VANCOUVER -- Wally Buono doesnt like the term "backup quarterback" when describing one of his newest acquisitions. Custom Ottawa Senators Jerseys . The B.C. Lions general manager and vice-president of football operations made a splash at Tuesdays CFL draft, acquiring disgruntled pivot Kevin Glenn from the Ottawa Redblacks for the fifth overall pick. The move is significant not only when taking into account Glenns past success in the CFL, but also because Lions starting quarterback Travis Lulay is coming off surgery to his throwing shoulder. "Kevin Glenn is an experienced quarterback thats won wherever hes been," Buono said on a conference call Wednesday. "Hes a guy that I think brings instant credibility (and) adds strength to (the position). "You cant win without great quarterbacking." Glenn, who spent the last two seasons with the Calgary Stampeders, was selected by Ottawa in the expansion draft to stock the leagues ninth franchise, but became available after the Redblacks signed Henry Burris to a three-year contract following his release by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. "I believe it will be a very, very good marriage. Kevin wants to be in a place where he believes hell be utilized," said Buono. "We hope Travis goes all 18 games, but if he doesnt we feel we have a guy that can step in and help us win football games." Lulay missed six games at the end of the 2013 season after damaging his labrum in September, but returned to play in the Lions West Division semifinal loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. "When you look at professional sports, whether its the NFL or the CFL, injuries to your quarterback is always a major issue that you have to deal with," said Buono. "To be able to acquire a quarterback of (Glenns) calibre who comes in here and makes us that much better instantly was a tremendous opportunity for us." B.C. head coach Mike Benevides said he expects Lulay to be ready when training camp opens June 1, but added that his No. 1 quarterback is still not 100 per cent. "Theres no doubt that were going to need a phase of training camp to continue the progression that hes on right now," said Benevides. "The plan is to have him work for a segment of time in practice but the first day of camp he will be participating." The Lions were in need of a capable secondary option under centre after Thomas DeMarco was selected by Ottawa in the expansion draft and Buck Pierce retired to become an assistant coach with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The club has former NFLer John Beck on the roster, as well as Chris Hart, who was with B.C. last season but saw no playing time. Buono said the addition of Glenn will allow Lulay more time to heal if need be ahead of the Lions first regular-season game. "When you have a quarterback thats coming off a major injury, the stronger you are behind him, the less pressure you put on that quarterback ... to speed up the process," said Buono. "We want this to be a natural progression where (Lulay) follows the medical protocol, which hes doing. Having Kevin here not only gives Mike and I confidence, but I think it gives everybody in the organization, everybody that supports the B.C. Lions confidence that come June 28 we will have a very good football team and well have two very good experienced quarterbacks to lead us." Glenn said after Tuesdays trade that he was excited for a fresh start with the Lions. The 34-year-old guided Calgary to a Grey Cup berth in 2012 and a CFL-best 14-4 record last year before getting scooped up by the Redblacks. "To be honest I didnt know if anything would actually happen," said Glenn, who wanted out of Ottawa after the team signed Burris. "To give up a first-round draft pick shows a team really wants you. "Thats what I was kind of excited about." The Lions won the Grey Cup at B.C. Place Stadium back in 2011 and are hosting the big game again in November, but Buono stressed the move for Glenn isnt a move with that showcase in mind, but rather about getting the best possible product on the field at key times. "The last two years, weve had good teams and we have not won a playoff game," said Buono. "Thats just the reality of our business, whether its football or any other sport. Winning in the playoffs is critical. Winning the big game is critical." "Theres different stages of the season. You want to win in the regular season, you want to put yourself in the playoffs to win, and then you want to put yourself in position to win the Grey Cup. You cant win the Grey Cup unless you win in the playoffs, so were building a team to hopefully do both." Notes: The Lions made a couple of roster moves on Wednesday, releasing quarterback Jarrett Lee and signing four import defensive backs, including former NFL cornerback Brandon McDonald, who played 80 games over six seasons with Cleveland, Detroit and Tampa Bay. ... After trading out of the first round to get Glenn on Tuesday, the Lions chose offensive lineman T-Dre Player out of Northwestern State with the 12th pick. B.C. followed that up but taking Laval fullback Pascal Lochard (14th overall), Simon Fraser linebacker Casey Chin (27th overall), Montreal defensive lineman David Menard (32nd overall), Bishops wide receiver Alexander Fox (41st overall), Simon Fraser defensive lineman Dylan Roper (50th overall) and Laval running back Guillaume Bourassa (59th overall). Alexandre Burrows Jersey . - The Baltimore Ravens have hired Steve Spagnuolo to be their secondary coach and assistant head coach. Gabriel Gagne Jersey . LOUIS -- The St. http://www.senatorsauthority.com/authentic-alex-formenton-senators-jersey/ . -- Keith Aulie has joined the Tampa Bay Lightning.MINSK, Belarus -- Three-thousand kilometres from where he grew up in Toronto, Geoff Platt couldnt have felt more at home. Moments after scoring and setting off another wild celebration at Minsk arena, Platt leapt into the arms of Belarusian captain Alexei Kalyuzhny. Not long after, fans were chanting his name. "Its an emotion that Im not sure Ive achieved ever in my career, just because of the atmosphere and the electricity in the building," Platt said. "It just runs through your veins and grabs a hold of you." Along with goaltender Kevin Lalande, Platt is one of two Canadian-born players representing host Belarus at the world hockey championship and playing major roles in what might be the best international showing in the countrys history. Led by Canadian-born coach Glen Hanlon, Belarus is in the quarter-finals for just the third time and the first since 2009. This is the biggest event Belarus has ever hosted, so Minsk has been partying for two weeks. And this team is giving locals another reason to celebrate. "You have to understand the magnitude (of) what this means to them," Hanlon said. "Its bigger than just a game. This is their chance to show everybody." By show everybody, Hanlon means the city, which is decked out in IIHF signs welcoming the world and reminding them in the form of giant bison mascots that hockey is happening here. Inside the 15,000-seat Minsk Arena, home of the KHLs Dynamo Minsk, good hockey has been happening for Belarus. Lalande, a native of Ottawa who plays for Dynamo and gained citizenship, has been stellar and Platt has added timely offence. But the Canadian imports want the credit to go to leading scorers Mikhail Grabovski and Sergei Kostitsyn. "Players are playing for this symbol, and it means a lot more to them to represent their country than probably a National Hockey League team or any club team around the world," Platt said, pointing to the Belarusian coat of arms on his chest. "Youre seeing that with Sergei Kostitsyn, Mikhail Grabovski just really taking their game to a level Im sure theyve almost never played at." Grabovski beamed with pride when talking about what this tournament means to him. Hes showing that to Hanlon, who first coached him as a 21-year-old at the world championships in Vienna in 2005. The Grabovski at this tournament is an other-worldly player. "I dont even look at Mikhail anymore because I know hes going to play great," Hanlon said. "I never get tired of saying, Good game, Mikhail." Hanlon is limited in what he can say to some of his players because of the language barrier. He understands Russian and Belarusian and is trying to learn to speak both languages, even though he doesnt have to. The former Washington Capitals coach and longtime NHL goaltender, whos in his second stint as coach of the Belarusian national team, has someone with him at almost all times who speaks English. At his news conferences with local media, the Brandon, Man., native answers in English, occasionally splicing in Belarusian words and pausing to let the interpreter next to him do his work. "Ive taken lessons, Ive done all of it," Hanlon said. "I have a better handle on it. Ive gone home here after every friendly tournament, so I take all my books, put them in my backpack like the college student on spring break and I end up dealing with my 12-year-old son and my wife and I sort of break away from it for a couple weeks." Hanlons wife and son still live in Vancouver, and because shes a teacher and hes a skier and hockey player they dont accompany him to Europe. "Hed rather play his own hockey than watch me coach," Hanlon said. Everyone in Belarus is watching Hanlon coach with keen interest. In Minsk, televisions all over the city have tournament games on, whether Belarus is playing or not. Inside Minsk Arena, one section is full of fans jumping up and down and doing chants normally reserved for soccer matches. Others whistle and fill the building with the kind of noise Lalande and Platt have no comparison for and Hanlon can only relate to the old Chicago Stadium. "When you go into somewhere like Beell Centre or Madison Square Garden, its pretty loud but it dies off after a while," Hanlon said. Mike Hoffman Jersey. "Here its sustained for the whole 2 1/2 hours of the game. Im not kidding: You cant hear a word down there. Im screaming and Im yelling at my players whos up and everything. "From before the game starts till after its over, its like a festival." Its a festival thats special to the Belarusian players, whether theyre from Novopolotsk in the north like Dmitry Korobov, or Ontario like Lalande and Platt. How they got here wasnt a matter of having Belarusian ancestry. Anyone who plays for Dynamo Minsk for two seasons is eligible for citizenship. "I got to keep my Canadian citizenship, so there wasnt really any downside," said Lalande, who began the tournament as a backup but has played too well for Hanlon not to start him. "At first it just made the travelling a lot easier in Russia, I didnt need a visa and saved a couple pages in my Canadian passport. But when Glen was named the head coach, we had a couple conversations together. He made it clear from the start that he wanted me to be a part of this." "Whether Id play or not he didnt know, but hes been very supportive. I owe everything to him for this chance." Lalande and Platt each praised the local players for accepting them while also noting theres a comfort level in having each other and an English-speaking coach around for this run. But Hanlon, who previously coached the Slovak national team, learned from his season with Jokerit in Finland that having Canadians on his team isnt easy. "Being an import coach you want to go out of your way so that the Canadians are respected," he said. "The last thing you want to do is look like youre favouring them." "So you want them to work for everything that they get, and I try to keep my space from them. I dont want to give anybody any reason to think that these players are going to get special treatment from me." No special treatment, but this experience has been special for Platt and Lalande, even though theyre not playing for their home country. Platt, who played 46 NHL games for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Anaheim Ducks, won a gold medal for Canada at the under-18 world championships in 2003. Platt hasnt represented Canada since and has moved on. "Not putting on the Canadian jersey now is just a chapter that sits in the past in my career," the 28-year-old said. "I was very fortunate to wear the Canadian jersey and win a gold medal at the under-18 level, and now this is a realistic goal to be playing with Belarus and to be competing at this level. Its really fun when were successful." Belarus was plenty successful in the preliminary round, going 4-3 to finish third in its group, ahead of Finland, Switzerland and Latvia and set up a quarter-final game against Sweden on Thursday night. Even if Sweden ends Belaruss run, the host teams performance wont be forgotten any time soon. When a victory over Latvia clinched a spot in the quarter-finals, Platt called it a "very rare opportunity for Belarusian ice hockey" that his teammates capitalized on. Lalande couldnt come up with words to describe his emotions. "We did it for ourselves because we believed," Lalande said, crediting fans who made a real impact on the team. "I think all of the Minsk and the whole countrys behind us right now. ... Were playing for us and were playing for them and its a tremendous feeling to be able to win in this fashion for them." Thats Hanlons priority, too. More than six years after being fired by the Capitals on U.S. Thanksgiving Day, he has no plans to return to coaching in the NHL and has invested a lot of time and energy on European hockey. Hanlon still keeps track of whats going on in North America and watches games because hes interested, but now the 57-year-old also checks on scores from leagues around Europe. Hes still a Canadian citizen, but the prospect of playing his native country doesnt mean anything to him anymore. "Whats special for me is winning for Belarus," Hanlon said. "Thats whats special." Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys China Wholesale Baseball Jerseys China Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Near Me Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic MLB Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Throwback Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '