#player-development

#player-development

Signed to a bridge deal on July 1st, Eklund's contract was at first criticized for not being long enough and for the Sharks refusing to take the gamble on Eklund's potential. But what if that was the correct move? What if that's the proper way to do reconnaissance and one's due diligence before making a long-term investment into a future cornerstone?

Emmanuel Forbes Jr. was the apple of Rivera's eye during his final draft in 2023. He thought the undersized cornerback could become the lockdown force Washington desperately needed, taking him over Christian Gonzalez at No. 16 overall. What he failed to recognize was the significant development he needed to flourish. Emmanuel Forbes Jr. is silencing all doubters one year after Commanders cut ties. Forbes got thrown to the wolves. He was physically outmatched, technically deficient in tackling, and sapped of confidence right from the outset.

You can do well on a football pitch when youth pushes you and wisdom guides you, it turns out. Together, they are a paradox on four legs. Bartesaghi is twice Modric's size but half his age.

Vazquez, 25, was acquired by the Orioles in a minor trade with the Cubs last offseason. A 14th-round pick by Chicago back in 2017, he didn't make his big league debut until last year in an 11-game cameo with the Cubs. He got a larger look in a bench role with Baltimore this past year, but still has yet to establish himself as more than a depth option at the big league level.

Harrison has had a credible case as the team's best overall defensive lineman, with tremendous strength and savvy that has allowed him to have standout stretches as a pass rusher and run defender. His loss stresses the defensive line, which relies on rotating fresh players for maximum impact, and takes one one of Atlanta's better defenders up front. That's concerning with the team's struggles to stop the run this year and the importance of their pass rush,

"For a coach, it's great to have a player like Eric. We didn't have De Jong , and we knew Eric would be the right choice," he told reporters.

LaMelo Ball is one of the most polarizing stars in the NBA, but if the Miami Heat could pry him away from the Charlotte Hornets at the right price, the lure of adding a player as talented as he is could be too much for the team to pass up. And now that the Hornets are reportedly open to listening to offers for Ball, it's something that the Heat must at least have a conversation about.

After leading the team in receiving in that final exhibition, Flournoy secured one of the final spots on the 53-man roster, but he also knew that it could be short-lived. Mingo was set to return after four weeks, and Brooks and Jalen Cropper were hot on his tail off the practice squad. To keep his value on the roster high, he homed in on a craft that he began to specialize in late in his rookie season.

Spo holds players to standards and challenges them every night. He has the unique ability to take a player who has struggled in the past and build a system to fit what they can do best. Spo has made a living doing this in Miami, and Mitchell is the latest player to see the dividends of trusting (and buying into) the Heat's coaching staff.

Deaves's ascent is one of the game's more uncommon career paths in the era of professional rugby. He joined the Ospreys Academy from his local club, Pontyclun, in the Rhondda after a brief civil engineering course at Bridgend College. His early days at Ospreys, alongside British & Irish Test Lions Alex Cuthbert, Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb, saw him turn up for morning training sessions in his van ahead of afternoon work as a roofer.

According to a report via SportWitness, the player is keen on leaving the club in January, and Roma would be prepared to provide him with an exit route. Tottenham signed the player permanently for a fee of around 35 million at the start of the season, and it will be interesting to see if they are prepared to send him out on loan.

I thought he was very good, and I thought he made some winning plays throughout the entire game. And that's the role. That's what you have to become as a guy that can guard anybody on any given night, and he's embracing that.

It's not too dissimilar to what I experienced in baseball where a disproportionately large portion of talent comes from places like the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Africa has 54 countries and a wide diversity of opportunities. There's a lot of infrastructure challenges because, generally speaking, young athletes in Africa don't have the benefits that the young athletes in Europe or North America have, Luhnow adds.

"First of all, it's my job now to make contact with everyone," Tuchel said. "Players like Trent, players that are on our long list, 55, 60 players, to reach out to them, be in touch with them, explain to them why they were not here. Explain to them what they have to do, where they can improve. "Can they even do something or is it just a choice, so this is my job in the next weeks and months."

I had a close exchange with Toni Di Salvo [U21 coach]. He's always happy when his players make it to the senior national team, but for his mission, it's not optimal when his players are away. So we have to find a healthy compromise. Said did well, it was his first time with us. He didn't have many training sessions, but he made a good impression. I spoke to him at the beginning of the week and we decided he would join the U21s as they have an important game in Georgia.

Juraj Kucka has clarified comments that he made a while ago about Rafael Leao, based on a game that he saw first-hand. Kucka did four years with Genoa before moving to Milan in 2015 a fee widely reported to be in the region of €3m plus bonuses. He ended up becoming a fan favourite at the San Siro and stayed for a couple of seasons before heading to Trabzonspor, then moving on to Watford.

I asked Dani Olmo before making my final decision so he could tell me a bit about it. He said that the league was improving, but that if I was fit, I wouldn't have any trouble playing. It's a very good league for developing and gaining experience.

What might have seemed like borrowed time for RJ Barrett has quickly turned over a new leaf as the 2025-26 Raptors campaign has gotten underway. For what feels like an eternity, RJ Barrett has been Toronto's most mentioned trade candidate, aside from another expendable wing in Ochai Agbaji. Although those rumors continued to circulate as recently as October, watching Barrett perform in the regular season so far has arguably put an end to ongoing trade speculation.

David Odogu is not getting regular playing time under Massimiliano Allegri, and AC Milan are plotting a loan move for him. Milan turned to Odogu late in the summer transfer window, a name practically unheard of and with good reason. As opposed to the experienced names like Manuel Akanji and Joe Gomez, the German only had three senior appearances to his name when arriving.

One of the reasons for this improved start has been the play of rookie Joey Larson. After appearing in six games last season and racking up a goal and two assists, Larson has hit the ground running. In 13 games, he has seven goals and two assists for nine points. His goal total is tied with Daniil But for most goals among AHL rookies. This strong start improves Larson's standing in the organization. It could help him make a case for a call-up someday.

Bilal Couliably entered the season with high hopes and growing expectations from a fanbase who's patiently waited for a player to step up and prove to be the team's future. Looking at the Washington Wizards history with NBA Draft prospects, any minor inconvenience sends a scare through a fanbase, who's constantly been dealt a bad hand of luck over the last few years.

McKay has had an interesting career, oscillating between coaching and front office roles. He had been a coach in college ball for a number of years, before working for the Rockies in the minors as peak performance coordinator. Then he spent a long time working in the Mariners' player development department, getting hired in October of 2015. That was not long after Jerry Dipoto had become Seattle's general manager. Dipoto and McKay had worked together with the Rockies.

The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Ben Danford with the 31st pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, despite the fact that he wasn't necessarily a household name at the time. The reality was that he filled an archetype that has been near impossible for the Maple Leafs to come across over the past few decades. A homegrown, right-handed defenceman with good puck-moving skills and elite defensive instincts.

The season started with a win for Angers, but it was a win that brought more fear than hope. Esteban Lepaul scored the only goal of the game as they beat Paris FC. The Frenchman had been a revelation in the second half of last season, as his nine goals ensured safety for Ligue 1's second lowest scorers. But Rennes were circling and he was gone by the end of August.

And he was all shocked that I would prioritize him, I think. I hopped in the car and drove down to Long Island to meet him. At the time, he was the No. 6 defenseman on the Islanders, a throw-it-off-the-glass-and-out type, growing into his body still. So I drive down and we were supposed to have lunch. We ended up having lunch and dinner. I stayed all day and we talked all day.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs hovering close to the .500 mark so far this 2025-26 NHL season, we have often seen Leafs head coach Craig Berube tinkering with the lines to find the ideal combinations. Whether it be just making in-game changes or the actual insertion and scratches of players for the daily lineup, the Leafs appear to be still looking for the right mix this season.

He swept into Chelsea, he floated in, he didn't walk. I've never seen anything like him in terms of personality and also in methodology, in a way of working. He was something for me that was almost like a UFO. He was not like anything I'd seen before. I have to say it was as much down to his methodology and his way of working, but it's down to him. There's something about Thomas for me ... There's stardust there.

It wasn't exactly the shot that Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted, but, then, all he really wanted was the last shot. Everyone knew this, Antetokounmpo most of all: when the game clock started to wind down, he would have the ball. And so, with fifteen seconds left in Monday night's game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers, and the score tied, he backed down a Pacers defender, then spun into a fadeaway as the buzzer sounded.