National Sports

ARLINGTON, Va. — Washington Capitals forward Nathan Walker will become the first Australian player to dress in an NHL game when he makes his debut Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Kyle Gimour will captain Canada 'A' against Argentina XV at the Americas Pacific Challenge on Saturday. The six-team rugby tournament also features developmental sides from Uruguay, the U.S. Samoa and Tonga.

OTTAWA — The secret, golfer Ben Hogan famously declared, is in the dirt. But on Dave Druken's high-tech practice range, there's not a speck of the stuff.

TORONTO — Despite watching his team win 7-2 in Winnipeg to kick off the season, Mike Babcock wants improvements in Saturday's home opener against the New York Rangers.

With a playoff berth already secured, the Vancouver Whitecaps now have their sights set on a couple of bigger prizes.

Octavio Zambrano looks across Canada and wonders about the soccer talent that has fallen through the cracks. Zambrano, head coach of the Canadian men's national team program, says it's his mission to find it. "This is a vast country," said Zambrano.

TORONTO — Argonauts linebacker Rico Murray can see Trent Richardson having a busy CFL debut. Richardson, the new Roughriders running back, will play his first CFL game Saturday when Saskatchewan (7-6) visits Toronto (7-7) at BMO Field.

Ray Turnbull, a member of the World Curling Hall of Fame and Manitoba's 1965 Brier championship team, has died. He was 78. Curling Canada said on its website that Turnbull died of leukemia at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre.

VANCOUVER — There was a palpable anger in the B.C. Lions' locker-room following a last-second loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats two weeks ago. Wally Buono would like to see a little more of that emotion from his team on the field.

ZURICH — After being arrested in Rio de Janeiro and accused of storing gold bars in Switzerland, Brazilian Olympic Committee president Carlos Nuzman was suspended by the IOC on Friday.