Forward Kasperi Kapanen, defenseman Julius Honka and goaltender Juuse Saros highlight the preliminary roster of players invited to the Finnish National Junior Team evaluation camp that will determine the team looking to defend its championship at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship later this month.

Honka and Saros are two of seven returning players from the team that captured a gold medal at the 2014 IIHF WJC in Malmo, Sweden. It marked the first medal of any kind for Finland since earning a bronze medal at the 2006 WJC in Vancouver.

Two first-round NHL draft picks and six A-rated prospects on NHL Central Scouting's players to watch list for the 2015 NHL Draft highlight the 32-man preliminary roster of players for the Czech Republic for the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Highlighting the list of players are center Jakub Vrana (Washington Capitals, No. 13, 2014) and left wing David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins, No. 25 , 2014). They combined for two goals and five points in five games for the Czech Republic at the 2014 WJC in Sweden.

While Vrana has to be considered a lock to make the team, Pastrnak's availability is at question. He has played well in five games with the Bruins since making his NHL debut Nov. 24.

Left wing Kevin Fiala, selected by the Nashville Predators with the 11th pick of the 2014 NHL Draft, heads the 31-man preliminary roster released by the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation that will determine the team Switzerland fields for the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship in Montreal and Toronto beginning Dec. 26.

Fiala, who had one goal and five points in five games at the 2014 WJC, is one of four plyaers on the camp roster who skated with the team that finished seventh at the 2014 WJC in Sweden. Also back are defensemen Phil Baltisberger and Yannick Rathgeb and center Jason Fuchs.

This season Fiala has five goals and 14 points in 17 games playing for HV71 in the Swedish Elite League.

Switzerland, which will hold camp Dec. 15-18 in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, and from Dec. 20-25 in Oshawa, Ontario, will be coached by John Fust. The Swiss Ice Hockey Federation expects its final 23-man roster to be named by Dec. 25.

Also on Switzerland's camp roster are seven top prospects for the 2015 draft. Right wing Timo Meier, who plays for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, is considered an A-rated skater on NHL Central Scouting's November players to watch list.

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation on Tuesday revealed its 37-man preliminary camp roster for the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.

The camp will help determine the 23-man roster for Russia at the 2015 WJC, which begins Dec. 26 in Montreal and Toronto.

Russia's camp roster includes two first-round NHL draft picks: forward Nikolay Goldobin, who was chosen No. 27 in the 2014 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks, and defenseman Nikita Zadorov, selected No. 16 in the 2013 draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

Speed, goaltending and a deep roster are three important components United States National Junior Team general manager Jim Johannson knows are critical at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Johannson feels he has plenty of that among the 30-man roster of players USA Hockey invited to selection camp that will be held on the campus of Boston University at Walter Brown Arena from Dec. 16-19. The select camp will help determine the final 23-man roster that will represent the country at the 2015 WJC beginning Dec. 26 in Montreal and Toronto.

The U.S. has medaled in three of the past five WJC tournaments, including gold in 2010 and 2013 and bronze in 2011.

"The game is about speed now and we have speed and our depth is going to be excellent," Johannson told USAHockey.com. "You also need good goaltending and we have good candidates. These [goalies] are going to have to take charge in there and it'll be a good competition since there are good goalies vying for the starting job.

"I think we'll be a team that has the puck a lot and will play with the puck; it'll be an exciting brand of hockey."

A six-pack of first-round NHL draft picks, seven returning players and five top 2015 NHL Draft-eligible prospects highlight the list of 30 players invited by USA Hockey to a selection camp to determine the U.S. National Junior Team that will play at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship in Canada later this month.

The selection camp will take place Dec. 16-19 on the campus of Boston University at Walter Brown Arena. It will include five practices as well as a pre-tournament exhibition game against Boston University at Walter Brown Arena on Dec. 19. When training in Boston is complete, the team will travel to Kingston, Ontario, to continue the evaluation process at Rogers K-Rock Centre from Dec. 21-24.

The final 23-player tournament roster will be announced by Dec. 24.

U.S. coach Mark Osiecki will oversee a camp that includes 17 forwards, 10 defensemen and three goalies. There are 12 states and 15 NHL teams represented on the roster.

MONTREAL – Hockey Canada wants older players at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.

They obviously made an exception for center Connor McDavid, but they also made one for forward Lawson Crouse, who plays for the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League.

Crouse and McDavid are the only two players eligible for the 2015 NHL Draft who were invited Monday to take part in the Canada National Junior Team selection camp, slated to start Dec. 11 in Toronto.

McDavid is a returning player and expected to be a top-two pick in the next draft, so his invitation was a formality. But the inclusion of Crouse on the list stood out, because his name was the only other one besides McDavid’s without an NHL affiliated team next to it.

Hockey Canada director of player personnel Ryan Jankowski said a big reason Crouse is on the list is because he is built like a player considerably older than 17. That’s what set Crouse apart from some of the other draft-eligible players vying for a spot at the camp.

“Mitch Marner, Nick Merkley, Dylan Strome are all great players, they’re all very talented,” Jankowski said. “Lawson Crouse is 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. We just think he has the ability to take the wear and tear of a tournament such as this. That’s not to discount the other guys, it’s just that Lawson is big, strong, plays a very straight forward game, he’s exceptional on the penalty kill and he’s got 12 goals now in the Ontario Hockey League, which for a big man at 17 is really good as well.

“Other guys are great players and I hope they don’t feel slighted, they’re going to get their opportunity, but in this case because of his size and his strength, and it being a big man tournament, we felt Lawson was a real credible guy for us.”

Connor McDavid, expected to be one of the top picks at the 2015 NHL Draft, was among the players invited to Hockey Canada's Canadian National Junior Team selection camp that begins Dec. 11 in Toronto.

The camp will help determine the final roster Canada will use at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship, which will be held Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Montreal and Toronto.

McDavid, a center with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League, has missed the past eight games because of a fracture in his right hand sustained Nov. 11. He still is second in the OHL with 51 points (16 goals, 35 assists) in 18 games.