Forwards Evgeny Svechnikov and Denis Gurianov, defenseman Ivan Provorov and goaltender Ilya Samsonov, each selected in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft, were among the 29 players invited to Russia's selection camp for possible participation in the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in Finland.

Three goaltenders, 10 defensemen and 16 forwards were named to the roster for camp, which begins Dec. 13 and includes exhibition games against Kontinental Hockey League member clubs Dynamo and Spartak before the team travels to Helsinki, Finland. Russia, to be coached by Valery Bragin, will also play an exhibition game against Denmark on Dec. 24.

Russia won a silver medal at the 2015 WJC after losing to Canada, 5-4, in the tournament final at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Jan. 5.

Auston Matthews, expected to be the first player picked at the 2016 NHL Draft, was among the 29 players invited to USA Hockey's selection camp for the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship, USA Hockey announced Monday.

Camp will be held Dec. 15-18 at Agganis Arena on the campus of Boston University. It will include four practices and an exhibition game against the University of Massachusetts-Amherst on Dec. 18.

The 2016 WJC will be held Dec. 26 to Jan. 5, 2016 in Helsinki, Finland. The U.S. opens play Dec. 26 against Canada in a Group A preliminary-round game. Also in Group A are Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland. Russia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Finland and Belarus are Group B.

Matthews has 11 goals and 20 points in 19 games with Zurich in National League A, Switzerland's top professional league. He earned an A rating from NHL Central Scouting on its November players to watch list.

Forwards Jesse Puljujarvi and Patrik Laine and defenseman Olli Juolevi, each projected to be first-round picks at the 2016 NHL Draft, head a list of 27 players invited to Finland's selection camp 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland.

Puljujarvi, a 6-foot-3, 203-pound right wing, has five goals and 12 points for Karpat in Liiga, Finland's top professional league. Laine, a 6-4, 206-pound right wing, has eight goals and 13 points for Tappara in Liiga. Juolevi (6-2, 179) has four goals, 23 points and a plus-23 rating in 27 games with London of the Ontario Hockey League.

All three players received A ratings from NHL Central Scouting in its November players to watch list.

Three forwards that could go in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft were among the 26 players that will attend Sweden's training camp for the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship, which starts Dec. 26 in Helsinki, Finland.

Forwards Rasmus Asplund, Carl Grundstrom and Alexander Nylander all earned A ratings from NHL Central Scouting in its November players to watch list.

Asplund, a 5-foot-11, 176-pound center, has three goals and five points in 25 games with Farjestad in the Swedish Hockey League. Grundstrom, a 6-foot, 194-pound right wing, has two goals and seven points in 25 games with Modo in the SHL.

Nylander, a 6-foot, 179-pound center with Mississauga in the Ontario Hockey League, is fourth in the league with 21 goals and sixth with 47 points. He leads OHL rookies in goals, assists (31) and points in 31 games.

Simon Stransky, a top prospect for the 2016 NHL Draft, is among the 34 players invited by the Czech Ice Hockey Association to an evaluation camp for the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship.

The 2016 WJC will run Dec. 26 to Jan. 5, 2016 in Helsinki, Finland.

Stransky, who plays for Prince Albert in the Western Hockey League, has 11 goals and 30 points in 26 games. The 5-foot-11, 171-pound right wing earned an A rating from NHL Central Scouting in its November players to watch list.

TORONTO -- Every year the Canadian National Junior Team hopes to receive an early Christmas present from an NHL team in the form of a teenage player who can help the cause at the IIHF World Junior Championship.

Last year the New York Rangers were in a giving mood when they loaned forward Anthony Duclair. He scored four goals in seven games to help Canada win gold for the first time since 2009.

On Tuesday, Hockey Canada released its 30-player invite list for a selection camp to be held Dec. 10-14 in Toronto. There were no NHL players on the list, but that could change before the NHL roster freeze starts Dec. 19.

There are six teenagers in the NHL eligible to play for Canada: Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, and forwards Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, Sam Bennett of the Calgary Flames, Robby Fabbri of the St. Louis Blues, and Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann of the Vancouver Canucks.

TORONTO -- The Canadian National Junior Team will have plenty of fresh faces when it opens its gold-medal defense at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Hockey Canada released its 30-player roster for selection camp, which will be held Dec. 10-14 in Toronto and will be the final step in picking the roster that will play for Canada at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship, which will be held Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Helsinki, Finland.

Forwards Lawson Crouse and Brayden Point, and defenseman Joe Hicketts were the only players available who were part of the gold medal-winning team last year in Toronto.

The camp roster consists of 11 defensemen, 17 forwards and two goalies: Mackenzie Blackwood, a New Jersey Devils draft pick, and Mason McDonald, a Calgary Flames prospect. The final roster for the tournament will have two goalies, seven defensemen and 13 forwards.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- There's certainly a lot to get excited about when discussion shifts to the increasing potential of the 2016 NHL Draft class.

Fans and some 100 NHL scouts had an opportunity to witness two of the most high-profile prospects eligible for the draft during United States National Junior Evaluation Camp here at Lake Placid Olympic Center's 1980 Herb Brooks Arena this week.

Center Auston Matthews (6-foot-1, 210 pounds), the projected No. 1 pick, is starring for the U.S. National Junior Team. Right wing Jesse Puljujarvi (6-3, 203), widely considered to be the top European prospect, has been equally impressive for Finland.

Each player represented his country at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship and will likely participate in the 2016 WJC in Helsinki, Finland, to be held Dec. 26, 2015, through Jan. 5, 2016.

CALGARY -- Canada's gold-medal drought at the IIHF World Junior Championship ended in 2015, and the focus has shifted to a gold rush.

That process is off to a good start, according to Hockey Canada vice president of hockey operations and national teams Scott Salmond.

"I think for five years we've kind of been chasing it," Salmond said. "I've seen the feeling in the room from the coaches, from the players. We know what it takes to win. I think we've done a real good job of building, not only World Juniors, but men's Worlds and back to (the) Sochi (Olympics) on the concept of the team we need to be to win and how we need to play. I think that's in the players' minds. To go in and defend instead of chasing, that's a different thing.

"It's tough when you have pressure and you're trying to get something back. When you have it, you want to keep it. It's a bit of a different feeling."

A weeklong retreat to Calgary in August attempted to lay the foundation for just that.

CALGARY -- Brandon Hickey doesn't feel any different from the other 38 players in attendance at Canada's national junior team summer development camp.

But the outgoing defenseman from Boston University does hold one unique trait.

He's the lone collegiate invite.

"It's a pretty neat experience," said Hickey at WinSport's Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. "There's obviously a lot of great players in college and it's pretty awesome being the only one here right now. It just proves I'm doing what I need to be doing on the ice."

Hockey Canada would agree. And Hickey's path won't hamper his ability to earn another invite to Canada's selection camp in December.

"Our guys do their homework," said Dave Lowry, who is looking to coach Canada to a second straight gold medal after serving as an assistant on the team that won in 2015. "They evaluate him. He's a very good player. Like I said to him, this is the first opportunity I've had to watch him play and he's here for a reason. He's here to challenge for a spot. Like we always say, it doesn't matter where they come from, if they're Canadian and deserve a chance they'll get one."