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TORONTO -- Brayden Point is banking on the second time being the charm. San Diego Padres Shirts . The Moose Jaw Warriors forward is again at the Canadian under-18 national hockey teams training camp. Last year as an under-age player he was with the squad through its final exhibition game in Sochi, Russia -- scoring twice in regulation and once in a shootout in a 5-4 victory over Czech Republic -- before being released and returning home. Adding insult to injury for Point, the Canadians went on to win the tournament for the third time overall but first since 2008. Canadas victory also snapped the United States run of four straight gold medal finishes. "It (being released) was tough but it was an older team and there was a lot of good players," Point said following Mondays practice at the Mastercard Centre. "I understood and was just thankful to get the experience. "Meeting the Hockey Canada guys and getting to know them over the course of the trip last year was great so now its a lot more comfortable and I feel a lot more confident." The five-foot-nine, 160-pound Point was the Warriors leading scorer this year with 91 points (26 goals, 55 assists). He played in all 72 of his teams games and finished the season with an impressive 12-game point streak. The 18-year-old Calgary native has recorded 149 points (61-88) in his three seasons with Moose Jaw. He also took part in the 2014 CHL Top Prospects game. Point does have previous national under-18 experience. He was a member of the Canadian squad that won gold at the 13 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament, registering a goal and three assists in five games. And although he wasnt a part of last years under-18 world championship squad, Point is well aware of what the expectations are for this years team. "No matter what Hockey Canada event you go to, the expectation is always gold," he said. "That never changes no matter what the previous team did. "But being able to play exhibition games last year over there was an awesome experience. I think I can take the pace of the game from that experience and hopefully translate it into my game this year." Point is among 22 players who were invited to the camp -- eight from both the WHL and OHL, six from the QMJHL. Thirteen participated in last years under-17 world hockey challenge in Quebec while eight played in this years under-17 event in Cape Breton, N.S. Point is one of nine players on the roster who helped Canada win gold at the Ivan Hlinka event last summer in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. But what stands out most to head coach Kevin Dineen is the sheer size of his squad, with 14 players in camp standing six feet or taller. "I cant believe the size of these guys and when you look at their bios they were playing midget just a couple of years ago," said Dineen, the former head coach of the NHLs Florida Panthers. "But not only are they big, theyre skilled with talent. "That makes it enjoyable having guys who are able to play the game anyway we need to have success." But Dineen, who played 19 NHL seasons and led Canadas national womens team to Olympic gold in Sochi in February, has also been impressed with his players hockey smarts. "Were certainly not going to compromise and dumb things down for this group," he said. "That wouldnt be fair to them because that wouldnt be making them live up to their potential and by no means are we doing that. "Its a pretty smart, cerebral bunch and I like the chemistry . . . one of our players missed the first day and didnt understand the drill we were doing so one of his teammates said, Here, hop in and Ill show you what we have to do. Theres a little bit of that going on which were really trying to encourage." And with good reason. Dineen faces the challenge of having to mould 22 players into a team less than two weeks before the start of the world championship tournament in Lapeenranta and Imatra, Finland. "Many teams were going to face have a real advantage because theyve been centralized like the U.S. team out in Ann Arbor, Mich., and many of the European players have played together for a while and were just putting this together," Dineen said. "But for me I love this kind of stuff, its so much fun. "This is such a good bunch to be around. Theyre enthusiastic, theyre talented, theyre nervous, its the whole package. Weve all felt each other out here for the last few days. Yes, there are challenges. Weve got to gel and find some chemistry in a pretty timely manner but its a really fun group to work with and theyre very sharp kids." Canada will conclude its training camp sessions Tuesday and play exhibition games against Finland and Denmark before opening the under-18 tournament April 17 against Sweden. Padres Jerseys China ." Bach is in Rome for the European Olympic Committees general assembly and meetings with Pope Francis. He also visited with Italian Premier Enrico Letta. "The prime minister appeared to be interested in a bid from Italy for 24, because he has realized that the games can serve as a catalyst for development for a city and a country," Bach told The Associated Press on Saturday. Cheap Padres Jerseys . Nainggolan scored his first Italian league goal at Bologna, in October 2010, and he also opened his Roma account there following his January move from Cagliari. The Belgium midfielder volleyed home Miralem Pjanics cross from close range eight minutes from time.Interleague play has been a boon for Major League Baseball. For the Blue Jays, not so much. This weekend, battling to get back over the .500 mark, John Gibbons and company kick off a stretch of seven straight games against the National League. They start with three at Pittsburgh against the struggling Pirates and then follow up that series with two at Philadelphia before returning home the next night to kick off a two-game set at Rogers Centre with the Phillies. After salvaging the final game of their three-game set at Kansas City on Thursday night with a 7-3 victory, the Jays sit at 13-15 but thanks largely to the injuries and flaws of the other teams in the AL East, they are still just two-and-a-half games back of the first place Yankees. Still, if the Blue Jays are going to keep it that close, theyve got to start beating the National League clubs with more regularity. Since interleague play came into being in 1997, the Blue Jays have compiled a record of 143-160. The first 16 years, the games were compressed into a small portion of the schedule when school was out in June and early July for the most part. Last season, with Houston moving to the American League, there were 15 teams in each league so there pretty well had to be at least one interleague game each and every day of the season. Last season, the first year under the new format, the Jays actually had a winning record against the National League clubs at 11-9. But overall, the Jays interleague record pales to those of the Yankees and Red Sox. The Yanks are 179-123 over the 17 years heading into this season. Boston is right behind them at 175-128. It isnt just the big boys who have success in interleague play, though. The Angels, who havent won a World Series since 2002, are 174-130 against the senior circuit over that span. The White Sox are 171-132 and even the Minnesota Twins are 165-137. If you average it out over 17 seasons, the Blue Jays have cost themselves about two games per season versus the Yanks and Red Sox in the East by struggling in interleague play. The American League has dominated this annual showdown between the two leagues, having the better record in 13 of the 17 seasons. Oddly enough, though, in the beginning the National League was up four winning seasons to three over the first seven interleague plays. The American League has dominated ever since. Nine American League teams are above .500 in the crossover play to just five National League clubs. The top National League club in interleague play is Atlanta at 148-131, followed by St. Louis at 135-120. Miami has done surprisingly well at 149-141. Luckily for the Blue Jays, the two teams they are playing against over the next seven days havent traditionally done well against the American League. Pittsburgh is the worst at 106-143 and the Phillies are 127-158. The Pirates have really had their troubles this season. After making the playoffs last season for the first time since 19992, the Bucs are 10-18 this time around. San Diego Padres Store. They lost one of their top pitchers in A.J Burnett in the offseason as a free agent to the Phillies, while lefty Wandy Rodriguez is recouping from a knee injury. But the Pirates real problem has been cashing in runners. They stranded 28 men in dropping a day/night doubleheader to Baltimore Thursday. On top of that, their number one catcher, Russell Martin of Montreal, is on the disabled list. The Pirates are in a virtual tie for last in the NL Central with the Cubs. The Phillies are only marginally better. They are 13-13, tied with Miami for last in the AL East. Yes the Phillies were stung by the retirement of Roy Halladay in the offseason but like the Pirates, their problem is run production. If you can believe it, their outfielders have only 15 extra base hits and the season is a month old. These are teams the Blue Jays must beat. Anything less than five out of seven will be a failure. One thing to remember about the Phillies is that they won a World Series in 2008; just six years ago. Yet this year, they lost 6,000 season ticket holders and their average attendance drop from a year ago, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, is 9,129 per game. This, for a team that has known recent success and has a pretty new and fan-friendly ballpark. The inclement weather of April likely plays a major part in the Phillies drop-off, but it just shows fans wont put up with mediocrity forever. I was more than a bit surprised that the team with the second biggest drop-off is Detroit at 5,493 per game. This, for a Tigers team that seems to win the AL Central nearly every year and has been to the World Series, albeit, hasnt won twice in the last eight seasons. You might have missed it but the Dodgers franchise reached a milestone on Wednesday, winning its 10,000th game. The only others to reach that magic figure are the Giants, the Cubs and the Braves. And of those four, the Cubs are the only teams to have played their entire existence in one city. The Dodgers Zack Greinke is putting up some obscure but impressive stats, nonetheless. Hes off to a 5-0 start this season and has made 18 straight starts where he has pitched five innings or more and given up two or fewer runs. That hasnt happened in 100 years -- since 1914. The last time Greinke started a season 6-0, he won the Cy Young Award in 2009 while in the American League. Adam Lind isnt close to returning to the active roster yet. Hes still rehabbing his back. But when he is healthy again, the Blue Jays could face an interesting dilemma if Juan Francisco keeps hitting the way he is. There is no way the Jays can carry Edwin Encarnacion, Lind and Francisco on the same roster. Francisco has one edge over Lind in the versatility department in that he can also play 3rd base in a pinch. Linds not in any kind of jeopardy, but this situation will be interesting to watch. ' ' '