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TORONTO -- In a perfect world, Morgan Rielly would like to be in Toronto with the Maple Leafs in October. But its not that simple. The 19-year-old defenceman is in no-mans land, caught between being too good for junior and perhaps not yet ready for the NHL. Hes too young to play in the AHL with the Marlies, yet Rielly is at the point where he might be bored dominating the Western Hockey League. "Its not something where he needs to mature and he needs to learn how to be the guy because I think he already knows how to be the guy," Leafs director of player development Jim Hughes said. "Has he outgrown that role? Its possible that he has and that he needs new challenges." How to get him new challenges is an organizational concern for the Leafs, who already have an established defensive corps led by Dion Phaneuf and a young defenceman in Jake Gardiner they need to blend in with the rest of the group. Theres no sense in rushing Rielly, who could be a star but might need patience before his time comes. "I understand that I have plenty of time to play pro hockey," said Rielly, the No. 5 pick in the 2012 draft. "If I dont play this year, that doesnt mean that I wont ever play in the NHL. Thats a goal I have. But if not, Ive just got to keep working hard, keep trying to get better. Ill be 20 this time next year, which is still pretty young, so Im not too concerned about it. But thats a goal Im pretty driven to achieve." The Maple Leafs understand the delicate situation theyre in with Rielly. Hughes said being in the pressure-packed Toronto market ups the ante on making sure they dont derail his development by either pushing him into the NHL too soon or keeping him in the WHL too long. "Weve got to do it right," Hughes said. "You can see how Nazem (Kadri), how hes turned the corner. So we need to get this right. But Morgan, hes mature, and hes sharp and hes physically strong. Hes got that strong, wide base and foundation. He doesnt get knocked off the puck. So hes a little bit further ahead, and its going to be real dicey to see how this all unfolds." Rielly is waiting along with everyone else. He was almost a point-a-game player last season for the Moose Jaw Warriors, who finished 10th out of 12 teams in the WHLs Western Conference. Theres not much else he can achieve at the junior level, except perhaps feel better about his game as a top prospect who controls the play. "I think Id get a chance to be an older player on a team thats quite young. I think thats a pretty good opportunity to just be a leader," Rielly said. "I think if youre playing well every night and youre a huge part of the team, I think that can help the confidence." Rielly got a chance to make a cameo appearance with the Marlies late last season, playing 14 regular-season and eight playoff games. He didnt play alongside Gardiner but got a chance to speak to the 23-year-old defenceman whose twisting path in Toronto could serve as a cautionary tale. Gardiner is expected to be a Leafs fixture next season after spending most of 2012-13 with the Marlies. "Hes obviously a great player, and he has a whole lot of years of pro hockey to play still," Rielly said. "If I can play like him one day Ill be pretty happy." Rielly would like that one day to be this fall. The Leafs could keep him around for up to nine games before returning him to his junior team without using a year of his entry-level contract, something that would give him a taste of the NHL. It could also serve as a test of the puck-moving defencemans readiness. Any other avenue would continue to test his patience. "Obviously I want to play pro hockey, thats a goal, but I think you kind of have to appreciate the players that are also competing against you, that Im only a teenager now," Rielly said. "You have to be patient with it, and thats often pretty hard. I think youve just got to be smart with it and appreciate the opportunity that I have to even have that chance. Its tough, but you have to do it, I guess." Custom Roberto Alomar Jersey . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Frank Robinson Jersey Large . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. http://www.customoriolesjersey.com/ . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Custom Frank Robinson Jersey . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Custom Earl Weaver Jersey . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. College football has the uncanny ability to surprise us every weekend and yet at the same time provide a little sense of déjà vu.For those who have been paying close attention to the College Football Playoff the past two years, some parallels can be drawn early. Take a look at how some previous playoff storylines have the potential to resurface under the guise of different programs:2016 Clemson is 2014 FSU: Close wins? A few scares? Dont say it ... not game control ...Then: The undefeated 2014 Seminoles never reached the No. 1 spot in the committees top four in large part because they won in unconvincing fashion. Everybody says game control, FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said after beating Boston College 20-17. Thats something made up. As a coach, you talk about one thing: Finish. Get it done. This team wins in every way, shape and form you can win. It was good enough for No. 3.Now: Clemson has beaten its past two unranked opponents -- Auburn and Troy -- by six points each. The Tigers dropped three spots to No. 5 in this weeks AP poll. So far, the ACCs other Atlantic Division heavyweight is following the Noles 2014 blueprint: finding a way to win the close ones, albeit in unimpressive fashion. I dont know about other people, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said last week, but I think that with our schedule, if we win every game by one point and were 13-0, I think well be just fine. Fine, yes. No. 1? Probably not.2016 San Diego State is 2014 Marshall: Undefeated? Yep. But who did you play?Then: Marshall was 10-0, ranked No. 18 in the AP poll, and still unranked by the selection committee because of its weak strength of schedule. It wasnt until Week 14 that the undefeated Herd snuck into the committees top 25 at No. 24 -- right behind a two-loss Boise State team.Now: The Aztecs are 2-0 and coming off an impressive win over Cal, but theres not one ranked opponent currently on their schedule. ESPNs Football Power Index ranks San Diego States strength of schedule No. 118. Marshall entered bowl season ranked No. 127 of 128. The highest-ranked champion from a Group of 5 conference is guaranteed a spot in a New Years Six bowl, so the Aztecs are a team to keep an eye on in that regard, but they could face a similar snub from the committee -- even if undefeated.2016 Oklahoma is 2014 Ohio State or 2015 Stanford: Theyre done. Toast. Kaput.Then: The Buckeyes at home too an unimpressive Virginia Tech team in Week 2 and were instantly discredited in the CFP race.dddddddddddd Instead, they ran the table with their third-string quarterback, won the Big Ten title and earned a spot in the committees final top four of the season. Stanford was also written off last year after its season-opening loss to Northwestern, but was still in the conversation even as a two-loss Pac-12 champ.Now: Oklahoma is trying to rebound from its season-opening loss to Houston (granted, not nearly as bad of a loss as the one the Buckeyes suffered to the Hokies), but OU and the entire Big 12 have practically been discounted. (Psst, its just one loss). The Sooners now likely have to run the table -- a tall task with Ohio State looming this Saturday -- but the Buckeyes will remind you, it can be done.2016 Bama is potential 2015 and 2014 Bama: Rewind, repeat ... rewind, repeat ...Then: In 2014, Alabama finished No. 1 in the selection committees ranking, in spite of losing to Ole Miss. In 2015, Alabama finished No. 2 in the committees final ranking, in spite of losing to Ole Miss.Now: Here comes Ole Miss. Nick Saban certainly doesnt want to lose three straight to the Rebels, but as far as the playoff goes, it clearly doesnt matter if he does.2016 Pitt is potential 2015 Iowa: Just how good are they?Then: The Hawkeyes cruised through the weaker Big Ten West division, and ran the table during the regular season, making it impossible for the selection committee to leave an undefeated Power 5 team out of its top four. Iowa had faced just two ranked teams during the regular season -- Wisconsin and Northwestern -- and it was hard to tell just how good they were until the title game (a 16-13 loss to Michigan State) and Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (a 45-16 Stanford rout).Now: Like Iowa, Pitt hails from the weaker of its divisions, and it currently has only two ranked opponents on its schedule (No. 25 Miami and No. 5 Clemson). If Pitt can survive upcoming back-to-back road games against Oklahoma State and North Carolina, it could be 8-0 heading into the Miami game. The difference here is that Pitt could wind up playing both FSU and Clemson, but the Panthers could be deceivingly good heading into November. ' ' '