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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. JANUARY RANKING Player statistics are updated through Jan. 6, last months ranking in parentheses. 1 (1) Connor McDavid, C - Erie (OHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 61 195 18 16 35 51 34 1 (1) Jack Eichel, C - Boston University (HE - NCAA) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 62 195 16 8 19 27 21 3 (5) Mitchell Marner, RW - London (OHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 511 154 38 32 45 77 30 4 (4) Dylan Strome, C - Erie (OHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 63 187 38 27 44 71 28 5 (3) Noah Hanifin, D - Boston College (HE - NCAA) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 62 201 19 2 6 8 4 6 (7) Zach Werenski, D - Michigan (HE - NCAA) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 61 201 17 3 9 12 9 7(6) Oliver Kylington, D - Farjestad (Sweden - SHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 60 180 10 3 3 6 8 (8) Ivan Provorov, D - Brandon (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 60 193 35 10 27 37 14 9 (9) Nick Merkley, C - Kelowna (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 511 188 40 13 48 61 18 10 (10) Kyle Connor, C - Youngstown (USHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 61 170 25 11 20 31 -6 11 (22) Mikko Rantanen, RW - TPS (FIN - SM Liiga) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 64 211 31 2 9 11 20 12 (18) Lawson Crouse, LW - Kingston (OHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 64 211 24 12 4 16 0 13 (11) Jansen Harkins, C - Prince George (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 61 181 41 13 35 48 11 14 (12) Jeremy Roy, D - Sherbrooke (QMJHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 60 189 34 4 31 35 0 15 (15) Brock Boeser, RW - Waterloo (USHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 61 187 26 19 16 35 -11 16 (26) Anthony Beauvillier, LW - Shawinigan (QMJHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 510 171 40 29 24 53 12 17 (17) Pavel Zacha, C - Sarnia (OHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 63 210 21 9 10 19 0 18 (16) Mathew Brazal, C - Seattle (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 60 178 16 7 11 18 1 19 (13) Daniel Sprong, RW - Charlottetown (QMJHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 61 189 41 22 23 45 -9 20 (14) Evgeni Svechnikov, RW - Cape Breton (QMJHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 61 180 29 13 24 37 4 21 (19) Colin White, C - USA NTDP (USHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 60 183 23 10 12 22 22 (21) Thomas Novak, C - Waterloo (USHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 60 174 25 4 20 24 -3 23 (23) Nicolas Meloche, D - Baie Comeau (QMJHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 63 199 37 8 20 28 -4 24 (42) Brandon Carlo, D - Tri-City (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 65 198 35 2 13 15 -5 25 (24) Thomas Chabot, D - Saint John (QMJHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 61 181 37 7 17 24 12 26 (25) Jakub Zboril, D - Saint John (QMJHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 61 184 33 8 14 22 5 27 (30) Jake Debrusk, LW - Swift Current (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 60 171 40 20 20 40 -4 28 (27) Jeremy Bracco, RW - USA NTDP (USHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 59 173 32 12 35 47 29 (28) Filip Chlapik, C - Charlottetown (QMJHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 60 194 37 17 26 43 -2 30 (20) Travis Konecny, C - Ottawa (OHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 60 173 37 14 19 33 -11 31 (25) Timo Meier, RW - Halifax (QMJHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 61 208 33 21 25 46 11 32 (36) Nicolas Roy, C - Chicoutimi (QMJHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 64 202 37 10 18 28 3 33 (34) Guillaume Brisebois, D - Acadie (QMJHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 62 170 37 3 13 16 -18 34 (38) Mitchell Vande Sompel, D - Oshawa (OHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 510 182 36 6 34 40 14 35 (-) Parker Wotherspoon, D - Tri-CIty (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 60 171 29 8 14 22 -3 36 (40) Rasmus Andersson, D - Barrie (OHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 60 210 37 8 29 37 3 37 (39) Gustav Bouramman, D - Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 511 184 38 5 20 25 14 38 (29) Brendan Guhle, D - Prince Albert (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 62 184 40 3 11 14 -6 39 (-) Roope Hintz, C/LW - Ilves (SM Liiga) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 63 185 26 4 7 11 6 40 (31) Jordan Greenway, LW - USA NTDP (USHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 65 222 22 2 15 17 41 (47) Jacob Larsson, D - Frolunda (Sweden J-20) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 62 191 22 5 6 11 -5 42 (-) Jens Looke, RW - Brynas (SHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 61 180 28 2 4 6 -2 43 (32) Adam Musil, C/RW - Red Deer (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 63 206 34 9 16 25 -2 44 (49) Erik Foley, LW - Cedar Rapids (USHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 60 185 28 15 13 28 11 45 (52) Paul Bittner, LW - Portland (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 64 206 35 15 13 28 9 46 (37) Nikita Korostelev, RW - Sarnia (OHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 61 195 34 16 20 36 8 47 (57) Blake Speers, C - Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 511 177 34 18 26 44 10 48 (48) Yakov Trenin, C - Gatineau (QMJHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 62 192 31 11 25 36 7 49 (48) Andrew Mangiapane, RW - Barrie (OHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 510 170 37 22 37 59 5 50 (51) Christian Fischer, RW - USA NTDP (USHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 61 212 33 16 15 31 51 (-) Vladislav Gavrikov, D - Loko Yaroslavl (MHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 63 205 16 1 6 7 7 52 (46) Noah Juulsen, D - Everett (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 61 175 39 4 25 29 14 53 (41) Vince Dunn, D - Niagara (OHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 60 182 37 7 16 23 -3 54 (43) David Kase, C - Chomutov (Czech Jr.) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 511 169 35 5 5 10 8 55 (33) Sebastian Aho, RW - Karpat (SM Liiga) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 511 172 17 2 3 5 2 56 (59) Ethan Bear, D - Seattle (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- R 60 202 36 9 13 22 0 57 (54) Felix Sandstrom, G - Brynas Jr. (Sweden - J20) S HT WT GP GAA SV% S/O W-L L 62 191 8 3.31 .896 0 3-3-0 58 (45) Ryan Pilon, D - Brandon (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 62 212 37 6 27 33 13 59 (53) Ryan Gropp, LW - Seattle (WHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 62 184 37 15 18 33 2 60 (58) Adam Marsh, LW - Saint John (QMJHL) S HT WT GP G A PTS +/- L 60 160 37 18 14 32 10 61 (61) Callum Booth, G - Quebec (QMJHL) S HT WT L 63 199 62 (69) MacKenzie Blackwood, G - Barrie (G) S HT WT L 62 215 63 (66) Nathan Noel, C - Saint John (QMJHL) S HT WT R 511 170 64 (75) Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, C/RW - Ohama (USHL) S HT WT R 61 192 65 (74) Alexander Dergachyov, RW - SKA St. Petersburg (Russia - MHL) S HT WT L 64 200 66 (71) Glenn Gawdin, C - Swift Current (WHL) S HT WT R 61 188 67 (78) Travis Dermott, D - Erie (OHL) S HT WT L 511 197 68 (82) Dennis Yan, LW - Quebec (QMJHL) S HT WT L 61 180 69 (56) Matthew Spencer, D - Peterborough (OHL) S HT WT R 62 200 70 (55) Daniel Vladar, G - Kladno (Czech Jr.) S HT WT L 65 185 71 (-) Ziyat Paygin, D - AK Bars Kazan (KHL) S HT WT L 65 209 72 (-) Denis Guryanov, RW - Togilatti 2 (MHL) S HT WT L 63 183 73 (-) Keegan Kolesar, RW - Seattle (WHL) S HT WT R 61 217 74 (60) Michael Spacek, RW - Pardubice (Czech Jr.) S HT WT R 511 187 75 (62) Jonas Siegenthaler, D - GCK Zurich (Swiss 2) S HT WT L 63 220 76 (63) Caleb Jones, D - USA NTDP (USHL) S HT WT L 60 194 77 (64) Reid Gardiner, C/RW - Prince Albert WHL (QMJHL) S HT WT R 511 187 78 (73) Deven Sideroff, RW - Kemloops (WHL) S HT WT R 511 171 79 (77) Lukas Jasek, RW - Trinec Jr. (Czech Jr.) S HT WT R 511 165 80 (-) Dmitri Zhukenov, C - Omsk (MHL) S HT WT R 511 169 81 (89) AleksiSaarela, C - Assat Pori (Finland Jr.) S HT WT L 511 198 82 (68) Graham Knott, LW - Niagara (OHL) S HT WT L 64 192 83 (76) Brent Gates, C - Green Bay (USHL) S HT WT L 62 196 84 (81) Spencer Smallman, RW - Saint John (QMJHL) S HT WT R 61 184 85 (87) Gabriel Carlsson, D - Linkoping (Sweden - J20) S HT WT L 64 183 86 (80) Brendan Warren, LW - USA NTDP (USHL) S HT WT L 60 191 87 (90) Samuel Dove-McFalls, C/LW - Saint John (QMJHL) S HT WT L 62 207 88 (-) Yegor Rykov, D - SKA St.Petersburg (MHL) S HT WT L 61 216 89 (99) Kyle Capobianco, D - Sudbury (OHL) S HT WT L 61 178 90 (91) Brien Diffley, D - Boston University (HE - NCAA) S HT WT L 61 176 91 (-) Dennis Godla, G - Slovakia U-18 (Extra) S HT WT L 511 176 92 (88) Zachary Senyshyn, RW - Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) S HT WT R 61 192 93 (67) AJ Greer, LW - Boston University (HE - NCAA) S HT WT L 63 204 94 (84) Denis Malgin, C - Zurich (Suisse) S HT WT R 58 163 95 (65) Julius Nattinen, C - JYP (Finland - Jr.) S HT WT L 62 191 96 (93) Mathieu Joseph, LW - Saint John (QMJHL) S HT WT L 61 166 97 (94) Kameron Kielly, RW - Charlottetown (QMJHL) S HT WT R 60 180 98 (95) Tory Dello, D - Tri-City (USHL) S HT WT R 60 187 99 (-) Christian Jaros, D - Lulea Jr. (SWE J20 Elite) S HT WT R 63 201 100 (-) Dmitri Yudon, D - SKA St. Petersburg (KHL) S HT WT L 62 185 Adidas Shoes Uk Sale . On Thursday theyll learn even more. Despite the cloud of uncertainty that has followed them around from the moment general manager Masai Ujiri was brought in to put his stamp on the franchise, the Raptors have surpassed all pre-season expectations. Adidas Shoes Uk Online Shop . Six years of waiting are finally over for the Dallas defenceman. 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The Rangers acquired Detwiler from Washington in a December trade, sending a pair of minor leaguers to the Nationals. After missing most of the 2013 season because of back issues, Detwiler went 2-3 with a 4.00 ERA in 47 relief appearances for the Nationals last season. He had been useed as both a starter and reliever over the course of his seven-year career, but last season pitched exclusively out of the bullpen.dddddddddddd Texas is expected to give him an opportunity to start, but he could also be used in a setup role. The 28-year-old left-hander has compiled a 20-32 record with a 3.82 ERA in 132 career games, including 69 starts. His most productive campaign came in 2012 when he went 10-8 with a 3.40 ERA in 33 games (27 starts). ' ' '