Danish hockey is on the rise Adolphus Washington Jersey , even though the Danish hockey team has been knocked out of the world championships.

The national team’s early elimination at its first world championships on home ice can hardly overshadow the boost the tournament has given the sport in the country.

”I hope it spreads awareness of hockey in Denmark for a lot of families and hopefully they’ll try to get their kids to play hockey,” Columbus Blue Jackets forward Oliver Bjorkstrand said. ”Hopefully it gets more hockey kids involved and more media attention on hockey, of course. It’s something we’re hoping for at this tournament.”

The progress has been obvious.

In 2003, Denmark advanced to the top international division for the first time in 54 years and has not been relegated since. The country reached the quarterfinals twice and managed to beat big teams, including the United States.

Center Frans Nielsen then opened a new era in 2007 by joining the New York Islanders. Currently with the Detroit Red Wings, Nielsen has 423 points in the NHL with 152 goals and 271 assists in 764 games.

Others soon followed.

Denmark currently has seven players in the NHL, and five of them played for their country at this year’s worlds, including Nielsen and Bjorkstrand. The others were Toronto Maple Leafs No. 1 goaltender Frederik Andersen and two San Jose Sharks forwards, Jannik Hansen and Mikkel Boedker.

In 2011 Malik Jackson Jersey , Hansen became the first Dane to play the Stanley Cup finals with the Vancouver Canucks.

At the world championships, Denmark beat Germany, Finland, Norway and South Korea but lost to Latvia 1-0 on Tuesday and missed out on the quarterfinals.

Perhaps the absence of two Danish forwards currently busy in the NHL playoffs played a role in that.

Lars Eller has five goals and seven assists in 15 playoff games for the Washington Capitals, who lead their Eastern Conference final against the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1. Nikolaj Ehlers had a 60-point regular season with 29 goals and 31 assists for the Winnipeg Jets and has seven assists in the Western Conference final against the Vegas Golden Knights. That series is tied 1-1.

”That’s been a long way (for Danish hockey),” Nielsen said. ”It’s been incredible and we’re proud of where we are today.”

At this year’s worlds, Denmark enjoyed huge support from the roaring home fans mostly wearing red and white jerseys at their games in Herning. After the victories, the crowd and players sang the Danish national anthem together.

”The whole city backs us up here,” said Nielsen Miles Killebrew Jersey , who is from Herning. ”It’s been incredible.”

Allen Robinson sees no reason he can’t regain the form that made him a Pro Bowl receiver and help the Chicago Bears snap a string of losing seasons.

He insisted the ACL he tore in his left knee in last year’s opener with Jacksonville is coming along just fine. And he expects to be ”fully cleared” for training camp.

”I understand it’s a question for the media,” Robinson said. ”But I know how I’m going to go about this thing, and I know the kind of player I’m going to be. So for me, there’s no questions.”

He’s looking forward to catching passes from Mitchell Trubisky and playing in new coach Matt Nagy’s offense. Above all, he’s embracing the challenge in Chicago, where the Bears have just one playoff appearance since the 2006 team’s Super Bowl run.

Robinson was one of five free agent acquisitions introduced Thursday along with former Philadelphia tight end Trey Burton, Atlanta receiver Taylor Gabriel, Miami kicker Cody Parkey and New Orleans backup quarterback Chase Daniel.

”We just started the offseason acquisition period now,” general manager Ryan Pace said. ”We’re only one day into it. Let’s take it step by step Bryce Callahan Jersey , the excitement. The draft is right around the corner and that’s our primary mode for adding talent to our team.”

The Bears have four straight last-place finishes in the NFC North – and four straight seasons with 10 or more losses. Their passing game ranked last in the NFL in 2017.

But the Bears are banking on the moves they made to help get the most out of Trubisky – last year’s No. 2 overall draft pick – even though Pace’s record in free agency is spotty.

Not only did they add one of the top receivers on the market, they brought in a versatile tight end who threw a memorable touchdown pass to quarterback Nick Foles in the Super Bowl as well as a speedy receiver in Gabriel.

They also addressed the kicking game, a sore spot since they released Robbie Gould prior to the 2016 season, and brought in a backup QB familiar with the system to mentor Trubisky. Daniel played for Kansas City from 2013-15 when Nagy was the Chiefs‘ quarterbacks coach.

”I was part of this offense in Philadelphia,” Burton said. ”I saw how successful it was. All you need is a couple weapons and a quarterback who can handle all of it and I think that is exactly what we have here in Chicago.”

In Trubisky, Gabriel sees a ”very confident guy” who can ”sling it.”

”When we signed the other day, the first thing I asked him was `How’s your deep ball,’ so I’m excited to be with him and excited to get in and play with him.”

Robinson was also impressed by Trubisky as well as the ”versatility” of Nagy’s offense.

”You see a lot of big plays, you see some dink-and-dunk plays Gerald Everett Jersey , you see everybody being involved,” he said. ”It’s something that just looked fun to play in.”

Robinson is looking forward to playing, period.

It wasn’t easy watching the Jaguars advance to the AFC championship game after they posted losing records in his first three years. He came into the season thinking he was poised for big things after a dip in production in 2016.

Instead, he injured his knee on the Jaguars’ third play of the season. He has been running sprints and performing ”pretty explosive jumps” as he works his way back.

Pace said the fact that Robinson is only 24 and the injury occurred early in the season bodes well, though he wouldn’t put a timeline on when he expects to see him on the field. Once he’s ready, the Bears envision big things from him.

”He’s just a big target that knows how to get open,” Pace said. ”He’s a savvy route runner that can set guys up and he’s just a proven receiver you know. He’s a physical guy that can body and out-position guys and it’s a guy that obviously we targeted and are excited to get here.”

Notes: The Bears signed LB Aaron Lynch to a one-year contract. A fifth-round draft pick by San Francisco in 2014, he made 19 starts and had 83 tackles and 15 sacks in four seasons with the 49ers.

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