Mark Hunter is leaving the junior-hockey empire he helped build with the London Knights to join an NHL empire with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Blank Jersey .Hunter was named the Maple Leafs director of player personnel on Tuesday. He will oversee the teams pro and amateur scouting and player-evaluation departments.For the past 14 years, the Petrolia, Ont., native co-owned the Knights of the Ontario Hockey League with brother Dale and served as vice-president and general manager. Mark Hunter briefly filled in as coach when his brother joined the Washington Capitals for the majority of the 2011-12 season.I felt it was a great opportunity for me to hopefully show my skills, Hunter said on a conference call from London. It was a difficult call to leave something like (London). But at the end of the day guys, its something that I wanted to do and it was a great opportunity for myself.The Knights won three OHL titles and a MasterCard Memorial Cup during the Hunter regime and turned out stars like Patrick Kane, John Tavares and Corey Perry. In the process, Mark earned a reputation as one of the sharper hockey minds at the junior level.Within the organization, Hunter said he would consider an NHL job if it came along. One person with the Knights said this was overdue to happen, and another called it one of the best decisions the Leafs could have made.Hunter, a veteran of 628 games as a player, coached the AHLs St. Johns Maple Leafs in 1996-97 and also spent some time behind the bench of the OHLs Sarnia Sting before buying the Knights. His true passion is in management.Evaluating the talent of players, the progression of them getting better, is so important to where they end up at the end of the day, Hunter said.Hunter, 51, said he met last week with Leafs president Brendan Shanahan (himself a Knights star before Dale and Mark took over) and general manager Dave Nonis to talk about hockey philosophy. Another meeting led to a job offer, which Hunter was glad to take in part because all four of his children are now out of the house.Its a good time in my life right now, its just the wife and myself — I can be gone more, I can do more things, I can travel more, Hunter said. I can be more involved with the Leafs.Hunter said hell spend the next 10 days helping new Knights GM Basil McRae get up to speed. McRae, a co-owner along with the Hunters, previously served as a pro scout for the Columbus Blue Jackets and the St. Louis Blues.After he helps McRae get going, Hunter said its going to be 100 per cent with the Leafs.The hiring of Hunter is Shanahans latest stamp on the Leafs organization. Since taking over in April, he fired assistant general managers Dave Poulin and Claude Loiselle, assistant coaches Dave Cronin, Scott Gordon and Dave Farrish and hired assistant GM Kyle Dubas, assistant to the GM Brandon Pridham and now Hunter.In the process, Toronto now has a hockey research and development department and a newfound focus on analytics. Hunter brings some experience there from the Knights.We always did analyze our own players, Hunter said. One of the things we always look at all the time is how many scoring chances per minute on the ice. Thats a big component for us. Yes, you want guys putting pucks in the net, you want some guys that have natural (ability), that dont need as many chances to score, but if youre not creating chances for somebody else or getting the chances yourself.As far as player evaluation, Hunter said he prefers skill over size.Its nice to have a skilled guy thats big and strong, but theyre harder to find, he said. If you can do both, I think you have something special. We had doubters on Pat Kane. If you guys wouldve seen him in minor midget, he was a little mouse, and now hes bloomed into one of the best players in the National Hockey League.You really have to evaluate where theyre going to go and how much theyre driven and how good their skills are. Thats the responsibility of the scouting staff of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and hopefully I can help that part out.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter. Antonio Rudiger Jersey . It led to his downfall on Tuesday. The Major League Soccer club fired Rennie after a second straight up-and-down season that saw the Whitecaps start strong before limping across the finish line. Victor Moses Jersey . American Lindsey Jacobellis was third, while Japans Yuka Fujimori finished just off the podium. Maltais, from Petite-Riviere-St-Francois, Que., earned bronze at the 2006 Olympic Games and is set to return to the Games this February in Sochi, Russia. http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Fikayo-Tomori-Jersey/ . Browns advice worked. Irving scored 20 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, and Cleveland defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 88-82 Saturday night. Irving made his first shot of the night on a layup a little over three minutes into the game.SEATTLE - When Richard Sherman gave Michael Crabtree a pat on the backside, got shoved in the face and made a choke sign toward the San Francisco bench, he was just getting warmed up. Get ready for two more weeks of the unfiltered Sherman with the Seattle Seahawks headed to the Super Bowl. "I hadnt gotten many opportunities all game and Im happy. Im happy about that," Sherman said. " Im sure if our team knew it was going to come down to a play like that they would be pretty confident going into it." Sherman stole the attention on Sunday, first by deflecting a pass intended for Crabtree in the corner of the end zone with less than a minute left, right into the arms of Seattle teammate Malcolm Smith to seal the Seahawks 23-17 win. But then came the antics and Shermans words that revealed a deep dislike for Crabtree and satisfaction in Seattle knocking off its division rivals to reach the Super Bowl. While Smith was celebrating the interception, Sherman exchanged words with Crabtree, got shoved in the face as a rebuttal then made a choking gesture toward the San Francisco bench that he said was intended for quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Asked about the incident afterward by Fox reporter Erin Andrews, Sherman lit up Twitter with a rant that began: "Im the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, thats the result you gonna get. Dont you ever talk about me!" Sherman didnt back down even after getting some time to collect his thoughts. He apologized to Andrews, then proceeded to call Crabtree "mediocre," making sure to annunciate each syllable of the word. "I was making sure everybody knew Crabtree was a mediocre receiver," Sherman said. "And when you try the best corner in the game with a mediocre receiver thats what happens." It was a fiery, emotional rant from Sherman, who celebrated his first conference title by racing around the field after Russell Wilson took the fiinal knee, then leaping into the first row of seats in the south end zone to celebrate with fans. Emerson Jersey. "I know how passionate he is about the game of football. He said to me before the game its going to come down to us making big plays. Weve got to do it. Somehow weve got to find a way to make big plays," said teammate Doug Baldwin. "(Sherman) has been doing it all season. He is arguably the best cornerback in the NFL. They were trying to stay away from him the whole game. Eventually they were going to have to go his way and eventually they did and they made a mistake." Sherman was rarely targeted by San Francisco, with most of the throws going toward Shermans teammate Byron Maxwell. But when Kaepernick had to make a throw in the final seconds, he decided to challenge the All-Pro. Sherman stayed with Crabtree, leaped and batted the ball into the air with his left hand. That allowed Smith to run underneath and make the interception that clinched the victory. It was San Franciscos third turnover in the fourth quarter. "I knew if I tipped it high enough someone would get there," Sherman said. Sherman then ran over to Crabtree and gave him a pat on the backside, then appeared to extend his arm for a handshake. Instead, Sherman got shoved in the face before picking up his personal foul as his celebration continued. "Sherman made a good play. Thats probably the only play he made all game," Crabtree said. "I aint getting into that, he knows what time it is. When were on the field, he aint doing nothin. Thats one play, you know what Im saying? ... Hes a TV guy, Im not a TV guy. I play ball." Sherman said his issues with Crabtree go back to something that happened during the off-season. He would not go into detail about what happened. "He said something personal face to face," Sherman said. "He knows what he said and he knows Im going to be tough on him the rest of his career." Cheap Hockey Blackhawks Jerseys Cheap Hockey Avalanche Jerseys Cheap Hockey Stars Jerseys Cheap Hockey Wild Jerseys Cheap Hockey Predators Jerseys Cheap Hockey Blues Jerseys Cheap Hockey Jets Jerseys Cheap Hockey Ducks Jerseys Cheap Hockey Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Hockey Flames Jerseys Cheap Hockey Oilers Jerseys Cheap Hockey Kings Jerseys Cheap Hockey Sharks Jerseys Cheap Hockey Canucks Jerseys Cheap Hockey Golden Knights Jerseys Hockey Team Canada Jerseys ' ' '