Pirate Galaxy » Germanys Marc Zwiebler.Kashyap lost 20-2

One game with the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL. Thats all it took for Angelo Esposito to decide he was done.It was a fun game too, in which the Komets scored four third-period goals to force overtime against the Indy Fuel before winning in a nine-round shootout. Not a bad way to kick off the 2014-15 season. That is, unless you had been tabbed for greatness as a teenager but found yourself still toiling in the minor leagues seven years later.Esposito let his coach know the next day that he was going back home to Montreal. With that, one of the top prospects in the 2007 NHL draft was ready to call it a career after a nomadic, injury-plagued pro run that never included a regular-season NHL game.I went to the East Coast, and [during] that first game I didnt feel comfortable anymore playing. I thought to myself, Maybe its time I moved on, said Esposito, now 27. Honestly, the first month [off], I did absolutely nothing. I didnt step on the ice until December, and then I started playing with my buddies in their beer league just for fun.He ultimately decided to come back, and his return to pro hockey last year helped him gain a new perspective on hockey and life.It has been 10 years since NHL central scouting ranked Esposito first among North American skaters heading into the 2007 draft. Back then, the story wrote itself.He was a lanky, agile scoring center from Montreal -- but no relation to Hall of Famers Phil and Tony, although he does have two uncles with the same names (and, coincidentally, his uncle Tony was a goalie in his youth).In his first season on a dominant Quebec Remparts club coached by NHL legend Patrick Roy, Angelo Esposito starred. He was named the Quebec Major Junior Hockey Leagues top offensive rookie and helped the Remparts win the Memorial Cup. Even when he slipped to 20th in the draft, Esposito landed with a Pittsburgh Penguins team that featured talented young players?Sidney Crosby,?Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury and Jordan Staal.We were happy to get him. He did enough as a young man to show he deserved to go in the first round, said longtime Penguins scout Chuck Grillo. Patrick Roy, I talked extensively with him. He was a big fan of his. You could tell he was sincere when he talked about him.That fall, Esposito played in his first NHL preseason game in his hometown against the?Canadiens.All my family and all my friends came to the game, Esposito said. It was a great feeling.After being traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in the deadline deal that sent Marian Hossa to Pittsburgh, Esposito scored the winning goal for Canada in the gold-medal game against Sweden at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. It was a fitting end to a decorated junior career. Esposito could finally embark on what would no doubt be an eventful pro career.Five years later, he was back home ready to quit.The last few years had just been a lot of downs and disappointments, so it was good just to get a little break, said Esposito. Obviously, I was a first-round draft pick and not playing in the NHL. Its not something youre proud of, but at the same time, its part of a career.Esposito refuses to use them as an excuse, but injuries did come in waves after his golden goal. Shortly after World Juniors, he tore his ACL. The following season, his first as a pro, he tore it again. After a year spent rehabbing his knee, he tore his hip labrum.Without an NHL contract entering the 2012 lockout, Esposito played in Finland, where he tore the MCL in his other knee. By the time he came back from that injury, his door to the NHL had effectively closed.He played sparingly in Italy and Austria before his one-game stint with Fort Wayne. After that, his time was spent mostly playing beer-league hockey, hanging out with his girlfriend and managing Montreal properties he had invested in.There was a lot of baggage that had to be sorted out. He was pretty down, said Scott Livingston, an athletic therapist who had worked with the Canadiens, New York Rangers and New York Islanders before Esposito hired him to get him in shape and back into pro hockey.He had gone through a lot of things, as far as expectations, early on in his career. Things didnt work out and [he had] the injuries. He was in a fairly dark place when I started with him.Almost immediately, Livingston sent Esposito to a sports psychologist. As Esposito was helped to hone his mind and body, it became clear how far the player had to go once Livingston got him back on the ice.He didnt look like someone who had ever played pro hockey before, said Livingston. I didnt say that to him at the time, but it was the truth. He had a lot of work to do. But he did the work.Esposito landed with Cortina in the Italian league last season. It was not the NHL, but with 38 points in 31 games, he arguably enjoyed his finest pro season. He started this season with Ceske Budejovice, a Czech league team almost two hours by car south of Prague. The arena seats 6,000 intense local fans and serves Budweiser. It turns out the Bud in the Czech Republic doesnt taste quite like the North American version, Esposito said, but its close enough.But the stop in the Czech league wouldnt last long. After scoring a single goal in nine games with the club, Esposito was released on Oct. 24. A statement from general manager Stanislav Bednarik hinted that the decision to terminate the contract was mutual between player and team.He suffered several injuries during his tryout and his position in our team therefore wasnt as everybody (including him) expected, a team spokesman said of Esposito in a statement to ESPN.com.With that, Esposito was back looking for another shot.As for why Esposito never made his NHL debut, its difficult to pinpoint any one thing that kept the former top prospect from his dream.Theres lots of reasons for first-round picks not playing in the NHL. There are usually 15 out of the 30 that dont, said Grillo. He can constructively critique himself and assess where things went wrong. It had nothing to with skating or scoring. It may have had something to do with setting him up to succeed. I dont know. Ive seen this kid carry teams on his back at the junior level.With every new season in a new country, that elusive first NHL game becomes less likely. It took some time, but Esposito is at peace with that. And as much as hed love to play in the NHL, its not a milestone he looks at the same way he did as an 18-year-old star poised to take on the world.Am I disappointed that I havent played a game in the NHL? Of course I am. Who wouldnt be? But you have to accept it and you have to move on, said Esposito in an interview before being released by the Czech league team. If Im going to sit here and think back about why I didnt do this, Im going to be miserable for the rest of my life.Right now, Im enjoying my life playing hockey, and Im going to enjoy it as long as I can, he continued. Once thats over, then Im going to find something else to be successful in. Maybe I didnt play in the NHL, but Ill find something else to be successful in. Teppo Numminen Jersey . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Krys Kolanos Jersey .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. https://www.cheapcoyotes.com/728z-dale-hawerchuck-jersey-coyotes.html . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. Stitched Coyotes Jerseys . Thousands of Southern California fans enveloped the Trojans to celebrate an improbable win secured by an interim coach, an inconsistent kicker and a thin defence that wouldnt break. Arizona Coyotes Store . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. Kidambi Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap lost to their respective opponents in the first round of the ongoing Korea Open Super Series on Wednesday. Ajay Jayaram and B Sai Praneeth advanced to the second round.World No. 10 Srikanth, who was facing Hong Kongs Wong Wing Ki Vincent, currently ranked 20th, lost by scores of 21-10, 22-24, 21-17 after a hard-fought match lasting 55 minutes.This was Srikanths second tournament after the Olympics. He had previously reached the quarterfinals of the Japan Open before?losing 21-18, 14-21, 19-21 to Germanys Marc Zwiebler.Kashyap lost 20-22, 21-10, 21-13 to fourth seed Tian Houwei from China in 53 minutes. He had earlier defeated Koreas?Ko Gyung Bo and Thailands?Pannawit Thongnuam in the quallification stage to make the main draw.ddddddddddddayaram defeated Koreas Jeon Hyeok Jin?23-21, 21-18 in 45 minutes and will next face Chinas Huang Yuxiang. Praneeth won?21-13, 12-21, 21-15 over Chinese Taipeis?Hsu Jen Hao in an hour and two minutes. He will meet Koreas?Son Wan Ho in the second round.Among the other Indians, HS Prannoy was defeated 21-23, 21-17, 21-15?by Wang Tzu Wei from Chinese Taipei. Tanvi Lad, the sole Indian woman participating in the tournament, lost to?Denmarks Anna Thea Madsen with scores of 21-18, 13-21, 21-18.There is no Indian participation in any of the doubles events. ' ' '