Every year, there are players that take a step forward offensively, earning bigger roles, maybe with more power play time, and they produce more points than they have previously in their careers. NMD Cheap Canada . Scott Cullen takes a look at some candidates for breakthrough performances this season: Mikael Granlund, C, Minnesota - Highly-touted coming out of Finland, where he scored 51 points in 45 games in 2011-2012, Granlund has taken some time to get acclimated to the North American game. He scored 28 points in 29 AHL games during the lockout in 2012-2013, but suffered an ankle injury while he was in the minors and managed just eight points in 27 games once he was called up. Last season, there was progress. Granlund scored 41 points in 63 games, including 21 in his last 24 regular-season games, earning a bigger offensive role with Mikko Koivu missing time due to injury. Ita€?s not easy to take the step from where Granlund has been to this point in his career to being a player who could score 65-70 points but, with a few breaks, thata€?s not an unreasonable target for Granlund. Alex Galchenyuk, LW, Montreal a€“ Though Galchenyuk has spent some time at centre in training camp, hea€?s still more likely a fit on the wing with the Canadiens at this point. Despite earning an extra couple minutes of ice time per game, hea€?s coming off a sophomore season in which his points-per-game dipped from 0.56 PPG as a rookie to 0.48 PPG last year, but a large part of that loss was a result of on-ice shooting percentage falling from an inflated 11.8% as a rookie to 7.3% last season. Provided that Galchenyuk stays healthy a€“ he suffered a broken hand then a late-season knee injury last season a€“ and continues to get more ice time, he is positioned to see a production boost in his third season, in part because the Canadiens dona€?t have a lot of highly-skilled forwards and Galchenyuk is one that has the potential to produce. The question may be whether the Canadiens are ready to give him that opportunity. Mika Zibanejad, C, Ottawa a€“ Oddly demoted to Binghamton of the AHL at the start of last season, where he scored seven points in six games before getting recalled, Zibanejad put up 33 points in 69 games for the Senators. With Jason Spezza leaving for Dallas, there is ample room for Zibanejad to move up the depth chart and play more than the 14:20 per game that he skated last season, when he was already one of the most prolific shooters on the club. More ice time should bring more production, especially since Zibanejad hasna€?t been reaping the rewards of any inflated shooting percentages to this point in his career. Patrick Maroon, LW, Anaheim a€“ A 26-year-old who finally stuck in the league as a regular last season, Maroon offers a rare combination of goal-scoring and penalty minutes. The 6-foot-4 winger had 118 goals and 544 penalty minutes in 353 AHL games before earning a spot with the Ducks last season. He started slowly, receiving limited ice time, but then finished the year with 12 points in the last 12 games, before adding seven points in 13 playoff games as he played a bigger role. While Maroon is due to have his on-ice shooting percentage (10.7%) decline, if that bigger role includes more regular opportunities on the wing with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, it would be easy to see Maroon flying past last seasona€?s 29-point output. Tyler Toffoli, RW, Los Angeles a€“ This 22-year-old winger forced his way into the spotlight during last seasona€?s Stanley Cup run, skating alongside Jeff Carter and Tanner Pearson on the Kingsa€? second line. Toffoli, who was a big scorer in junior, tallying 109 goals in 133 games his last two seasons with Ottawa of the OHL, has scored 23 goals and 54 points in 110 (regular season plus playoff) games with the Kings over the past couple years, playing less than 13 minutes per game. Hea€?s improved his skating and still has the release of a goal-scorer, so dona€?t be surprised if a full season with regular ice time on a scoring line leads to a 25-goal campaign for Toffoli. Sean Couturier, C, Philadelphia a€“ Asked to play a defensive role early in his career because, unlike most young players, he was so adept defensively, 21-year-old Couturier did score a career-high 39 points last season, but that could just be scratching the surface. In junior, Couturier put up 192 points in 126 games over his last two seasons with Drummondville of the QMJHL, so hea€?s not lost in the offensive zone. It may just be a matter of getting put into more offensive situations and if the Flyers are prepared to do that with Couturier, who has been skating with wingers Wayne Simmonds and Matt Read, then this could be the year that Couturiera€?s production takes off. Dougie Hamilton, D, Boston a€“ The ninth overall pick in 2011, Hamilton has been eased into the lineup by the Bruins, but at the end of last season, he tallied 13 points in 25 (regular season plus playoff) games, showing a glimpse of his offensive potential. Hamilton has registered only 10 of his 41 career points with the man advantage, so that is one area of his game that should be primed for growth as the Bruins lean more on the talented 21-year-old. Nail Yakupov, RW, Edmonton a€“ Expectations for the first overall pick in the 2012 Draft have naturally been high, but were likely inflated by a late-season scoring surge at the end of the 2012-2013 season, when he scored 11 goals and 15 points in the last 14 games. However, his shooting percentage (21.0%) was unsustainable and, not surprisingly, it regressed last season (to 9.0%) so, even as Yakupov registered more shots on goal per game, he managed only 11 goals and 24 points in 63 games. The 20-year-old has the shot to be a top scoring threat for the Oilers a€“ and ita€?s best for the team if he can start to live up to his potential -- so if Yakupov can find workable chemistry with some of the Oilersa€? other skilled forwards, he could be ready to take off. Elias Lindholm, C, Carolina a€“ The fifth overall pick in 2013, Lindholm had a solid enough rookie year, putting up 21 points in 58 games, spending time midseason with the Swedish National Junior Team. He was already going to be expected to play a significant role for the Hurricanes this year, but with centre Jordan Staal suffering a broken leg, there will be all the more reason for Lindholm to play a bigger role in his second year. Whether Lindholm shifts back to centre or remains on the wing, hea€?s set to play a top-six role for the Hurricanes and for all their shortcomings, that does offer the chance to play with other skilled forwards, so Lindholm will have a chance to build on a rookie season that included a relatively-low (6.8%) on-ice shooting percentage. Sami Vatanen, D, Anaheim a€“ Therea€?s no denying that Vatanen, listed at 5-foot-10, is undersized for an NHL defenceman. Therea€?s also no denying that the Ducks are better when hea€?s in the lineup, yet it hasna€?t been easy for the 23-year-old to hold a regular spot on the Anaheim blueline. He scored 12 points in his last 15 regular-season games last season, but didna€?t get into playoff action until the Ducks were already trailing the Kings, two games to none, in the second round. Forecasting a breakthrough season for Vatanen relies on the Ducks to give him a regular role, and that could be a tad optimistic, but he has the skill to handle a significant role. Others: Brock Nelson, C/LW, N.Y. Islanders; Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, St. Louis; Charlie Coyle, RW, Minnesota; Brandon Saad, LW, Chicago; Chris Kreider, LW, N.Y. Rangers. NMD Shoes Canada . Red Sox outfielder Jonny Gomes, the bandleader of the beard brigade during Bostons run to the 2013 World Series title, said he will be shaving his off before spring training so that he can file it "in the archive" with his memories of the teams improbable championship. NMD XR1 White Canada . Marcus Olsson, 23, joins Blackburn on a free transfer from Swedens Halmstads. He made 139 appearances and scored 17 goals in his four years with the club. He earned his first caps for Sweden this month, featuring against Bahrain and Qatar. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/ultra-boost-cheap-canada.html . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted on Monday that Hemsky will be going to market as an unrestricted free agent on July 1.TORONTO -- Like hes done all month, Edwin Encarnacion did his part to put the Toronto offence in position for a victory. It was the defence that came up short Thursday night and it proved costly in an 8-6 loss to the Kansas City Royals. With two outs in the ninth inning, Toronto shortstop Jose Reyes had a chance to seal the win on a routine ground ball. However, his throw was low and pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson came around from second base to tie the game. The Royals scored two more runs in the 10th inning to end Torontos season-high nine-game winning streak. "Theres no excuse," Reyes said. "I should make a better throw there. Thats a routine ground ball, I got it perfect. I just didnt have enough on the throw." Omar Infante drove in a pair of runs off Toronto reliever Todd Redmond (0-4) in the 10th inning as Kansas City (25-28) ended its four-game losing skid. Greg Holland got the last three outs for his 15th save. "Well you dont expect to lose one like that," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "But you know what, weve been playing some good baseball. The key is just to come back out and play a good clean game tomorrow." Encarnacion continued his phenomenal play this month by launching two no-doubt homers to give him 18 on the season and a team record 16 for the month. "To watch what hes been doing this month, I dont know where it goes down in history but its pretty historic in my mind anyway," Gibbons said. Jose Bautista also homered for the Blue Jays, who had their seven-game home winning streak come to an end. Encarnacion is now one away from tying Barry Bonds major-league record for most homers in the month of May. Bonds hit 17 with San Francisco in May 2001. The Toronto slugger also has five multi-homer games this month, which ties the major-league record for any month currently shared by Albert Belle (September 1995) and Harmon Killebrew (May 1959). Blue Jays starter R.A. Dickey pitched to two batters in the sixth inning before being pulled. He said the team will focus on its positive play over the last few weeks. "Jose makes that play 99 out of 100 times, it was just a real fluke thing," Dickey said. "But we cant second-guess things the way that weve been playing and the way weve been pitching and hitting. Ultra Boost Canada. I mean, Edwin -- what can you say? "I mean its been fun to watch and to be on a team where so many things are going well and I think itll continue tomorrow. I think this was just kind of a mild hiccup." The American League East-leading Blue Jays fell to 32-23 with the loss. Kansas City starter James Shields worked seven innings and reliever Wade Davis (4-1) pitched two innings for the win. The Royals left 11 batters on base but outhit Toronto 14-9. "I was really pleased with the way we swung the bats tonight," said manager Ned Yost. "We were driving balls. We just had some great at-bats." Salvador Perez hit his fifth homer of the season for the Royals in the second inning and Kansas City added three runs in the fifth. The Royals also loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh inning but Aaron Loup got out of the jam by striking out Alcides Escobar on three pitches. Closer Casey Janssen, who was looking to pick up his ninth save, recorded the first two outs in the ninth before Alex Gordons single. He was replaced by Dyson, who stole second. "We were facing a hot team that had swept their last three teams," Dyson said. "I thought we did a great job to come over here and kind of break that up a little bit and get going." In the 10th, Redmond gave up a single to Escobar to open the inning and Pedro Ciriaco reached when he was beaned while squaring up to bunt. Nori Aoki advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. Notes: Announced attendance was 17,978 and the game took three hours 26 minutes to play. ... Encarnacion belted his second homer of the night into the second deck in left field -- virtually the same spot as his first blast. The crowd gave him a standing ovation and he came out of the dugout to tip his hat. ... Bautista threw out Billy Butler from right field for the second out in the ninth inning. ... Torontos J.A. Happ (4-1) is scheduled to start Friday night against fellow left-hander Jason Vargas (4-2). ... The Rogers Centre roof was closed despite comfortable spring conditions outside. ' ' '