PHILADELPHIA -- It didnt take Russian forward Nikita Scherba

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PHILADELPHIA -- It didnt take Russian forward Nikita Scherbak long to win over the Montreal media. "Oh my God, a lot of people," a nervous Scherbak said as he approached a phalanx of media backstage at Wells Fargo Center after going 26th overall to the Canadiens in the first round of the NHL draft Friday. "Oh my God." Within five minutes, the Saskatoon Blades winger was over his nerves and had English, French and Russian reporters eating out of his hand. What do you know about Montreal, he was asked. "Merci, bonjour," he offered. And what about the Habs? "I know Montreal wins a lot of Stanley Cups." Asked how much he weighed, Scherbak said he was 190 pounds. "But I havent eaten for two days, Im so nervous," he said to laughter. "Im sitting eating my fingers." The Russian, either six foot or 6-2 depending on who you believe, scored 28 goals and added 50 assists in his first year with the Blades to lead all WHL rookies. He also was named the Blades most valuable player and rookie of the year. "I think Im a good playmaker," he said. Habs GM Marc Bergevin marvelled at the Russians poise. "I saw somebody with a lot of personality. Hes got an appeal to him. Hes got confidence. Montreals a different market and from what weve seen so far we feel we could handle that." The Canadiens also have players who can mentor the young Russian in Alexei Emelin, Andrei Markov and Alex Galchenyuk. Asked how close Scherbak is to making the NHL, Bergevin gave the stock answer. "Thats going to be up to him," he said. As for his playing skills, Bergevin pointed to his speed, skating, vision and playmaking ability. "For us, hes a top talent," he said. "For whatever reason he was at 26 so we jumped on him." The GM acknowledged that he would have looked to move down the draft had the Russian been picked earlier. Scherbak said he came to Canada because he wanted to fulfil his dream and that of his family to play in the NHL. "I dont think about the KHL," he added. The language barrier wasnt easy. At first, he said all he could do was "just show." Then he learned "easy words like cat, dog, like food, eat, sleep." A year on, he can chat away. "Thats pretty good," said one reporter. "I think so too," smiled Scherbak. "Maybe I learn French right now," he added. Reporters suddenly felt old when, asked who he looked up to in the NHL, Scherbak cited 21-year-old Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Earlier in the day, Montreal coach Michel Therrien acknowledged he has replayed the Eastern Conference final loss in his head. "Of course," he said at the draft. "if you look at the big picture, yes were happy about the progress we made. But at the same time, when youre two wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup final, yes youve got to be disappointed." The Canadiens have already made some decisions. Bergevin says free agents Thomas Vanek, defenceman Douglas Murray and tough guy George Parros wont be back. Talks continue with three other free agents: captain Brian Gionta, and defencemen Mike Weaver and Francis Bouillon. Markov and Therrien have both signed new deals. "Thats good news for us," Therrien said of Markov staying in the fold. "Hes an important player, hes a veteran. Hes got such an important role, so were all pleased hes back with us." Therrien agreed to a four-year contract extension earlier this month. The 50-year-old is in his second stint at the Habs helm. His record over the last two seasons is 75-42-13. Finding an assistant coach to replace Gerard Gallant, now head coach of the Florida Panthers, is also on the Habs to-do list. Defenceman P.K. Subbans contract is also a major issue. Bergevin says there has already been a meeting with Subbans agent. Asked about young goalie Dustin Tokarskis immediate future, Therrien said simply: "Well see at the (training) camp." Tokarski acquitted himself well in filling in for the injured Carey Price against the Rangers. Therrien made a point of praising backup Peter Budaj, who was ignored in favour of Tokarski. "Peter is one of the best backups in the NHL. So I have a lot of respect for Peter Budaj." Morgan Rielly Jersey . It was the start of one nice night for the goalie and the Minnesota Wild. Backstrom made 33 saves in his first win of the season and the Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Saturday in a rematch of their first-round playoff series. Bruce Boudreau Jersey . That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. http://www.officialmapleleafsfanstore.c ... -jersey/.Y. -- Kristen Gillman rallied to win the U. Garret Sparks Maple Leafs Jersey . Wawrinka, who is seeded fourth, is in the top half of the draw with Serbian Novak Djokovic. The Swiss star outlasted Djokovic in a five-set quarterfinal thriller last year and stunned Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the final to capture his first-ever Grand Slam title. Mats Sundin Maple Leafs Jersey . They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66.Despite a tough year in which he lost his No. 1 status and was unable to prevent a late season collapse, James Reimer said he wants to put the past behind him and is looking forward to spending the next two years in a Maple Leaf uniform. “Im excited about going forward for the next two years with them,” Reimer said on TSN 1050 Monday. “Im really pumped to be here for another two years.” Relegated to back-up duty following an impressive 2012-13 season in which he led the Leafs to their first playoff berth in eight years, the 26-year-old is hopeful the relationship between him and the organization is improving. “I think last year was a tough year for everyone,” Reimer said. “Over the course of the summer and now theyve done a great job of communicating with me.” Following a solid start to the season, both Reimer and the team struggled down the stretch and dropped 12 out of their last 14 games to miss the playoffs. In the midst of the collapse, the goaltender and his head coach had conflicting statements following a tough loss to the Red Wings in which Reimer allowed three goals on 34 shots. “I thought he was okay, you know, just okay,” Carlyle said post-game, to which Reimer replied: “He said just okay? I thought I was good.” The goaltenders agent, Ray Petkau added fuel to the fire tweeting: “As is customary in Toroonto, when your team plays poor defensively game after game, you blame your goalie,” before clarifying that the tweet was not in response to Carlyles comments.dddddddddddd Despite the perceived rift, Reimer said the incident is in the past and he is ready to move forward. “I havent talked to him since the end of the year, but as far as I know, its fine,” Reimer said in reference to Carlyle. “I think that whole situation was blown out of proportion…Im looking forward to this season I dont foresee any issues whatsoever. “Maybe I should start wearing sunglasses behind the bench,” Reimer jokingly said in reference to a frustrated look he gave Carlyle after being pulled early on in a game that also generated attention. “That situation was probably blown out of proportion.” Addressing rumours that surfaced following the season that had him requesting a trade, the netminder said events over the off-season along with the hiring of Brendan Shanahan gave him confidence that the organization was heading in the right direction. “Thats not the case now, thats for sure…At the end of the year, I thought the opportunity was over, that the door was closed,” Reimer said. “But over the summer, it became clear that this is definitely the place that I want to be.” Reimer on returning, relationship with Carlyle ' ' '