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. Nelson Cruz Jersey . "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." Custom Seattle Mariners Jerseys .C. -- Unable to get much lift off his sore right ankle, Bobcats centre Al Jefferson figured it was time to make an adjustment. Carlos Ruiz Jersey .Ryan Anderson had 14 points for the Pelicans, who trailed 78-63 after three periods before trimming the deficit to 86-83. Jrue Holiday had 13 points and Eric Gordon added 12 for New Orleans.Mike Scott and Jeff Teague each had 11 points for Atlanta. http://www.baseballmarinersofficial.com/ . In a pregame tribute commemorating his final contest at Coors Field on Wednesday night, Helton caught the ceremonial first pitch from his daughter with his wife, younger daughter and good friend Peyton Manning watching from the field. FRANKFURT, Germany -- Hamburger SV rallied to beat Hannover 3-1 on Sunday and plunge its northern Bundesliga rival deeper into crisis. In the late match, Shinji Okazaki scored two goals to pace Mainz to a 3-2 victory at Werder Bremen. Goals from Milan Badelj, Maximilian Beister and Hakan Calhanoglu ended Hamburgs two-match losing run and kept Hannover winless in seven games. Szabolcs Huszti had put the visitors ahead in the 28th but Hamburg fought back and quickly established control after Badeljs equalizer three minutes later. Hannover finished with 10 men following Salif Sanes second yellow card in stoppage time. The win helped Hamburg climb up to 11th, leading Werder on goal difference. Hamburg is one point and two places above Hannover, which is three points from the relegation zone. "We all have to understand finally that we are in a dangerous situation," Hannover goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler said. "We dont have to play beautifully but we have to get some points." Hannover got off to a promising start when Huszti punished mistakes by Hamburgs goalkeeper Rene Adler and Tomas Rincon. Adler kicked the ball to Rincon, who was surrounded by three Hannover players and ccould not control it. Robinson Cano Jersey. . Huszti took advantage to steal the ball and slot past Adler. Badelj replied quickly. Zieler punched a free kick from Calhanoglu outside the box, but Badelj fired a perfectly timed volley over the goalkeeper into the net. Beister put the home side ahead for good less than a minute into the second half with a diving header from Heiko Westermanns long cross. "We fought back well and deserved to win," Beister said. Beister turned provider for Calhanoglus goal in the 84th. Mainz profited from two bizarre mistakes by Werder goalkeeper Sebastian Mielitz early in the match. Mielitz came out far away from his goal in the seventh minute but did not go for Sebastian Polters long ball which Nicolai Mueller looped over the keeper into the net. Ten minutes later, Mielitz misjudged a high ball from Zdenek Pospech, let it bounce off the crossbar and Okazaki pounced to score from close range. Okazakis clinical finishing from a counterattack made it 3-0 in the 70th, before Eljero Elia and Franco Di Santo scored in the last five minutes to make the finish interesting. Bremen fell to its second straight loss, while Mainz won its second straight. NFL Jerseys From China Jerseys NFL China Cheap Jerseys 2019 Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2019 Jerseys NFL Cheap Cheap Jerseys ' ' '