loose forward Ardie Savea, Saturday, though many of the 33,460 at eight years seeking to inflict harm on anyone Victor Vito and Brad Shields particularly Wellington Regional Stadium watching their in an opposition jersey. vicious at the breakdown, while the tight five 29-9 semi-final victory over the ACT Brumbies A massive number six jersey was unfurled made numerous big tackles. Assen MotoGP were not prepared to exhibit them. at halfway before kick off by members of his They then starved the Brumbies of posses- A chant of “Jerry. Jerry. Jerry,” spontaneous- local rugby club Norths, while Bay Six of the sion and hammered them up the middle of ly burst out just before the end of the game as stadium had been turned blue and white by the park before they spread the ball to expose ASSEN: Valentino Rossi won a tight duel the season standings. Marquez is now Wellington rugby fans began to deal in their others from the club in honour of Collins. gaps out wide. with reigning world champion Marco fourth, behind Andrea Iannone, but with 89 own way with the death of former All Blacks The Hurricanes have had “JC” embroidered It was the kind of cerebral approach that Marquez to win yesterday’s Motul TT Assen points to Rossi’s 163, Marquez’s grip on the and Hurricanes loose forward Jerry Collins. on all of the playing jerseys and had spoken in Collins, who often publicly played up to his and stretch his lead atop the MotoGP world title appears tenuous even with 10 The 34-year-old was killed on June 5 in a the buildup to the semi-final about how much hard man image to deflect from his burning standings. races of the season to go. car crash in France, with the news being con- the spectre of Collins and their memories of intelligence, would have relished. It was the Italian nine-time world cham- Rossi started from pole and the race firmed less than an hour before the Hurricanes him would fuel their performance. High risk, high reward. And smashing tack- pion’s seventh MotoGP victory on the quickly developed into a two-rider tussle. played the Otago Highlanders in Napier. “It’s hard to quantify but it is definitely les. “It was a good mix of enterprise and Assen track in the northern Netherlands. Lorenzo swiftly made up five places from With the FIFA under-20 World Cup in New playing its part,” Hurricanes captain Conrad defence,” coach Chris Boyd said. “We didn’t Marquez tried to overtake the Italian his disappointing grid position, but then Zealand this month and a bye into the semi- Smith said after the win. “We don’t want to always get our options right but we managed nine-time champion on the final chicane of appeared satisfied to settle for third place. finals, the Hurricanes had not been at their focus on it. We acknowledge it but we let it to recover and get back into shape. “It was a the race and the pair appeared to touch, Marquez overtook Rossi with seven laps home ground since Collins’ death. burn inside and it comes out in its own special pleasing effort,” he added in the type of under- forcing Marquez to slow down and sending to go, but four laps later the veteran Italian The rugby community, his family and those way.” One way that was exhibited on Saturday statement Collins probably would have appre- Rossi through the gravel before he crossed got past Marquez and managed to hold on who knew him in his home town of Porirua, against the Brumbies, would have left Collins ciated most of all. —Reuters the line in 40 minutes, 54.037 seconds, to his lead. Earlier, championship leader 1.242 seconds ahead of Marquez. Johann Zarco of France won the Moto2 Rossi’s Yamaha teammate Jorge race on his Kalex, ahead of Spaniard Tito Lorenzo, who had won four straight Rabat. Sam Lowes of Britain was third. MotoGP races coming into Assen, settled In the Moto 3 class, Miguel Oliveira of for third place after starting from eighth on Portugal won on his KTM, edging Fabio the grid. Quartararo of France into second. Rankings It was Rossi’s third victory of the season leader Danny Kent of Britain was third on and took him 10 points clear of Lorenzo in his Honda. —AP Double delight for Abu Dhabi in Volvo finale GOTHENBURG: Abu Dhabi Ocean points behind in the standings. Racing, skippered by Briton Ian Walker, It was tough luck on Brunel, skippered completed a rare Volvo Ocean Race dou- by 52-year-old Bouwe Bekking, who ble yesterday despite finishing second began Saturday’s race needing to win it from last in the Gothenburg in-port race. and then hoping Abu Dhabi finished last It was a poor performance in light in the seven-strong fleet. winds, but the result was just enough to Bekking’s men did their part of the see the Emirati boat over the line in the bargain, sailing peerlessly in very light 10-part series, beating Dutch rivals Team wind conditions, and at one stage Brunel by a single point. Walker’s men trailed the entire pack. But They become the second team to a shock turnaround in fortunes was complete the offshore/in-port ‘double’ in averted when Abu Dhabi passed Danish the 41-year-old, triennial event, following challengers, Team Vestas Wind, midway ABN AMRO in 2005-06. through and held their advantage on a The success for Abu Dhabi followed tight course. The all-female crew of Team five days after they won the more impor- SCA (Sweden) completed the top three tant offshore trophy, contested over nine in-port series podium places by finishing months and 38,739 nautical miles.