Ruddock, who is without 10 of his RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam heroes due to their British & Lions commitments in New Zealand, has called up Wales Under-21 stars Chris Czekaj and Matthew Jones, plus fellow Test rookies Tal Selley, Ben Broster, Matthew Rees, Rhys Thomas and Richie Pugh.

Centre Mark Taylor, recently signed by Premiership club Sale Sharks, has been chosen as tour captain for a two-match trip that sees Wales tackle the USA in East Hertford on June 4 and Canada in Toronto a week later.

Taylor, who has won 49 caps, gained Ruddocks vote for skipper despite Newcastle flanker Colin Charvis returning to the fold after missing this seasons entire RBS 6 Nations campaign through injury.

I have chosen not to install Colin Charvis as captain so that he can concentrate on playing and rediscovering his autumn Test series form after missing the Six Nations campaign, said Ruddock, recalling Charvis outstanding Millennium Stadium displays, especially against New Zealand and South Africa.

Mark Taylor is a very senior player in our squad. He has the total respect of the players and the management, and he is the ideal guy to help bring on some of the young players on this tour.

Mark trained with us throughout the Six Nations, and was a major part of the squad. He has a very specific role to play on this tour, and I am sure he will be very successful at it.

Cardiff Blues 6ft 3in wing Czekaj and Neath-Swansea Ospreys fly-half Jones both helped Wales clinch the Six Nations Under-21 Grand Slam this season, while Llanelli Scarlets back Tal Selley proved himself as a consistent Celtic League performer.

Up-front, uncapped hookers Rees and Thomas both have a chance to show possible 2007 World Cup credentials, along with Ospreys flanker Pugh, but 22-year-old Saracens prop Broster is regarded as the wildcard selection.

Broster has made 14 Premiership appearances for Saracens, and impressed Ruddock during the victory over Leicester last month when he opposed Tigers England and Lions prop Graham Rowntree.

We have tracked Bens fitness and performance levels, and he has made good improvements in both areas, added Ruddock.

He was particularly impressive against an outstanding Leicester front-row in Saracens recent Premiership win.

He has got good experience now, and is technically an excellent scrummager on the tighthead, a position where we dont have a huge amount of strength in depth, so we are hoping he will show us that he can step up to play at international level on the tour.

Wales squad for tour to North America:

Backs: K Morgan (Newport Gwent Dragons), R Williams (Cardiff Blues), C Czekaj (Cardiff Blues), C Morgan (Cardiff Blues), T Selley (Llanelli Scarlets), M Taylor (Sale Sharks, capt), M Watkins (Llanelli Scarlets), C Sweeney (Newport Gwent Dragons), M Jones (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), N Robinson (Cardiff Blues), M Phillips (Llanelli Scarlets), A Williams (Bath).

Forwards: D Jones (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), J Yapp (Cardiff Blues), B Broster (Saracens), A Jones (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), M Davies (Gloucester), R Thomas (Cardiff Blues), M Rees (Llanelli Scarlets), L Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons), B Cockbain (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), I Gough (Newport Gwent Dragons), R Sidoli (Cardiff Blues), C Charvis (Newcastle), R Jones (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), R Pugh (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), R Sowden-Taylor (Cardiff Blues), J Thomas (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), A Popham (Leeds).

Itinerary: June 4 - USA (Connecticut), June 11 - Canada (Toronto).