THE OLYMPICS / WINTER GAMES AT ALBERTVILLE : NOTES : Tikhonov Is Evasive About ’94

Unified Team Coach Viktor Tikhonov was evasive Sunday when asked if he would return to coach in 1994 at Lillehammer, Norway.

“Only God knows what may happen in the two years before ‘94,” he said through a translator. “I can only say I will be engaged in ice hockey.”

When the same question was put to Canadian Coach Dave King, he replied: “I will be engaged in ice hockey for the next couple of years,” bringing him a smile and a handshake from Tikhonov.

Czechoslovakian center Robert Lang, the Kings’ sixth pick and 133rd selection overall in the 1990 NHL draft, said he hopes to play in Los Angeles. Lang, who stands a sturdy 6 feet 2, 180 pounds, has six more years on his contract with Litvinov of the Czechoslovakian League. However, the agreement contains a clause allowing him to leave to play in the NHL.

“I would like to go very much and play with Wayne Gretzky,” said Lang, who was the tournament’s third-leading scorer with five goals and 13 points.

NHL teams have drafted 13 of the players on the gold medal-winning Unified Team. The Calgary Flames chose goaltender Andrei Trefilov 261st in 1991; the Philadelphia Flyers drafted defenseman Dmitri Yuskevich 122nd in 1991 and center Viacheslav Butsaev 109th in 1990; the Chicago Blackhawks picked defenseman Igor Kravchuk 71st in 1991; the New York Islanders drafted defenseman Vladimir Malakhov 191st in 1989; the Toronto Maple Leafs took Dmitri Mironov 160th in 1991; the New York Rangers chose right winger Alexei Kovalev 15th in 1991 and took defenseman Sergei Zubov 85th in 1990; in 1990, the Quebec Nordiques took right wing Andrei Khomutov 190th, center Viacheslav Bykov 169th and left wing Andrei Kovalenko 148th; the Kings picked defenseman Alexei Zitnik 81st in 1991, and the Winnipeg Jets chose center Alexei Zamnov 77th in 1990.

Canadian center Joe Juneau, a Bruin draftee, won the tournament scoring title with 15 points. . . . The fair play cup, given to the team with the fewest penalty minutes, was won by the Unified Team, which accumulated 72 minutes in nine games for an average of 9.00. The U.S. team, accused of overly physical play by Sweden, had the seventh-highest penalty minute average among the 12 teams, averaging 12.25 minutes in eight games. . . . The U.S. team proved the tournament’s biggest draw, averaging 6,013 fans. Host France averaged 5,981. . . . The U.S. team, which finished fourth, was to leave France today, stopping in Paris before landing in Washington and dispersing.