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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Not much has changed with the Minnesota Wild roster.The biggest difference is the man now in charge on the bench, Bruce Boudreau, whos been tasked with squeezing more success out of a team thats been stuck in the early rounds of the playoffs for the last four years.Bruce has that ability to convince the players, to get the players, to encourage the players, to prod the players to execute on a consistent basis, general manager Chuck Fletcher said the day Boudreau was introduced in May. If we do that, were a good hockey team and can even become very good.Boudreau has mostly experienced early exits from the postseason, too, with Washington and Anaheim. Without them, though, the 61-year-old likely wouldnt have been available to Fletcher and the Wild in the search for the franchises fifth head coach and fourth in six years. Theyre banking on Boudreau, with his remarkable regular season success of eight division titles in nine years, as the catalyst that this a group of players has been missing at critical times.You come to realize why hes had success. Everything he says makes a lot of sense, right wing Jason Pominville said. He kind of goes out of his way to make sure that we understand it and explains to us why were doing it and what can happen if we do it and do it right, so its nice to have that voice.With his roly-poly build and mischievous gap-toothed grin, Boudreau doesnt look the part of a taskmaster. Make no mistake, though, that his practices have been demanding during the get-to-know-each-other phase during training camp.They are intense, a lot of skating, and you can tell theres a purpose to all the drills were doing, left wing Zach Parise said, noting the emphasis on teaching concepts and creating game-like situations. It kind of forces us to play at a faster pace in practices, and hopefully that translates into games.The Wild start the season at division rival St. Louis on Oct. 13. Their home opener is two days later against Winnipeg.Here are some of the top storylines for 2016-17 in Boudreaus first year with Minnesota:PARISE RETURNS: Parise missed the playoff series last spring, a six-game loss to division champion Dallas, with a back injury that bothered him down the stretch and robbed the Wild of their best forward. Healthy enough to play for the U.S. team in the World Cup of Hockey, Parise will be counted on to be the emotional engine of a first line featuring center Marc Staal, one of the few notable offseason additions, and Charlie Coyle on the right wing.Theyre part of our top six, and we expect them to score, Boudreau said. And I expect them to be able to defend. Its not a one-way street.CONVERTED CENTER: Coyle has gone back and forth between center and the wing, but the plan for now is to keep him and his 6-foot-3, 218-pound frame on the wing. Coyle had a career-high 21 goals and 42 points in 2015-16, but he was still prone to long stretches without scoring.So far we havent seen the peak of him, Boudreau said. I think hell be better and when hes better it makes all of us better.CONVERTED CENTER, PART TWO: Since making his debut as a 20-year-old in 2012-13, Mikael Granlund hasnt matched the hype surrounding his talent with the same production. Granlund began to thrive on the wing during the postseason, and hell likely stay there on a line centered by captain Mikko Koivu and rounded out by Chris Stewart, the other significant free-agent acquisition.If Im a winger, Im a winger, Granlund said. Im excited both ways. So it doesnt matter to me.DEFENSEMEN DEMANDS: Boudreau hired Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Stevens for his staff, bringing a hard-nosed guide for the blue-line group led by Parises pal, Ryan Suter. Stevens, who spent three years on New Jerseys staff, was itching to get back on the bench after working for NHL Network last season.Wandy Peralta Jersey .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Darrell Evans Jersey .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. https://www.cheapjerseysgiants.us/1186u-cody-ross-jersey-giants.html .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Abiatal Avelino Jersey . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. Joe Nathan Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable.NEW YORK -- That baseball hazing ritual of dressing rookies as Wonder Woman, Hooters Girls and?Dallas Cowboys?cheerleaders is now banned.Major League Baseball created an Anti-Hazing and Anti-Bullying Policy that covers the practice. As part of the sports new labor deal, set to be ratified by both sides Tuesday, the players association agreed to not contest it.The policy, obtained by The Associated Press, prohibits teams from requiring, coercing or encouraging players to engage in activities that include dressing up as women or wearing costumes that may be offensive to individuals based on their race, sex, nationality, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or other characteristic.MLB vice president Paul Mifsud said Monday that the new rules resulted partly in light of social media, which in our view sort of unfortunately publicized a lot of the dressing up of the players ... those kind of things which in our view were insensitive and potentially offensive to a number of groups.Theres lots of pictures of baseball players dressed up as Disney princesses, he said.Or even more outlandish things, often for late-season plane trips:?Bryce Harper as a member of the U.S. Olympic womens gymnastics team,?Mike Trout as Lady Gaga,?Manny Machado in a ballet tutu and?Carlos Correa as Wonder Woman. Those are all out starting next season.Although it hasnt happened, you could sort of see how like someone might even dress up in blackface and say, Oh no, we were just dressing up, Mifsud said. Weve also understood that a number of players have complained about it.Exactly when the annual dress-up day began around the majors isnt clear. Players often consider it a form of bonding, and it has become more and more of a production in recent years.Chase Headley and San Diego Padres newcomers wore the skimpy, shiny orange shorts and tight white tops of Hooters servers for a September 2008 flight from Denver to Washington.Times have changed. There is certain conduct that we have to be conscious of, MLB Players Association general counsel Dave Prouty said. The important thing for us was to recognize there was a policy but to preserve the players rights to challenge the level of discipline and the imposition of discipline.Not all outfits are banned; superheroes such as Batman and Spider-Man are OK. Other past costumes that would be allowed include San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner as a giant ketchup bottle, Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton on the U.S. Olympic mens water polo team and?Los Angeles Dodgers?outfielder Yasiel Puig as Gumby.The issue of locker room bullying erupted a few years ago, when an NFL investigation found that?Richie Incognito and two other Miami Dolphins engaged in persistent harassment toward teammate Jonathan Martin.MLB looked at several college anti-hazing policies while developing these new rules, and they are already being criticized by some current and former players.Seriously?! former Red Sox star Kevin Youkilis wrote on Twitter. Had to wear a Hooters outfit going thhrough customs in Toronto and wore it proudly [because] I was in the Show.ddddddddddddDodgers pitcher Ross Stripling tweeted a photo of himself and teammates sporting cheerleading uniforms and said he was honored to be one of the last players ever to be dressed up as a woman.Last September, the New York Mets posted photos and video of players going to Starbucks in Philadelphia wearing uniforms from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, as portrayed in the 1992 movie A League of Their Own. Several other teams engaged in similar behavior.In 2012, Harper and?Washington Nationals?newcomers wore red leotards in the style of Gabby Douglas and the U.S. womens gymnastics team for a train ride to New York. Veteran Washington pitcher Gio Gonzalez tweeted a photo.In 2007, the?Yankees theme was The Wizard of Oz. Ian Kennedy wore Dorothys ruby red slippers for a flight from New York to Tampa, Florida.Id rather be here dressing up than anywhere else, Kennedy said at the time. It makes you feel like one of the guys.The new policy states a players actual or perceived willingness to participate in prohibited conduct does not excuse the activity from being considered a violation of the policy.Not everyone saw these things as fun. After he was traded to the Mets in 1992, Jeff Kent threw his pimp costume to the floor in the visitors clubhouse in Montreal and demanded that his regular clothes -- which contained the ID he needed to go through customs -- be returned.I paid my rookie dues in Toronto, he said then. I feel I have endured my embarrassments, my punishment. I felt I was being taken advantage of. They wanted to go overboard. I stuck up for myself. I wont be pushed around.Some common rookie rituals are permitted. Last year, the St. Louis Cardinals?and Dodgers made their newcomers walk across the street from Wrigley Field -- in their full uniforms -- to bring back coffee before their games against the?Chicago Cubs.Rookie relievers still might find themselves lugging snacks across the diamond to the bullpen for the veterans. But requiring players to consume alcoholic beverages or any other kind of drug, or requiring the ingestion of an undesirable or unwanted substance (food, drink, concoction) is banned under the new collective bargaining agreement.The policy is in addition to the workplace code of conduct adopted by MLB and the union in 2013, after the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman asked to meet with baseball officials and inquired what rules the sport had in place against bullying with respect to sexual orientation.The purpose of this policy is not to prohibit all traditions regarding rookies or players, the new policy states, but rather to prohibit conduct that may cause players physical anguish or harm, may be offensive to some players, club staff or fans, or are distracting to the operation of the club or MLB. ' ' '