PHILADELPHIA - The Toronto Maple Leafs loaded up on youth and gambled on the future at the NHL draft Saturday. But they also looked after the present, acquiring Roman Polak from the St. Louis Blues for fellow defenceman Carl Gunnarsson and the 94th pick in Saturdays draft. At six foot and 236 pounds, Polak is a wide body. "He makes people pay a price," said Toronto president Brendan Shanahan. "Hes honest but hes tough. Hes a hard-worker, hes a low-maintenance guy." "Hes going to provide a little bit of edge. A tough guy to play against," added GM Dave Nonis. The 28-year-old Czech native has 79 points in 424 NHL games, including four goals and nine assists last season. Nonis said Polak would probably "play in the (No.) 4-5 hole" on defence. "We envision him having a pretty significant impact on our back end," he said. Despite his size, Polak can also skate. "People who dont think he has skating ability really arent watching," said Shanahan. Gunnarsson, a 2007 seventh-rounder, had spent five seasons with the Leafs and played with captain Dion Phaneuf on the teams top defensive pairing. Gunnarssons departure opens the door to Jake Gardner and sophomore Morgan Rielly to step up the depth chart. "Those guys are going to have to take steps forward," said Nonis. "It might be a lot to ask for Morgan in his second year but he made some pretty big strides last year. And we would expect that hell take some more next (year). I think Jake is a good possibility as well. "Again that will be up to Randy (coach Randy Carlyle) to see what he wants to do with that. But we feel there are other people that can play that role effectively with Dion." The Leafs piled pressure on their goalies last season, giving up shots in high numbers. Change was needed. "We liked our defence individually. We didnt necessarily like how they fit together last year. So we wanted to move some pieces and change the look, rebuild it a little bit. I wouldnt say its a major overhaul by doing something like this but it does give us a different element and its a player we didnt really have." A right-handed shot, Polak also fills a void on the Toronto blue-line. Nonis sees Petter Granberg, listed at six foot three and 200 pounds, as a similar-style player to Polak. But the Swede is just 21 and has played only one game for the Leafs. "To ask him to play that way and fit in as a top-six (defenceman) right away, I think might be difficult," he said. "If he does that, great, then we have even more options there." Nonis said the Leafs will "be active" during the free agency period. "If theres a fit there, I wouldnt rule out adding a defenceman and/or a forward," he said. "But I wouldnt promise it either." Toronto took Russian winger Rinat Valiev of the Kootenay Ice in the third round (68th overall), USHL winger John Piccinich in the fourth round (103rd overall), USHL centre Dakota Joseph in the fifth (128th overall), USHL winger Nolan Vesey in the sixth (158th overall) and Swedish winger Pierre Engvall in the seventh (188th). The Leafs used their first-round pick Friday night to take Swedish winger William Nylander eighth overall. Jordan Roland Jersey . - Robert Griffin III has a sprained throwing shoulder that limited him in practice Wednesday as the Washington Redskins prepared for their season finale against the Dallas Cowboys. MLB Jerseys . Players suspended during the season for a performance-enhancing drug violation will not be eligible for that years post-season. In addition, discipline will increase from 50 games to 80 for a first testing violation and from 100 games to a season-long 162 for a second. A third violation remains a lifetime ban. https://www.cheapmlbjerseysjustwholesale...rseys-2020.html. Toronto FC hosts the three-time Italian league champions in a friendly Aug. 7 at BMO Field, a game that Roma CEO Italo Zanzi said falls within a key part of their pre-season. Soccer Jerseys 2020 . The All-Pro left tackle agreed to a five-year contract with the Eagles on Wednesday. Peters was signed for 2014, and his new deal adds four years through 2018. MLB Jerseys 2020 OSAKA, Japan -- Sixth-seeded Madison Keys reached her fourth WTA quarterfinal of the season Thursday by beating Chinas Shuai Zhang 6-3, 6-0 in the second round of the Japan Open. The 18-year-old American won nine successive games to wrap up the match in just 51 minutes. Keys lost just three points in the second set. Ninth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic of France faltered after wiinning a 67-minute first set, losing 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-0 to Jie Zheng of China.dddddddddddd. Jie will play Keys on Friday for a place in the semifinals. Misaki Doi also reached the quarters by beating fellow Japanese player Kimiko Date-Krumm 7-6 (3), 6-4. Doi will face American Samantha Stosur, who at No. 3 is the highest seeded player still in the tournament. ' ' '