Rob Blake remembers what it was like to get the call from Hockey Canada to play in the world championship the day after his season with the Los Angeles Kings ended. [url=http://www.lionsfansshop.com/Lions-Tj-Lang-Draft-Jersey/]T.J. Lang Jersey[/url] . Blake donned the red-and-white Maple Leaf five tim

Rob Blake remembers what it was like to get the call from Hockey Canada to play in the world championship the day after his season with the Los Angeles Kings ended. T.J. Lang Jersey . Blake donned the red-and-white Maple Leaf five times at the tournament over his career, winning gold twice. This spring hell be making those calls as Canadas general manager for the world championship that takes place in May in Minsk, Belarus. Because its an Olympic year, Blake and his staff -- Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers, Brad Treliving of the Phoenix Coyotes and Brad Pascall of Hockey Canada -- might have some different challenges convincing players to commit. But the 44-year-old Kings assistant GM knows what to sell. "I cant stress how important the opportunity to win is," Blake said in a phone interview Wednesday. "I convey to them what the world championships is all about. ... You look at your career and it goes by pretty fast. Theres not a lot of opportunities you have to win something." Blake represented Canada at the world championship in 1998, months after playing in the Nagano Olympics. "Being in that position and having won a couple of those tournaments, you can relate those stories to (potential players)," Blake said. Canada, like many other teams at the world championship, is expected to have a young roster in Minsk because its an Olympic year. Not only does that likely rule out the players who won gold in Sochi (Corey Perry was the only 2010 Olympian to play at the worlds), but Treliving said there are other complications. "Its a little bit unique in the sense not only from an Olympic year and the guys that went over and played, but even from the NHL schedule and the compactness of the NHL schedule, for everybody, including those who didnt go over and play," he said in a phone interview. Four years ago, Canadas group at the world championships included 18-year-old Evander Kane, 19-year-olds Matt Duchene and John Tavares and 20-year-old Steven Stamkos. Expect similar youth this time around. "I think its going to be very similar to the teams in the past," Blake said. "The young guys are the ones that make an easy commitment. They dont have the family commitment, the kids commitment and different things that as you get older you might have involved in this type of decision. I think, typically, younger guys are the ones and then you surround them with the right veterans and you can have some success." One thing Blake, Hextall and Treliving have in common is theyre all general managers of their organizations AHL affiliate, giving them some experience with younger players. Blake is in his first season as Kings assistant GM, replacing Hextall, who took the same job in Philadelphia. Treliving is in his seventh season as the Coyotes assistant GM. "Blakeys been around the game a long time," Hextall said. "Hes a very patient guy, hes methodical and hes very sharp. I know he had a hand in a world championship team in the past, so Im sure that little bit of experience helps him." Along with Pascall, Hockey Canadas vice president of hockey operations and national teams, those men will have conference calls over the next few weeks to discuss putting together a coaching staff and then a projected roster. That process has already begun. "I think youve got to look at teams that are not likely to make the playoffs and see whats available and at least get your mind going and start thinking about line combinations and checkers and energy guys and scorers," Hextall said in a phone interview. "Its never too early to start thinking." The immediate next step for the management team is to zero in on coaches. Ralph Krueger, who served as a coaching consultant in Sochi, and Kevin Dineen, who coached the womens team to gold and will be behind the bench for the mens under-18 world championships next month, have been speculated as possible options. Either would fit with what Blake said in general terms hes looking for. "I think part of that staff should have some experience overseas, whether it be coaching over there, coaching an international tournament at some time or being involved on a staff," he said. "Its a different tournament, its not the same as over here. I think some of that experience in scheduling wise, knowing some of the teams and tendencies of those countries and obviously with the setup and that all being different than North America, its nice to have somebody with some experience on that." Part of this tournament is getting experience, for the players, coaches and members of the management staff. Blake, Hextall and Treliving are all legitimate candidates for head GM jobs in the not-too-distant future. Experience already gained in NHL front offices is key now. "I think you learn, its one thing to build a team over a long haul and what you have to do is use everything youve learned over the long haul to try and put a team together for the short term," said Hextall, who played in the 1987 Canada Cup and the 1992 world championship. "I think its more lessons Ive learned from NHL experience that Ill be able to lend a hand in trying to help Blake and Brad build this team." Getting this job also raises the possibility that Blake could be GM of Team Canada at the 2018 Olympics, if NHL players participate. Steve Yzerman has already said its time for someone else to fill that role after winning back-to-back gold medals. "Thats a long ways down the line," Blake said. This tournament is not a long ways down the line, as Canada opens play May 9 against France. Blake already has some preliminary lists of potential players and will go through the process in the next few weeks of scouting and evaluating for those spots. Hell get some help in that regard not only from Hextall, Treliving and Pascall, but former NHL defenceman Steve Staios, who is the teams director of player development. Staios is then expected to assist the coaching staff on and off the ice in Minsk, perhaps similar to what Kruegers job was in the Olympics. Everything worked for Canada there, and even though the worlds in an Olympic year tend to be something of an afterthought, theyre far from that for those in charge of trying to win gold. "Any time you go and compete as Team Canada, the expectation is to win," Treliving said. "Obviously thats the expectation, thats the challenge for us and the goal for us putting this team together." Luke Willson Jersey . -- New York Yankees centre fielder Jacoby Ellsbury was sent for an MRI Thursday of his ailing right calf, which was negative. Levine Toilolo Jersey . LOUIS -- Julius Randle had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Aaron Harrison finished with 18 points and No. http://www.lionsfansshop.com/Lions-Kenny-Golladay-Draft-Jersey/ . -- Aaron Rodgers isnt out for revenge in Green Bays season opener. NEW YORK -- In a sign U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann is unsettled on his defence a month before the World Cup, the Americans selected the mostly untested trio of John Brooks, Timmy Chandler and DeAndre Yedlin on Monday for their 30-man preliminary roster. Chandler, a speedy right back with Nuremberg in Germany, made his U.S. debut in 2011 and balked at playing in 2012 qualifiers. He has not appeared for the Americans since February 2013, when he made his first competitive appearance at Honduras in the opening match of the final round of qualifying. "I think hes a player who can make a difference if hes on his highest level," Klinsmann said. Yedlin, a 20-year-old right back, has made just two international appearances, as a late second-half substitute this year in exhibitions against South Korea and Mexico. Brooks, a 21-year-old central defender, made his debut in August and has just three appearances, in exhibitions against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austria and Ukraine. Klinsmann also selected 18-year-old winger Julian Green, who made his national team debut last month. He is among a group of German-Americans on the roster that includes Brooks, Chandler and Fabian Johnson; midfielder Jermaine Jones; and forward Terrence Boyd. "We have two huge talents," Klinsmann said of Green and Yedlin. "It will be interesting to see now how they take that challenge because, obviously, they dont have the experience like other players have." Toronto FC midfielder Michael Bradley was also named to the roster. Klinsmann omitted several veterans, a group that includes forward Eddie Johnson and midfielder Sacha Kljestan. He selected 11 defenders, 10 midfielders and six forwards who will be evaluated during a two-week training camp that opens Wednesday at Stanford, California. He must submit a 23-man roster to FIFA by June 2, and most teams take eight defenders, eight midfielders and four forwards. Half the players are from Major League Soccer, with four each from Englands Premier League and Germanys Bundesliga. Two are from Mexicos league, and one apiece from Austria, France, Netherlands, Norway and Turkey. Part of Klinsmanns thought process will be deciding whether Geoff Cameron is a right back or central defender, and whether Fabian Johnson is an outside back or a midfielder. "There is going to be a lot of competition. Thats why Jurgen is bringing in 30 rather than cutting it down to 23 right away," said defender Michael Parkhurst, who joined the Columbus Crew this season after an unsuccessful stint in Germany. "I dont know going into camp right now if Im fighting for left back or right back." Many of the defenders thought four years ago to be 2014 candidates weerent even in contention, a group that includes Gale Agbossoumonde, Kevin Alston, Jonathan Bornstein, Eric Lichaj, Chad Marshall, Ike Opara, Heath Pearce and Jonathan Spector. Nick Bellore Jersey. In a sign of the lack of progress among youth players, Mix Diskerud and Boyd were the only selections from the 20-man group on the under-23 team that failed to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. The 30-year-old Johnson, a member of the 2006 U.S. roster but among the final cuts in 2010, scored five goals in qualifying for the 2014 tournament: two in a 2-1 win at Antigua and Barbuda in October 2012, the second goal in the 2-0 victory over Panama last June in Seattle, and the first in the clinching 2-0 win over Mexico last September at Columbus, Ohio. "It was a very difficult decision based on what hes done with me the whole time, and not now having that chance at the last moment then is a very tough one on him," Klinsmann said. Johnson has not scored in eight games this season with D.C. United. "While I am disappointed," Johnson said in a statement, "I respect coach Jurgen Klinsmanns decision." Others in the group left off included defenders Edgar Castillo, Michael Orozco and Tim Ream; midfielders Brek Shea, Benny Feilhaber, Jose Torres and Daniel Williams; and forwards Herculez Gomez and Juan Agudelo. Shea scored the only goal last summer in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final against Panama. As the Americans prepare for their seventh straight World Cup appearance, another interesting competition could come at forward. While Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore appear to be likely starters, Klinsmann said he views Landon Donovan as a striker, and the group going to camp includes Boyd, Aron Johannsson and Chris Wondolowski. Ten players were on the 2010 preliminary roster, including a pair trying for their fourth World Cup: Donovan and left back DaMarcus Beasley. Five players did not appear in any of the 16 qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup: No. 3 goalkeeper Nick Rimando, along with Brooks, Green, Wondolowski and Yedlin. The Americans play exhibitions against Azerbaijan on May 27 at San Francisco; Turkey on June 1 at Harrison, New Jersey; and Nigeria on June 7 at Jacksonville, Florida. They travel the following day to their base camp in Sao Paulo. At the World Cup, they open against Ghana on June 16 at Natal, face Cristiano Ronaldos Portugal six days later in the Amazon rain forest city of Manaus and close the group stage against Germany on June 26 at Recife. "The goal is to try to get out of the group, which gives you the opportunity to get to the knockout stage," said Dempsey, the U.S. captain, "and then the knockout stage anything can happen." 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