NHL Stars Returning to the Ice

Hockey’s short off-season will be briefer than usual this summer, but players don’t mind at all.

Training camps open this week for the World Cup of Hockey, an eight-team tournament in which NHL stars represent their homelands. Formerly known as the Canada Cup, the World Cup will consist of 19 games played in nine cities in North America and Europe. It’s considered a rehearsal for the 1998 Nagano Olympics, which will showcase NHL players for the first time.

“I can’t wait to see how the teams are going to match up,” said Mike Richter of the New York Rangers, who will vie with Jim Carey of the Washington Capitals and Guy Hebert of the Mighty Ducks for time in Team USA’s nets. “It’s like an All-Star game. The fourth line on any of these teams should be phenomenal.”

Team USA, which begins skating Thursday at Providence, R.I., will be led by Duck Coach Ron Wilson. It may be the most impressive assemblage of American talent, even though center Jeremy Roenick is expected to sit out because of his contract problems with the Chicago Blackhawks.

“This team has skill, size and strength. I see all the components you look for on a team,” said Lou Lamoriello of the New Jersey Devils, Team USA’s general manager. “The key will be chemistry.”

Team Canada, which opens camp Thursday at Whistler, British Columbia under Edmonton Oiler General Manager Glen Sather, is favored despite the health-related withdrawals of Mario Lemieux and Paul Kariya. “For us, there’s the pressure that this is our game,” said winger Brendan Shanahan of the Hartford Whalers. “There’s only one way to finish that’s acceptable for us.”

Canada, the United States, Russia and Slovakia are in the North American pool, with the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany and Sweden in the European pool. Play begins Aug. 26.

Each team will play one game against opponents in its pool. The top team in each pool gets a bye into the semifinals, and the other teams play single-elimination quarterfinals. The semifinals will be played Sept. 7 at Philadelphia and Sept. 8 at Ottawa, Canada. The best-of-three finals will be Sept. 10 at Philadelphia, Sept. 12 at Montreal and, if necessary, Sept. 14 at Montreal.

The Kings will be represented by defensemen Rob Blake (Canada) and Mattias Norstrom (Sweden) and center Robert Lang (Czech Republic). The Ducks’ other representatives are winger Teemu Selanne (Finland) and goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov (Russia).