VANCOUVER - Willie Desjardins has built champions in major junior hockey and the AHL. Now hell get the chance in the sports biggest league. Desjardins was hired as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. Its his first NHL head coaching job, and hell join new president of hockey operations Trevor Linden and first-time NHL general manager Jim Benning as the Canucks rebuild following a disappointing 2013-14 campaign. "Ive been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time," said the 57-year-old Desjardins, whose coaching career has taken him from Japan to the Canadian national program, and from the WHL to the minor leagues, since he was first hired as an assistant with the University of Calgary in 1985. "To be part of such a great organization and NHL city is just a real honour." Desjardins was also rumoured to be a candidate to take over in Pittsburgh, where the Penguins boast a roster that includes superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The former coach of the WHLs Medicine Hat Tigers said a chance to return to Canada was too good to pass up. "Sidney Crosbys a heck of a hockey player obviously, but for me, when I looked at what was here — I looked at the two guys who are leading this (Benning and Linden), I looked at the quality of the players ... Canadian market, Vancouver fans — it was the right choice to come here." Desjardins, a native of Climax, Sask., most recently led the AHLs Texas Stars to a Calder Cup championship. He spent two years with Texas, winning the AHLs coach of the year award in 2012-13 when he led the Stars to their first ever South Division regular season title and the number one seed in the Western Conference for the 2013 playoffs. Prior to his tenure in the AHL, Desjardins spent two seasons as an associate coach with the Dallas Stars from 2010 to 2012. He also served as head coach (2002-2010) and general manager (2005-2010) of the Tigers, where he led the team to two Memorial Cup tournaments, including an appearance in the 2007 final. Desjardins was named WHL coach of the year for the 2005-06 season, and was also the recipient of the Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award as the top coach in the Canadian Hockey League in 2006. Desjardins resume also includes stints on Canadas staff at two world junior tournaments and one world championship, as well as time coaching with the University of Calgary and in Japan. "Ive watched Willies teams play over the last 12 years," Benning said. "His teams play fast and work extremely hard. They play an up-tempo hard-skating kind of game. His teams play with that relentless attitude that we want our players to play with." Desjardins becomes the 18th head coach in club history and succeeds John Tortorella, who was fired after just one year behind the Canucks bench. Tortorella and former Canucks president and general manager Mike Gillis were casualties of Vancouvers disappointing season that saw the Canucks miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Desjardins says he thinks the Canucks can become a playoff contender again. "We have so many great leaders on this team, and to get to be part of that group, Im looking forward to it," Desjardins said. "Theyve won in the past, theyll win again." Air Max 270 React Pas Cher . He made the comment at a media availability Saturday prior to Game 2 of the Boston-Montreal playoff series when a Quebec reporter said there is sentiment in Quebec that the NHL looks more favourably on Seattle than Quebec City when it comes to future expansion. Vapormax Flyknit Pas Cher . Howard hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. http://www.chaussurepascherchine.fr/grossiste-balenciaga.html . The club announced on Wednesday that Malhotra signed a 25-game professional tryout contract. The 33-year-old suffered a serious eye injury when struck by a puck during a game versus Colorado in March of 2011. Jordan Retro 1 Pas Cher . The defeat leaves the 41-year-old Nestor to concentrate on the mixed-doubles event after winning 12 straight matches and winning Australian titles in Brisbane and Sydney with two different partners. "This was a little bit of a let down, but all credit to them," said Nestor. Air Max 97 Plus Pas Cher .com) - The Carolina Panthers won for the first time in seven games last week, were without Cam Newton due to a car accident this week, but somehow sit atop the much-maligned NFC South.Several historical obstacles stand in the way of the Cincinnati Bengals ahead of their key matchup against the Denver Broncos. They havent won in primetime, cant seem to beat the Broncos and are winless against Peyton Manning. Should the Bengals reverse those trends when they host Denver tonight, they will clinch their fourth consecutive postseason berth. You can watch the game live on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4 and TSN GO at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. Cincinnati (9-4-1) is coming off its strongest overall performance after cruising to a 30-0 drubbing of Cleveland on Sunday. Jeremy Hill picked up AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors after rushing for 148 yards and two touchdowns, and the defense forced rookie Johnny Manziel into two interceptions and just 80 passing yards. Now the focus switches to a much more tenured quarterback. Its going to be a big shift, safe to say, coach Marvin Lewis said of facing Manning. Its a challenge. He gets everyones attention in this building right away. The player he is, how he carries himself, how he runs things on the field - its going to be a great challenge for us. Its what its supposed to be in December, just like this. Manning is 8-0 in his career against the Bengals, most recently completing 27 of 35 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-23 win over Cincinnati on Nov. 4, 2012. That victory was the latest in a long line of dominance for Denver in the series - even without Manning at the helm. The Broncos beat Cincinnati in Andy Daltons second career start in 2011 after needing a last-minute, tip-drill 87-yard touchdown pass to move past the Bengals in 2009. Denver has won 13 of the last 15 meetings with Cincinnati. We have to get through this game before we have any opportunities at January, Lewis said. Its been (a playoff mentality) for the last seven weeks, since Halloween. Preparation and how you go about it, and the confidence of knowing what to do and how to do it allows you to play fast. Thats the most important thing, for us: to play fast, to play physical, to play smart. Denver (11-3) has already punched its ticket to the postseason, but a first-round bye and home-field advantage remain at stake. The Broncos can clinch the bye with a win, but would need to jump New England (11-3) in the standings for the AFCs top seed. They beat San Diego 22-10 on Sunday to secure their fourth consecutive AFC West championship.dddddddddddd Its our goal every year. Everybodys hope and dream before the season is youll be hoisting that championship trophy, coach John Fox said. We got close last year and came up short ... Obviously, (the AFC West title) is a great accomplishment, but we still have more season left. Despite having Manning under center, the Broncos have won four straight behind a well-established run game. Since falling in St. Louis on Nov. 16, Denver has rushed for 164.8 yards per game, including a 111-yard effort against the Chargers. Manning rebounded from his first zero-touchdown performance with Denver in a win over Buffalo on Dec. 7, completing 14 of 20 attempts for 233 yards and a TD while playing through an illness. He expects to be fully healthy against the Bengals, whom he has torched for 20 touchdowns in his career while throwing just five interceptions. Cincinnatis run-heavy offense will face a stout challenge from Denver, which ranks among league leaders with 71.6 rushing yards allowed per game. Led by Hill and Giovanni Bernard, the rushing attack has amassed 145.3 yards per game and six TDs since Week 12. Denver has been less imposing against the pass but made sure to lock down top cover corner Chris Harris Jr., signing the fourth-year player to a five-year, $42.5 million extension last week. Hell be rewarded with a matchup against A.J. Green and a Bengals passing attack that has failed to top 300 yards in eight of the last nine games. We know these next two games are going to be big, said Dalton, whose 82.9 rating ranks 16th of 20 NFL quarterbacks with at least 400 attempts. The way our division is going, everyone keeps winning ... We know what we are facing. They are really important. Cincinnati has been blown out twice in primetime this season, losing 43-17 at New England in a Sunday night game Oct. 5 and 24-3 to the Browns on Thursday night Nov. 6. Denvers primetime results have been quite the opposite. The Broncos are 4-0 in night games this season, most recently defeating Kansas City 29-16 on Nov. 30. The Broncos and Bengals last met with postseason implications on Christmas Eve 2006. Trailing by seven with under a minute remaining, Carson Palmer threw a 10-yard TD pass to trim it to 24-23, but the snap was botched on the extra-point attempt and Cincinnati ultimately missed the playoffs by one game. ' ' '