National Sports

DALLAS — More of the front 40 and less of the back 20 was the Edmonton Oilers' theme Thursday.

TORONTO — Canadian Soccer Business and the Canadian Premier League have a new boss and leadership structure with English-born Australian James (JJ) Johnson in the role of group chief executive officer.

PARIS — Victoria Mboko advanced to the third round of French Open qualifying with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Kathinka von Deichmann on Thursday. The 18-year-old Canadian won 82 per cent of her first serves and converted six of seven break-point chances.

Nearly a month ago, Hall of Fame basketball player Steve Nash reached out to Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander simply to tell him how much he admires his game. Now, they are the only two Canadians to ever win the NBA MVP award.

Gavin McKenna is ready to step into the Memorial Cup spotlight — and he doesn’t plan to blink. After all, the 17-year-old phenom is no stranger to wall-to-wall media coverage and sky-high expectations.

Cleveland’s Evan Mobley, the defensive player of the year this season, was also the top vote-getter for the NBA’s All-Defensive team that was revealed on Thursday and includes Canadian Luguentz Dort.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Conor Garland's two power-play goals helped the United States beat Finland 5-2 to reach the semifinals of the ice hockey world championship on Thursday.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks hired Jeff Blashill on Thursday, giving him a second chance to prove himself as a head coach in the NHL. Blashill, a 51-year-old Michigan native, coached the Detroit Red Wings for seven seasons.

TORONTO — Montreal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin, Toronto Sceptres defender Renata Fast and Boston Fleet forward Hilary Knight have been named finalists for the Professional Women's Hockey League's Billie Jean King MVP award.

HAMILTON — After nearly two weeks of beating upon one another, Kiondre Smith and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats can look forward to hitting players in different coloured jerseys.