CALGARY - Alex Bilodeau retired this year after defending his Olympic gold medal in moguls, but silver medallist Mikael Kingsbury has no shortage of competition from within his own Canadian team. Vans Old Skool Sale .In the years between winning his gold medals in the 2010 and 2014 Winter Games, Bilodeau was constantly challenged, and often beaten in World Cups and world championships by the upstart Kingsbury.The Canadians were each others measuring sticks, which helped propel them to the top two steps of the podium in Sochi, Russia, in February.When Bilodeau announced in October that he was putting away his skis to study accounting, the question was who could step up and challenge Kingsbury? But such is Canadas depth of talent in mens moguls that just making the national team requires being among the best in the world.Heading into Saturdays World Cup at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Kingsbury is chasing teammate Phil Marquis for the overall World Cup lead.Marquis, a 25-year-old from Quebec City, won the season-opening dual moguls last month in Ruka, Finland, to don the World Cup leaders yellow bib.Dual moguls, in which two skiers race each other to the bottom of a course, is not yet an Olympic event but is a staple of the World Cup circuit and world championships.Skiers are judged and scored on their turns, acrobatics and speed in single moguls, which is an Olympic event.Saturdays single moguls race in Calgary is the first of the 2014-15 World Cup season. Kingsbury has won gold in Calgary four straight years.Its a pretty tricky course, said the 22-year-old from Deux-Montagne, Que.You have to be very smart and I think Im a smart skier. I make good decisions. Theres a big pitch change here and you have to control your speed. Thats something Im good at.I dont want to focus on winning, but I want to focus on my skiing. If I do that, I put myself in a very good position to win here again in Calgary.Marc-Antoine Gagnon of Terrebone, Que., is also in the mens field Saturday. He nearly made it a Canadian podium sweep in Sochi by finishing fourth. Marquis was ninth to put four Canadian men in the top 10 at the Winter Games.The womens field Saturday features Montreal sisters Justine Dufour-Lapointe and Chloe, who won Olympic gold and silver respectively in Sochi, as well as two-time Olympian Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City.The top 12 from morning qualification advance to the final, followed by the top six moving onto the super final.Kingsbury knew his rivalry with Bilodeau was good for both of them. Another one developing with Marquis can keep him sharp and hungry in this post-Olympic season.This year Phil has the yellow bib, so its kind of bringing it back to that rivalry I had with Alex, Kingsbury said. Its always fun to have that with your friends and teammates.Ive been training with Phil all summer. Hes getting better every day. Hes going to be a good challenge all year. Hes feeling confident now that he wears that yellow bib. Im planning on getting it back, but one day at a time.The reigning world moguls champion edged Bilodeau by one point last season to win the overall World Cup crown for a third time in his career. Kingsbury finished ninth and Gagnon sixth in dual moguls in Finland to start this season.Marquis hopes he and Gagnon can be what Bilodeau was to Kingsbury with the intra-team competition driving them all to international success. In the past, weve seen Mik and Alex kind of being the one-two punch of the team, Marquis said. For now, I think we have way more depth.The three of us who have been to the Olympics have the potential to reach new heights. All of us kind of pushing each other every day on and off the slopes, is whats going to make the Canadian freestyle team super-strong.The World Cup in Calgary is the second of eight stops on the circuit for the moguls skiers this season. The moguls team has another home race Feb. 7 in Val Sainte-Come, Que.The 2015 world freestyle ski championships are Jan. 15-25 in Kreischberg, Austria. Kingsbury wants to defend his singles title as well as win dual moguls to sweep gold there.Im having fun with what I do, Kingsbury said. Im taking it very seriously. Im trying to make the little details make the difference. Theres no secret. Im just skiing and trying to look good when Im skiing. Vans Shoes Wholesale . The 10-year deal the league and players agreed to that ended the 2011 lockout gave either side the right to opt out after six years. With the league projecting financial growth, there has been speculation that players will take that option in three years, especially since a new national TV contract will be in place by then. Vans Shoes Outlet . - Mathew Barzal scored 3:47 into overtime as the Seattle Thunderbirds downed the visiting Everett Silvertips 4-3 on Tuesday in Western Hockey League playoff action. http://www.vansshoesclearancesale.com/vans-sk8-hi-clearance.html .com) - Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending May 11.OAKVILLE, Ont. -- There was never any doubt that Logan Schuss was going to be a lacrosse player, but nobody could have imagined when he was first handed a stick that he was going to be this good. Schuss, a leftie forward from Delta, B.C., was the No. 1 pick, by the Minnesota Swarm, in the NLL entry draft Monday night. His father, Ed Schuss, was a lacrosse star and his older brother, Carlton, had a fling with the NLLs Calgary Roughnecks. The sport is in their blood. "My dad was a big-time lacrosse player and his (Ladner Pioneers) jersey is retired in our home arena," says the NLL star-to-be. "The day I was born I had a lacrosse stick in my hands. "I pretty much grew up in our arena, which is only a five-minute walk from our house. I was there every day. My dad was a defenceman but he wanted me and my brother to be offensive players." He had an exceptional summer in both the indoor and field varieties of Canadas national summer sport: he scored 29 goals in 12 WLA games for the New Westminster Salmonbellies, and he scored 27 goals in 10 MLL games with the Ohio Machine. After four years at The Ohio State University, hes the programs all-time leader in points (237) and goals (146). His OSU program requires a fifth year in order to get him the teachers certificate he wants, so hell be living in Columbus again this winter getting classroom experience and commuting to Swarm games. He wouldnt skip two days of classes to attend the NLL draft. He aims to get a high school phys-ed post in British Columbia next year so he can help teens work towards the athletic scholarship opportunities in the United States from which he has benefited. "Its an unbelievable feeling," Schuss, 22, repplied from Columbus via conference call when asked about being the No. Vans Old Skool White. 1 NLL pick. "Growing up in a lacrosse community and looking up to players and following pro lacrosse for so many years, its a dream come true. Im just happy to get to the next level. I have to thank the coaches who helped me get this far." Minnesota made room for Schuss on its roster by trading away leftie forward Ryan Benesch, who in four years with the Swarm became the franchises all-time leading goal scorer. That trade spoke volumes for how highly the team regards Schuss. "Hes got size and speed and he can finish," says Swarm associate GM and head coach Joe Sullivan. "Hes got tenacity. Hes a great athlete and a great person." Schuss doesnt sound like a young man wholl let himself be burdened by a sense of responsibility to duplicate Beneschs weighty contributions to the Swarm offence. "I really dont see there being too much pressure," says the six-foot, 210-pound attacker. "Like my college coach says, Just go out there and play your game. My mom always told me, Dont feel as if you have to score five or six goals a game. Be a team player. "I do know that I need to step up and be a player who can supply goals for them. Thats why Im working so hard to get ready. I wont try to do too many things outside my game. Ill just continue to play my game. I understand my role." Swarm defenceman Brock Sorensen of Peterborough was an OSU teammate and Swarm forward Kiel Matisz of Hamilton was an Ohio MLL teammate this summer, so Schuss will see some familiar faces when he gets to camp in November. The NLL season, with nine teams playing 18 games each, begins Dec. 28. ' ' '