THE OLYMPICS / WINTER GAMES AT ALBERTVILLE : NOTES

Canadian hockey Coach Dave King, whose team is assured of its first medal since it won a bronze in 1968, said the exodus of players from the Commonwealth of Independent States and Czechoslovakia to the NHL has helped his team here.

“It’s equalized the competition this time around. The word parity is used a lot in the NHL and I think it applies here,” he said.

“Coming in, we felt six teams had a legitimate shot at a medal. To see Sweden and Finland not in the (semifinals), it means a lot of teams are more competitive.”

Like Eric Lindros, Unified Team center Viacheslav Bykov prefers not to play in Quebec.

The Nordiques picked Bykov, the top center on the Unified Team, in the 1989 draft. However, he has preferred to play in Switzerland for Gotteron with linemate Andrei Khomutov.

“Quebec is a nice place to visit,” he said, “but my future is in Switzerland.”

U.S. hockey team captain Clark Donatelli, a free agent without compensation, hopes his hockey career won’t end when the Olympics conclude. Originally drafted by the New York Rangers in 1984, he was traded to Edmonton and signed as a free agent with Minnesota in 1989. He played 25 games for the North Stars in the 1989-90 season but bounced around to Kalamazoo and San Diego of the International Hockey League.

“It’s kind of tough to say what will happen,” he said. “But I really haven’t been thinking about it because I’ve been thinking about winning the gold medal.”

Unified Team assistant coach Igor Dmitriev said two or three of his team’s players will probably go to the NHL after the Olympics, but he wouldn’t specify which players will leave. However, it’s known that Vladimir Malakhov will join the New York Islanders.

Finnish forward Teemu Selanne, drafted 10th overall by Winnipeg in 1988, said he and Unified Team center Alexei Zamnov (a 1990 Winnipeg pick) will probably join the Jets next season.