Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel find themselves in the same place this month as last month on Craigs List - in a dead heat at No. 1. Surely, the World Junior Hockey Championship paved the way for a clear cut declaration. There were times early on in the tournament when I felt that way and that surely Eichel was No. 1. There were also times later in the tourney when McDavid demonstrated he was destined for the first spot on the list. Its precisely for those reasons they remain deadlocked. Each showed their tremendous abilities and made a case for why they should be the first overall pick, yet nothing convinced me that one has the edge on the other. Two great players come to mind when I think of these two young stars - Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, basketball Hall of Famers who were instrumental in leading their teams to championship stature. Each was great, but in very different ways and with different skill sets. While neither was more important or less important to their teams, their impact on the NBA was renowned. The managers of their respective teams may have found themselves in the most unique of situations, that being they could only trade one for the other. They wore sweater numbers 32 and 33 respectively and that may have been the only thing that separated them by one. Two players who stood out at the World Junior Championship took a significant leap forward. Mikko Rantanen was Finlands most productive player and showed an ability to play a well-rounded game where he could have an impact in multiple ways. Lawson Crouse - Canadas youngest player - became a very important cog in their lineup as the tourney progressed. He demonstrated his ability to contribute with his skating, smarts, size and strength and was part of a very important and formidable line that helped Canada to gold. London Knights winger Mitchell Marner, the leading scorer in the Ontario Hockey League, is an electrifying talent. Eries Dylan Strome has also been atop the scoring race since the beginning of the season and have both shown they can lead their teams to success in the absence of more highly-acclaimed teammates. Theyve established themselves as the next best two players after McDavid and Eichel. Noah Hanifin is a very good prospect, the difference between him and Michigan blueliner Zach Werenski is razor thin. Along with Swedens Oliver Kylington and Russian defenceman Ivan Provorov of the Brandon Wheat Kings, they form a quartet of blueliner who embody what NHL teams are looking for. The New Year begins with the countdown to the draft and if there is anything I know for certain, we can expect players to step up their games and continue to show that this draft class could be very special, not just at the top but throughout. Craigs List - January Ranking RK Player Team POS HT WT G A P 1 Connor McDavid Erie (OHL) C 61 195 16 35 51 1 Jack Eichel Boston U (NCAA) C 62 195 8 19 27 3 Mitchell Marner London (OHL) RW 511 154 32 45 77 4 Dylan Strome Erie (OHL) C 63 187 27 44 71 5 Noah Hanifin Boston C (NCAA) D 62 201 2 6 8 6 Zach Werenski Michigan (NCAA) D 61 201 3 9 12 7 Oliver Kylington AIK (Sweden 2) D 60 180 3 3 6 8 Ivan Provorov Brandon (WHL) D 60 193 10 27 37 9 Nick Merkley Kelowna (WHL) C 511 188 13 48 61 10 Kyle Connor Youngstown (USHL) C 61 170 11 20 31 11 Mikko Rantanen TPS (SM LIGA) RW 64 211 2 9 11 12 Lawson Crouse Kingston (OHL) LW 64 211 12 4 16 13 Jansen Harkins Prince George (WHL) C 61 181 13 35 48 14 Jeremy Roy Sherbrooke (QMJHL) D 60 189 4 31 35 15 Brock Boeser Waterloo (USHL) RW 61 187 19 16 35 16 Anthony Beauvillier Shawinigan (QMJHL) LW 510 171 29 24 53 17 Pavel Zacha Sarnia (OHL) C 63 210 9 10 19 18 Mathew Brazal Seattle (WHL) C 60 178 7 11 18 19 Daniel Sprong Charlottetown (QMJHL) RW 61 189 22 23 45 20 Evgeni Svechnikov Cape Breton (QMJHL) RW 61 180 13 24 37 21 Colin White USA NTDP (USHL) C 60 183 10 12 22 22 Thomas Novak Waterloo (USHL) C 60 174 4 20 24 23 Nicolas Meloche Baie Comeau (QMJHL) D 63 199 8 20 28 24 Brandon Carlo Tri-City (WHL) D 65 198 2 13 15 25 Thomas Chabot Saint John (QMJHL) D 61 181 7 17 24 26 Jakub Zboril Saint John (QMJHL) D 61 184 8 14 22 27 Jake Debrusk Swift Current (WHL) LW 60 171 20 20 40 28 Jeremy Bracco USA NTDP (USHL) RW 59 173 12 35 47 29 Filip Chlapik Charlottetown (QMJHL) C 60 194 17 26 43 30 Travis Konecny Ottawa (OHL) C 60 173 14 19 33 31 Timo Meier Halifax (QMJHL) RW 61 208 21 25 46 32 Nicolas Roy Chicoutimi (QMJHL) C 64 202 10 18 28 33 Guillaume Brisebois Acadie (QMJHL) D 62 170 3 13 16 34 Mitchell Vande Sompel Oshawa (OHL) D 510 182 6 34 40 35 Parker Wotherspoon Tri-City (WHL) D 60 171 8 14 22 36 Rasmus Andersson Barrie (OHL) D 60 210 8 29 37 37 Gustav Bouramman Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) D 511 184 5 20 25 38 Brendan Guhle Prince Albert (WHL) D 62 184 3 11 14 39 Roope Hintz Ilves (SM LIGA) C/LW 63 185 4 7 11 40 Jordan Greenway USA NTDP (USHL) LW 65 222 2 15 17 41 Jacob Larsson Frolunda (Sweden J-20) D 62 191 5 6 11 42 Jens Looke Brynas (SHL) RW 61 180 2 4 6 43 Adam Musil Red Deer (WHL) C/RW 63 206 9 16 25 44 Erik Foley Cedar Rapids (USHL) LW 60 185 15 13 28 45 Paul Bittner Portland (WHL) LW 64 206 15 13 28 46 Nikita Korostelev Sarnia (OHL) RW 61 195 16 20 36 47 Blake Speers Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) C 511 177 18 26 44 48 Yakov Trenin Gatineau (QMJHL) C 62 192 11 25 36 49 Andrew Mangiapane Barrie (OHL) RW 510 170 22 37 59 50 Christian Fischer USA NTDP (USHL) RW 61 212 16 15 31 51 Vladislav Gavrikov Loko Yaroslavl (MHL) D 63 205 1 6 7 52 Noah Juulsen Everett (WHL) D 61 175 4 25 29 53 Vince Dunn Niagara (OHL) D 60 182 7 16 23 54 David Kase Chomutov (Czech Jr.) C 511 169 5 5 10 55 Sebastian Aho Karpat (SM LIIGA) RW 511 172 2 3 5 56 Ethan Bear Seattle (WHL) D 60 202 9 13 22 57 Felix Sandstrom Brynas Jr. (Sweden J20) G 62 191 3.31 .896 0 58 Ryan Pilon Brandon (WHL) D 62 212 6 27 33 59 Ryan Gropp Seattle (WHL) LW 62 184 15 18 33 60 Adam Marsh Saint John (QMJHL) LW 60 160 18 14 32 61 Callum Booth Quebec (QMJHL) G 63 199 62 Mackenzie Blackwood Barrie (OHL) G 62 215 63 Nathan Noel Saint John (QMJHL) C 511 170 64 J.F. Karlsson Omaha (USHL) C/RW 61 192 65 Alexander Dergachyov St. Petersburg (MHL) RW 64 200 66 Glenn Gawdin Swift Current (WHL) C 61 188 67 Travis Dermott Erie (OHL) D 511 197 68 Dennis Yan Shawinigan (QMJHL) LW 61 180 69 Matthew Spencer Peterborough (OHL) D 62 200 70 Daniel Vladar Kladno (Czech Jr.) G 65 185 71 Ziyat Paygin Ak Bars Kazan (KHL) D 65 209 72 Denis Guryanov Togilatti 2 (MHL) RW 63 183 73 Keegan Kolesar Seattle (WHL) RW 61 217 74 Michael Spacek Pardubice (Czech Jr.) RW 511 187 75 Jonas Siegenthaler GCK Zurich (Swiss 2) D 63 220 76 Caleb Jones USA NTDP (USHL) D 60 194 77 Reid Gardiner Prince Albert (WHL) C/RW 511 187 78 Deven Sideroff Kemloops (WHL) RW 511 171 79 Lukas Jasek Trinec Jr. (Czech Jr.) RW 511 165 80 Dmitri Zhukenov OMSK (MHL) C 511 169 81 Aleksi Saarela Assat Pori (Finland Jr.) C 511 198 82 Graham Knott Niagara (OHL) LW 64 192 83 Brent Gates Green Bay (USHL) C 62 196 84 Spencer Smallman Saint John (QMJHL) RW 61 184 85 Gabriel Carlsson Linkoping (Sweden J20) D 64 183 86 Brendan Warren USA NTDP (USHL) LW 60 191 87 Samuel Dove-McFalls Saint John (QMJHL) C/LW 62 207 88 Yegor Rykov St. Petersbrug (WHL) D 61 216 89 Kyle Capobianco Sudbury (OHL) D 61 178 90 Brien Diffley Boston U (HE- NCAA) D 61 176 91 Denis Godla Slovakia U18 (Extra) G 511 176 92 Zachary Senyshyn Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) RW 61 192 93 AJ Greer Boston U (HE- NCAA) LW 63 204 94 Denis Malgin Zurich (Suisse) C 58 163 95 Julius Nattinen JYP (Finland Jr.) C 62 191 96 Mathieu Joseph Saint John (QMJHL) LW 61 166 97 Kameron Kelly Charlottetown (QMJHL) RW 60 180 98 Tory Dello Tri-City (USHL) D 60 187 99 Christian Jaros Lulea Jr. (Swe J20 Elite) D 63 201 100 Dmitri Yudon St. Petersburg (KHL) D 62 185 Marcus Mariota Titans Jersey .com) - Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is set to return Tuesday against Nashville after sitting out the past two games because of a minor upper body injury. Nate Davis Youth Jersey . The Raptors (15-15) posted six road victories last month and have won seven of their last nine games overall. Toronto visits the Washington Wizards on Friday night. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-99-Jurrell-Casey-Womens-Jersey/ . Its the second time this season that Milan has been sanctioned by the league judge, after fans also subjected Napoli supporters to discriminatory chants. The ban will come into effect for Milans next match, against Udinese on Oct. Eddie George Jersey . But sometimes the way you lose takes precedence over the final score. And how the Jets lost the 5-4 game to the New York Islanders on Thursday is what had Coach Claude Noel hot after the game. Ryan Tannehill Youth Jersey .Hammel pitched inside more and it helped him get into the seventh inning as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Friday night.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Ottawa Senators enter the 2013-14 season with lofty expectations, and theyll do their best to get off to a good start when they visit the Buffalo Sabres for Fridays clash at First Niagara Center. The Senators made the playoffs for the second straight spring in 2013 before losing in the second round to the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games. However, Paul MacLeans club was bounced out of the postseason with superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson playing at less than 100 percent, and a return to health for Ottawas best player is key to the teams success in 2013-14. Also on Ottawas mind heading into this season is the loss of longtime captain Daniel Alfredsson, who signed with new Atlantic Division rival Detroit this summer. Alfredsson, who was the face of the franchise for well over a decade, will face his former team four times in the regular season, but he wont make his first trip to Ottawa until Dec. 1. The Senators actually wont play any team on home ice until Oct. 17, as the club is starting this season on a six-game road trip. One of Ottawas weaknesses last year was its inability to put forth consistent efforts on the road, where the Sens went 10-11-3 during the lockout-shortened season of 2013. Although "Alfie" is no longer a member of the Sens, the club did react quickly by landing power forward Bobby Ryan from Anaheim on the same day their former captain made the decision to head across the border into Michigan. Ryan is a four-time 30-goal scorer at the ripe age of 26, and hell likely offer more offensive production than the 41-year-old Alfredsson could at this stage of his career. Ryans offensive contributions aside, under MacLean the Senators still will be expected to playy a cohesive defensive style in front of the steady goaltending of Craig Anderson.dddddddddddd Anderson missed considerable time during the 2013 regular season, but is ready for the season opener on Friday. The Sabres, also members of the new-look Atlantic Division, opened their season Wednesday night in Detroit and were handed a 2-1 regulation by the Red Wings. Mikael Samuelsson and Pavel Datsyuk tallied 36 seconds apart in the first period and Jimmy Howard turned away 19-of-20 shots to lift the Red Wings to a win in their first game as a member of both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. It was the 12 time in the last 13 matchups that the Sabres lost at Joe Louis Arena. Zemgus Girgensons scored his first career goal for Buffalo, which came up short on all seven of its power-play opportunities. Girgensons, drafted 14th overall in the 2012 draft, lit the lamp in the third period. Ryan Miller was steady following the two early goals, stopping 32-of-34 shots in the narrow defeat. "We were right there all night," Miller said. "We got in a position to tie. I think we were improving as the game went on." The Sabres, who are rebuilding and not expected to make the postseason in 2013-14, lost forward Ville Leino to a cracked rib in the opener and he is out indefinitely. Leino signed a six-year, $27 million with Buffalo in the summer of 2011, but has battled injuries and inconsistency during his tenure with the Sabres. After visiting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, the Sabres will return home for a two-game stint in western New York. Ottawa won three of four meetings against the Sabres last season, but the Sens have dropped four of their last seven tilts in Buffalo. ' ' '