NEW YORK -- Sundays NHL draft promises to be a boon for some bad teams. There is plenty of quality, with a few players ready for prime time next season. Prying away one of those top picks will be costly. There is rich cream at the top of this crop. "Youve suffered so greatly to end up picking first or second, it better be a heck of deal to have to move that pick, to go back or even to move forward," said Florida GM Dale Tallon, who holds the second overall pick after finishing runner-up to Colorado in the draft lottery. How deep is the Panthers hole? The worst team in the league last season is offering season tickets for US$7 a game, complete with a free jersey and parking. Defenceman Seth Jones, winger Jonathan Drouin and centres Nathan MacKinnon and Aleksander Barkov are seen as the top prospects available Sunday at the Prudential Centre in Newark, N.J. In an unusual turn of events, the Avalanche have said publicly that they are leaning towards the 17-year-old MacKinnon. If thats the case, Florida has first crack at Jones, rated the top North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. But Tallon says Colorados transparency hasnt made their decision any easier. "Were still talking about it," Tallon said Saturday after attending a USA Hockey news conference. "Before I came here this morning, we were still having heavy discussions on it. "Were very fortunate, were going to get a good player. At whatever position and whoever it is, its going to be someone thats really going to fit in with whatever we have coming as far as our prospects are concerned." Nashville president and GM David Poile, whose team picks fourth after Tampa Bay, sees difference-makers on the board. "Were real excited to find out who we get (Sunday)," said Poile. "Because if all goes well, theres about six players that could be what I call franchise players. And theyre the guys that are going to take us to the promised land for the next several years." "This is a great draft," said Tallon. "Were happy that at (No.) 31 (the first pick in the second round), were going to get a really good player too." Carolina picks fifth. Calgary, at No. 6, holds the highest pick among Canadian teams. The Flames also pick 22nd (St. Louis) and 28th (Pittsburgh) in the first round. Edmonton selects seventh followed by Winnipeg at No. 13, Ottawa at No. 17, Toronto at No. 21, Vancouver at No. 24 and Montreal at No. 25. Some have compared this draft to that of 2003, a talent-laden year that produced the likes of Patrice Bergeron, Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter, Marc-Andre Fleury, Ryan Getzlaf, Nathan Horton, Ryan Kesler, Zach Parise, Corey Perry, Dion Phaneuf, Eric Staal, Ryan Suter and Shea Weber. Ottawa assistant GM Tim Murray sees it as a good year, but not 2003 good. "I dont buy into the 2003 talk and that type of thing. But certainly the first round we like. ... I think theres a drop-off. Whether thats the second round or the third round, I think theres a drop-off that in the best drafts we havent seen. What makes a draft great is the depth obviously. "But theres a lot of talent in this draft," he added. "Teams picking high are going to get if not franchise players, impact players." Ottawa director of scouting Pierre Dorion is also less bullish than some. "It is a good draft," he said. "I think a lot of people that dont really scout have built it up to something that its not. I think were going to get a good player in the first round." Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff says its a draft that has something for everyone. "I was talking to one director of amateur scouting yesterday and hes really bullish about deep into the first round and bullish about a lot of different type of players, too," said Cheveldayoff. "I know what our thoughts are, and obviously its interesting to hear his take on what he thought. We didnt talk specific players but you could just tell that universally the people that are making the decisions or at least are recommending the decisions feel very good about it." Jones, who stands close to six foot four and weighs 205 pounds, is seen as NHL-ready, despite only having spent one year in the WHL. "Seth is one of those guys that just comes along every once in a while, when you look at the big defencemen in the league like the Charas and the Prongers," said Dan Marr, director of NHL Central Scouting. "Hes made for todays game under todays rules." Jones, the 18-year-old son of former Toronto Raptor and current Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Popeye Jones, collected 56 points (14 goals and 42 assists) and a plus-46 rating in 61 games, helping Portland to the Memorial Cup final. "Any time theres been a challenge put in front of him, hes met it and hes succeeded," said Marr. The six-foot, 182-pound MacKinnon, like Jones, is a player who rises to the occasion. His ability to accelerate is also remarkable. "Hes got a quickness to pull away with his speed that I havent seen in a number of years," said Marr. The five-foot-10, 186-pound Drouin, another Moosehead, is compared to a young Joe Sakic. "His intuition in the game, his quick read and react, its excellent," said Marr. "Theres not too many players available that read the game and see the ice and can make the play. And he can deliver, offensively and defensively." Other prospects worth watching are defenceman Darnell Nurse, whom Marr compares to Shea Weber, and goalie Zachary Fucale, touted as being cool as ice under pressure. The Avs willingness to discuss their preference with the top pick has drawn a variety of responses. Poile calls it "rather refreshing." "Good on them that they know what they do," he said. Tallon said it makes sense given the character of Sakic, Colorados executive vice-president of hockey operations, and coach Patrick Roy. "Theyre classy guys; theyre very honest guys. Theyre new, they want to have fun. Theyre invigorating, enthusiastic guys and thats the way they are," said Tallon. Ottawa GM Bryan Murray sounded a little more skeptical. "I dont know whether theyre following through with what they said totally or its just easier for them to say this is what were doing and go about doing it." There is no shortage of family ties to this draft. Forward Max Domi, son of Tie, has drawn kudos for his offensive skills. But teams can also get nostalgic and pick up a Bertuzzi, Brodeur, Comrie, LaFontaine, Mantha, Quenneville, Rychel, Subban, or Tambellini. NOTES -- Some 211 players from 12 countries were taken during last years draft. Canada led the way with 99 followed by the U.S. (56 ), Sweden (22), Russia (11), Finland (9), Czech Republic (6), Denmark (2), Latvia (2), Belarus (1), Germany (1), Switzerland (1) and United Kingdom (1) ... Top prospect Seth Jones goes by his second name. He prefers Seth over his first name Jared. Cheap Air Max 97 China . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. Cheap Air Max 97 . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. http://www.wholesaleairmax97.com/ . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. Discount Air Max 9 . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. Air Max 97 Sale According to Kruger van Wyk there are many things to like about his former coach John Wright, but top of the list is his humour.I remember him waiting a while before telling me that the South Africans were going to give me shit during my debut Test [for New Zealand], says van Wyk. Thinking back on it, that was probably his way of telling me I was in the team, because he was always very dry. John was very much a mans man: he had that old-school toughness and was really comfortable in those sorts of environments. The best thing about him was his sense of humour, because hed listen to things for a long time and then come in with perfect timing. In that respect he was always very good to me.Van Wyk spent the three days prior to his Test debut, in Dunedin against the South Africans in March 2012, flat on his back with a bad case of gastroenteritis. I lost 5kgs and really wasnt in the best of shape, he says. By the time it came to the Test itself he was, however, back in the saddle - slightly lighter but ready to pounce should the South Africans forget he was there and lapse into some ill-advised vloeking (swearing) or off-the-cuff analysis in Afrikaans.Far from the South Africans giving him shit, the Test passed off reasonably amicably. Van Wyk had grown up with players like Jacques Rudolph and AB de Villiers and the verbals were restricted to a good-natured trickle. Chris Martin nipped [Jacques] Kallis and [AB] de Villiers out on the first day and we led on the first innings by 40-odd, van Wyk remembers. They batted well in the second innings [with hundreds to Kallis, Smith and Rudolph], and then at close on the fourth day we were about 140 for 2, with Brendon [McCullum] and Ross [Taylor] at the crease; we needed 300 runs to win with eight wickets standing on a flat track on the final day. Kane [Williamson] was due to come in at five. I think we could have been in for a very exciting final day of cricket, except that it rained on the fourth night and that was it.By his own admission, van Wyk wasnt ready for international cricket when he arrived in New Zealand. He was there because Dave Nosworthy, his former coach at Titans (in South Africa), had been recruited by Canterbury and the South Island outfit needed a wicketkeeper. Mark Boucher wasnt going to relinquish the gloves for South Africa anytime soon and the opportunity seemed like a godsend. This was a chance to reinvent himself, have an adventure and subsume himself in the New Zealand cricketing way.I think we play a boring brand here in South Africa - were one-dimensional, he says. The Kiwis ingenuity is something theyre really proud of. If they need to pick three spinners in a World T20 to beat India in India, theyre going to do that. Theyre really proud of their ingenuity. [Brendon] McCullum and [Mike] Hesson were always prepared to be brave, and thats absolutely great.While the stereotype of the canny Kiwi can be overplayed, theres no doubt that their mentalité, as the French would call it, is to put everything they have to the best posssible use - in terms of being prepared to lose as they gamble for a win.dddddddddddd Van Wyk says he loved this approach, the idea that they were exhausting every available opportunity to improve themselves, and found himself growing exponentially as a cricketer.He played nine Tests, being knocked off his perch by BJ Watling, but there is no sign of regret. Indeed, you rather feel that his sojourn turned out far better than he ever had reason to expect. Here, after all, was the boy from Wolmaransstad, a veritable Wagga Wagga of the veld. He was too small for rugby and didnt like disappearing into the wastes of the outfield, so became a wicketkeeper. His entire career was a story of scaling heights he didnt naturally reach. Van Wyk and his young family (one boy, one girl) returned to South Africa in December 2015, after nine years in New Zealand, and he became director of cricket at the Assupol Tuks Cricket Academy at the University of Pretoria. Hes hoping to back up words with deeds by inculcating a far more adventurous brand of cricket, saying that hes frequently gobsmacked at the conveyor belt of talent that the African sunshine and good facilities seem to almost carelessly produce. You have to allow players to grow outside of a structure or a game plan, to keep challenging them in different ways. Id say its a state-of-mind thing rather than a technique or set of techniques.Van Wyk has an opportunity to see what Tuks can do when they defend their Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals title in Sri Lanka early next month. In preparation for the event, van Wyk has been hard at work simulating the kinds of conditions he expects to find in Sri Lanka, roughing up wickets, underpreparing them and leaving them bereft of grass. Twenty-over cricket provides players with the opportunity to be reckless - and youve got to allow them that freedom and license.Prior to the New Zealanders hopping up to Zimbabwe, they spent a week at Tuks Pretoria facility where van Wyks boys were able to rub shoulders with the tourists. It was great, he says, for his left-arm quicks to swap notes with Trent Boult or his fast bowlers to bask in the presence of, say, Tim Southee.Unlike the South Africans, who havent played much recent Test cricket, the visitors look well-grooved. Kingsmead, the venue for the first Test, has been known to be unkind to home sides in recent years, and the New Zealanders will probably be closer to where they want to be than the hosts. Its increasingly tempting, in fact, to see the two teams as different sides of the same ball: South African cricket is in the midst of blithely frittering away its riches (some of those riches heading for New Zealand), its Test outfit less successful than it should be. By contrast, New Zealand make best use of what they have, proud to innovate and bold enough to try. Its the very shift Van Wyk is trying to initiate with his young charges. ' ' '