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PITTSBURGH -- Nathan MacKinnon has been compared to Sidney Crosby for much of his life. The two grew up in the same Canadian town and both went No. 1 in the NHL draft. Now they get to take a much closer look at each other. MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche visit Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night in the first NHL matchup of the pride of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. Catch the game on TSN2 starting at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Avalanche and Penguins are each off to a 7-1 start, with MacKinnon and Crosby playing a key role. The 26-year-old Crosby has seven goals and 10 assists for a league-best 17 points. MacKinnon, who turned 18 on Sept. 1, has a goal and six assists. MacKinnon called Crosby the best player in the world and said the centre is "on fire right now." But MacKinnon is focused on what he needs to do to help the Avalanche get another win. "Any time hes out there when youre not on the ice, you sometimes get to enjoy and watch some good players when youre playing against them," he said. "But when youre out there, you dont worry about who youre playing against. You worry about what you have to do." Crosby knows a lot about what MacKinnon is going through in his first year in the NHL. Crosby, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft, faced high expectations when he was an 18-year-old rookie and had 102 points in his first season with Pittsburgh. MacKinnon became one of the leagues top prospects when he starred for Halifax of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in the previous two seasons. He was the most valuable player of the Memorial Cup in May, leading his team to the title. "Obviously he skates really well, and I dont think you see too many young guys that can shoot the puck like he can in their first year," Crosby said. "I think hes got a great shot. I think hes got all the tools -- really good hands, he works hard, and hes not afraid to go into traffic areas and create chances that way. So I think he gives himself a lot of opportunities to create things." The Avalanche struggled during last years lockout-shortened season, but they have been one of the leagues surprise teams so far this year under new coach Patrick Roy, a Hall of Fame goaltender. Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said he expects to see a young team with fresh legs and a lot of speed on Monday night, and MacKinnon is certainly part of that mix. Hailing from the same hometown as one of the NHLs best players puts a lot of pressure on a rising player. But Crosby believes guys such as MacKinnon and Seth Jones -- a defenceman who was the Nashville Predators first-round draft pick this year -- are better prepared for the NHL due to their extensive experience coming into the league. "Both (MacKinnon) and Seth Jones were talked about for a long time," Crosby said. "Theyve been through everything -- World Cup, World Juniors, and all that stuff. So I think everything has prepared them to get to this point and, as everyone has seen pretty quickly here, it hasnt taken them long to get used to NHL hockey. Theyve adjusted well." Chris Davis Jersey . You can, too, Clay Buchholz, if we ignore the sixth inning of Game 2. Doug Fister and Jake Peavy, youre up next in Game 4 and theres a lot to live up to. Brooks Robinson Jersey . Speaking on TSN Radio 1050s TSN Drive with Dave Naylor on Monday, Colangelo said he had no intention of tanking the shortened 2011-12 season, but definitely wanted a high pick in the draft. "I wish that word wasnt used for headline reasons," said Colangelo, "but the story behind it was: how can we fix the system? How can we tweak the system to make it less likely that teams are rewarded for losing records? 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There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season.Canadas world junior summer development squad will put their skills to the test in a series of exhibition games, beginning tonight against the Czech Republic from Montreals Ed Meagher Arena. Watch the game live and exclusively on TSN.ca and TSN GO at 7pm et/4pm pt. All of Canadas exhibition games will be streamed live on TSN.ca and TSN GO. See schedule below. Hockey Canada invited 41 players to take part in the development camp that runs until Friday. The list includes 11 returning members from the squad that finished fourth at the 2014 World Junior Hockey Championship in Malmo, Sweden. Connor McDavid, Sam Reinhart, Aaron Ekblad and Jonathan Drouin headline the returnees. They are joined by a wealth of prospects from Canadian NHL clubs, including Winnipeg Jets prospects Nicolas Petan and Josh Morrissey, Montreal Canadiens prospect Zachary Fucale, Toronto Maple Leafs pick Frederik Gauthier, Vancouver Canucks prospect Bo Horvat and Ottawa Senators pick Curtis Lazar. The list also features five players that were selected in the Top 10 of the 2014 NHL Draft: Sam Bennett, Michael Daal Colle, Jake Virtanen, Nick Ritchie and Haydn Fleury.dddddddddddd Other prospects of note that got invited include Darnell Nurse and Greg Chase (Edmonton), Max Domi (Phoenix), Morgan Klimchuk (Calgary), Eric Comrie (Winnipeg), Jeremy Gregoire (Montreal) and Ben Harpur (Ottawa). A total of 22 players will be selected to represent Canada. Following the exhibition games, Canada will open the 11-day tournament on Dec. 26 with a group game against Slovakia in Montreal. Canada will play its four round-robin matches at Montreals Bell Centre. The Canadians are in Group A with the United States, Finland, Slovakia and Germany. Toronto will welcome teams from Group B, which includes Russia, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Switzerland. The gold-medal game will take place at the Air Canada Centre on Jan. 5. Live and exclusively streaming on TSN.ca and TSN GO: Tue, Aug 5: Canada vs. Czech Republic at 7pm et/4pm ptWed, Aug 6: Canada vs. Russia at 7pm et/4pm ptThu, Aug 7: Canada vs. Russia at 7pm et/4pm ptFri, Aug 8: Canada vs. Czech Republic at Noon et/9am pt ' ' '