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Its too early to say exactly how Team USA will fare at the 2015 World Junior Championship, but based on the 30 players invited today by USA Hockey to try out, this much is certain: the Americans will be the favourite team of NHL scouts. Team USA is going to be young, and young can often mean trouble at the WJC, but a number of these young Americans have been designated as special talents who have the wherewithal to rise above their inexperience. Six of their 30 invitees have not been through an NHL draft yet and at least four of those six – Boston University centre Jack Eichel, U.S. Under-18 star centre Auston Matthews as well as college freshmen defencemen Noah Hanifin of Boston College and Zach Werenski of the University of Michigan -- are expected to play prominent roles on Team USA. Eichel, Hanifin and Werenski are in this years NHL draft class; Matthews is 2016 eligible, although he only missed the cut-off for this years draft by two days. Were Matthews available this year, its highly likely the Americans would have three (Eichel, Matthews and Hanifin) of the top four prospects in this years draft. Heres a position-by-position look at the 30 players going to the final U.S. evaluation camp: CENTRE: Eichel, who is Connor McDavids No. 1 challenger to be first overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, and Matthews, the Arizona-born product who is touted at No. 1 for 2016, will be Team USAs one-two punch up the middle. Toss in Detroit first-rounder Dylan Larkin of the University of Michigan and his Wolverine teammate J.T. Compher, a Buffalo Sabre prospect, and Team USAs four centres could be set. Larkin and/or Compher could be shifted to the wing if necessary. That could be a possibility if diminutive Chase DeLeo, a Winnipeg Jet prospect who plays for the Portland Winterhawks, challenges for a spot in the middle. RIGHT WING: There are two wild cards on the right side – 1997-born, 2015-draft eligible Jeremy Bracco, who is knocking down U.S. U-18 scoring records of Pat Kane and Phil Kessel, and 19-year-old Noble and Greenough Prep Schools Miles Wood, the New Jersey Devil fourth-round pick (2013) who is the son of former NHLer Randy Wood – challenging five bona fide NHL prospects, four of whom are 19. Minnesota first-rounder Alex Tuch of Boston College and University of Minnesota returnee Hudson Fasching, the Los Angeles King draftee whose NHL rights now belong to Buffalo, appear to be locks. Yale Universitys John Hayden, a Chicago Blackhawk prospect, and Vancouver Canuck prospect Cole Cassels of the Oshawa Generals, are strong contenders for spots. Cassels was recently suspended by the OHL for 10 games, which would make him ineligible to play in Team USAs first two games, but there has been talk of the OHL reducing his suspension to permit him to start the tourney, assuming he makes the team. Michael McCarron, the Montreal Canadien behemoth prospect who plays for the London Knights, is also in the mix on the right side, though he could also contend for a position at centre, depending on what head coach Mark Osiecki decides to do with Larkin and/or Compher. LEFT WING: The top contenders for the four spots on the left side include: returnee Adam Erne, the Tampa prospect who plays for the Quebec Remparts; Sonny Milano, the Columbus prospect who plays for the Plymouth Whalers; Tyler Motte, the Chicago prospect who plays at the University of Michigan; and Chicago prospect Nick Schmaltz, who plays at the University of North Dakota. Miami Universitys Anthony Louis, yet another Blackhawk prospect, will try to break up that group. If you want to draw any conclusions from Team USAs summer camp forward lines, Eichel played between Motte and Tuch; Matthews played between Schmaltz and Hayden; and Larkin played between Milano and Fasching. Erne didnt play at the summer camp because of injury and neither did Cassels, who was sidelined by mononucleosis. DEFENCE: Many question marks on the Team USA blueline; much potential or upside. But the most important question mark is the health of returnee blueliner Steve Santini of Boston College. The 1995-born New Jersey Devil prospect is still rehabbing from wrist surgery on Oct. 28 and hasnt played since then. Theres some question as to whether hell be ready to go by the Dec. 26 opener. If hes healthy enough to play, Santini could be Team USAs captain and the steadying influence on what will almost certainly be a highly-skilled, mobile but young defence. Will Butcher, a University of Denver player drafted by the Colorado Avalanche, and Ian McCoshen, a Florida Panther prospect who plays for Boston College, are returnees on the left side blueline from last years WJC team. But theyre going to get pushed, and pushed hard, by the 2015 draft eligibles Hanifin and Werenski. Both are outstanding skaters with high-end offensive ability. Michael Downing, a University of Michigan player and Florida Panther prospect, is a steady defensive defenceman wholl also contend for a spot on the left side. On the right side, if Santini cant go, it creates an enormous hole. Tampa first-rounder Anthony DeAngelo, the so-called Sarnia Sting bad boy who has world-class skating and offensive ability, is a strong right-side contender so long as he doesnt lapse into taking bad penalties or losing his cool. Jack Dougherty, the University of Wisconsin freshman drafted by Nashville, and Ryan Collins, a University of Minnesota freshman and Columbus Blue Jacket prospect, are both known as reliable, steady defenders. Brandon Carlo, the Tri City American defender who is draft eligible this year, rounds out the right-side competition. Getting Santini into the lineup and finding the right mix of offensive and defensive talents will be key for the Americans. GOAL: Returnee Thatcher Demko of Boston College, a Vancouver Canuck prospect, is expected to be no worse than one of Team USAs two goalies and could be the starter. Hell be challenged by a pair of OHL netminders – Carolina prospect Alex Nedeljkovic of the Plymouth Whalers and New York Ranger prospect Brandon Halverson of the Soo Greyhounds. Team USA is in the same group as Team Canada this year, so that means the two rivals will re-establish their New Years Eve tradition, going head-to-head in a preliminary round game at the Bell Centre in Montreal at 4pm et on Dec. 31. Nike Vapormax Schwarz Sale . Phoenix originally signed Barbosa to a 10-day contract on Jan. 8 after Eric Bledsoe injured his knee and then signed him to another 10-day deal. Nike Vapormax Off White Kaufen . A judge had summoned Clemens and Brian McNamee to federal court in Brooklyn for settlement talks aimed at heading off a trial in the defamation case. McNamees lawyer emerged saying an agreement wasnt likely. "I think this is a case where the lines are deeply drawn in the sand," said attorney Richard Emery. http://www.vapormaxschuhe.de/vapormax-herren-deutschland.html . - The infectious smile was missing from Nam Nguyen last week. Nvapormax Plus Deutschland . They showered him with "MVP! MVP!" chants. In many ways, it seemed like hed never been gone. Vapormax Off White Fake Kaufen . LUCIE, Fla.DUNEDIN, Florida – On Tuesday afternoon, TSN.ca sat down with Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker for an exclusive 1-on-1 at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. Last season, thanks to injuries and ineffectiveness, Torontos starting rotation posted a 4.81 ERA, second-worst in all of baseball. If the Jays are going to compete in the ultra-tough American League East, the staff will have to drastically improve that number. This discussion focuses on the makeup of the rotation, early favourites to earn a spot and whether Walker truly believes this club has enough major league-ready, quality arms to be playing meaningful games in August and September. To listen to the interview, click here. TSN.ca: Pete, weve got a lot to get to here so Im going to fire some bullets here and hope you dont dodge them. Here we go: Drew Hutchison, first and foremost, very, very impressive on Saturday in Sarasota with a fastball clocked in the mid-90s. Could you foresee him on the starting staff when we break camp on March 30, March 31? WALKER: You know, its definitely early in camp but watching him work, watching him go about his business and the way hes carrying himself right now and the way the ball is coming out of his hand, the command, the poise, the power, its a pretty good group of pitches there. Right now, hes just doing everything he needs to do to set himself apart from some of the other guys. Again, its his first outing. You dont want to put too much stock in it but the evidence points to him being on top of his game right now, feeling great coming back from the Tommy John surgery and, again, you cant say enough about the first impression in camp for Drew. The way its going for him, if he continues to pitch this way and continues to throw the ball the way hes throwing, hes certainly a strong candidate for that rotation. TSN.ca: Were looking at whats a pretty obvious top three here right now. R.A. (Dickey) is going to get the opening day start. Brandon Morrow will slot in behind and Mark Buehrle will slot in behind. Then there is that much, much larger grouping of which Hutchison is one, that includes J.A. Happ, Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond, Kyle Drabek and the list goes on and on and on. In terms of how youre assessing the back end the rotation right now, is there one spot available or are there two spots available? WALKER: Were looking at it as one. Certainly, J.A. hasnt gotten off to a great start for him right now. We would love him to be in that rotation. Certainly, hes a guy whos pitched in the big leagues and had some success. We like where his slot is right now. Obviously, the last outing didnt go very well for him. We want to make sure hes feeling as good as he needs to be physically and were going to get him out there many more times this spring. Hes a guy we want in that rotation, theres no question about it but with that being said, theres a competition down here and the guys coming in that are performing well, obviously you dont want to put too much stock in spring training, but the guys that come in ready to go, its hard to deny the way theyre throwing the ball and if they continue to throw the ball that way on a positive note, they could definitely see themselves being mentioned in that fourth and fifth slot. TSN.ca: The business side at this time of year can be just as involved in decision-making as the performance side and Esmil Rogers and Todd Redmond are two guys who contributed to your starting rotation, really in a pinch, late last season and did reasonably well. Both are out of options, which for the uninitiated means they could not be sent to the minors without going through waivers and you run the risk of losing them. How much of a factor do options play in the ultimate decision-making process here? WALKER: Its a fine line. I mean, obviously, from a player development standpoint you want to make sure the guys who are young are ready to come up here and obviously, you dont want to lose good arms through the waiver process with guys that have had success in the big leagues like Redmond and Rogers. Those guys did a great job for us last year. Were looking forward to them being part of the staff but again, youve got to watch these younger guys, Hutchison, Stroman and watch the way they throw the ball this spring. If those are the guys that are going to give us the best chance to win in April, then you have to strongly consider it. You certainly, over the course of a long season, dont want to lose quality arms, thats for sure because at some point, youre going to need those guys. Rogers is potentially a number four or five starter in the big leagues, going out there every fifth day with the stuff that he throws out there. Certainly at times last year, he looked like it. Redmonds the same. I mean, he did a fantastic job for us late in the season. You cant just overlook those guys; they did do a nice job for us, they are candidates, viable candidates to fill those positions and guys were very confident in. But it is hard to deny that you see a guy like Hutchison and Stroman and see how poised they are and see how theyre doing over the course of spring training and the way they carry themselves that they act and look like big leaguers, theres no doubt about it. Itll be interesting to watch the rest of the spring because theres a lot of pitching left for these guys and certainly guys will have the ability to step up or take a step back. TSN.ca: Have there been any changes in the way that you guys want to approach hitters this season? WALKER: From a pitching philosophy standpoint? TSN.ca: Yes. WALKER: No doubt. Obviously last year didnt go well for a number of reasons. You always look back on the season and you find reasons why. You look to evaluate certain areas and you look to make adjustments I guess as a player, as a coach, its a constant changing so to speak so were always looking to improve. I think, this year, the one thing we do want to implement more is the off-speed pitch, you know, the changeup. We had guys with great stuff that got hurt sometimes because they didnt change speeds well enough, you know disrupt hitters timing. I think, this year, were looking to do that a little bit more. I think its very important from a pitching perspective, in those advanced meetings on the opposing side that they recognize we have good off-speed stuff as well as the power, just to disrupt their timing so thats something were definitely looking into. Aside from that, strike one more consistently and minimizing the walks.dddddddddddd. Our walks were too high last year. We want to attack the zone, again it was a philosophy last year it just didnt really follow through but were definitely emphasizing it more this spring, changing speeds and really going after the hitters early on. TSN.ca: I dont know if it shows much on TV but when you walk around and you look at Brandon Morrow, you definitely notice a different body type. Hes put on some muscle and he shared with us that he tipped the scales at 219 pounds. This time last year, he was 189 pounds on his way to 203 by opening day. Is he healthy? How is he feeling? How confident are you that he can be the guy to give you 180-200 innings and win you 15-18 games because looking at the rotation, that seems to be awfully important? WALKER: His track record isnt great, you cant deny that but he definitely came into camp ready to go. He looks strong, he feels strong, the balls coming out of his hand great. He said he feels great so we are counting on him to be a workhorse for us. We need him to be a workhorse for this staff and be a leader out there and take the ball every fifth day. Obviously, if that doesnt happen, thats going to be a big blow to this staff. We need him to be out there. I think he recognizes that and, like I said, hes come to camp in great shape. Hes stronger. To me, he looks more durable and, like I said, the ball is coming out nice for this time of the spring. Were counting on him heavily. He knows it and I feel like hes ready for the challenge. TSN.ca: Whats your relationship like with R.A. Dickey because, as a conventional pitcher, you were one of about 99 per cent of the pitchers all-time who were fastball and you work through your repertoire. Hes a knuckleballer and youve had him now for a year. How do you help him? What kind of tips do you give him? What does he ask of you because its obviously not a pitch youre familiar with? WALKER: Ive certainly learned a lot about the pitch, thats for sure, and the mechanics of the pitch. There are some traditional things that he does with his delivery that we look at, no question about it but Ive learned over the course of our side sessions and the terminology that hes used in the past, Ive learned certain things that were looking for in his delivery when they break down to let him know. He watches video. He prepares as well as anybody in the game, from a pitching standpoint, to recognize hitters weaknesses and what their strengths are. Its one of those things, over the course of the year, we learned a lot about each other. He is a determined worker. I know last year didnt go the way he expected or we expected initially. I do believe the WBC and the issues early on physically affected him. This year, he is more focused than I remember last year, thats for sure. His mind is in the right place, hes very determined and hes setting a great example for the younger guys. To me, he looks like hes on a mission to have a very successful season right from the get-go. The ball is coming out of his hand great right now, the movement on the ball, the velocity on the ball is better than last spring. Hes in a good place and, again, we need him to not only take the ball every fifth day but be a leader on this team and show the younger guys how its supposed to be done. TSN.ca: Two more for you, one is a look back and one is a look ahead. How long did you dwell on last season once you were able to get home and get away for a little bit? With some sober second thought, out of the heat of the battle, how did you assess what went on and some of the reasons why? WALKER: It was obviously a very difficult season for everybody involved. There were some sleepless nights. I felt like, at the end of the season, Id thrown 162 games and thats the way it should be as a pitching coach. You take it to heart. It definitely bothered me but going into the offseason, it was like starting with a clean slate, wanting to come into spring training with a fresh outlook and we certainly have. The guys are coming in, like I said were healthy, we need to be healthy, we need to stay healthy so were staying on top of those things. Were also coming in with a different frame of mind. I want these guys to believe in their stuff and take charge of their game. Last year, there were times when I think we just expected that we were going to do well and we were all guilty of it. But this year, I think theres a different look in these guys faces, the pitchers especially and I know theres been a couple of tough games these past two games but overall, the starters and the guys competing for spots are very focused and I like the way theyre going about their business and Im very pleased with where they are. TSN.ca: Pete, looking ahead, youll know this as much as anybody else, there is some concern amongst a large portion of the fan base up in Toronto that general manager Alex Anthopoulos did not add to the pitch staff externally this offseason, via free agency or via trade. So the question is, youve mentioned Hutchison, you did use Stromans name in an answer, Aaron Sanchez as well, how close are we to seeing Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and some of those guys not just come up and make their big league debuts but potentially contribute every fifth day to a successful team? WALKER: I think theyre real close, especially Drew Hutchison and Marcus Stroman. Whether that had something to do with Alexs decision or not this offseason, I know he was working very hard on a daily basis and we do have good options here. Obviously youre seeing it play out right in front of your eyes right here during spring training and I think you will for the rest of spring training. We certainly, in our pitchers meeting before spring training started, I definitely emphasized with these guys that we have enough in this room. I look at R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle and the other pitchers in that room and with that bullpen and with the young guys coming up, we certainly have enough pitching to be competitive and to win a lot of games and put us in a position for potential postseason play. But they have to believe it. I know, based on last year, the fan base and the media, its questionable in their minds but I know in that room, those guys are healthy, theyre determined, maybe they have a little chip on their shoulders but theyre definitely looking forward to the season and I definitely feel good about the group that we have. TSN.ca: We wish you guys well, Pete, thanks so much. WALKER: Thank you. ' ' '