Kariya’s Chances Decrease Daily for Canadians

The best hockey tournament ever staged is about to lose a bit of its luster.

Mighty Duck left wing Paul Kariya, whose speed and goalscoring skills are vital to Canada’s hopes of winning a gold medal, continues to suffer symptoms of post-concussion syndrome, casting doubt on his ability to participate here.

Bob Clarke, general manager of the Canadian hockey team, said that if Kariya is not feeling significantly better today, Canadian officials will withdraw his name from their roster and replace him with Montreal Canadien right wing Mark Recchi, who has been told to remain on standby.

Kariya, who helped Canada win a silver medal in 1994 at Lillehammer, suffered a concussion--his fourth in four years--when he was cross-checked by Chicago defenseman Gary Suter after scoring a goal against the Blackhawks Feb. 1 in Anaheim. He missed the Ducks’ last two games before the Olympic break and did not accompany the Canadian team to Japan on Sunday because he was experiencing headaches, dizziness and nausea.

“He had some tests run and he will return to the doctor [this] morning and they’ll let him skate and he’ll see how he feels,” Clarke said. “He knows if there’s improvement and the doctor says he’s fine, we’ll wait for him and keep a spot open. If everything is not positive, we’ll just bring in Mark Recchi.

“Yeah, he still has symptoms, but they’re clearing up. He’s getting better, but they’re not all gone. . . . If he tells us, ‘Yeah, I’m feeling great and it will take just another day or two,’ we’d wait. If it’s status quo, we can’t wait.”

Canada, which is considered a gold-medal favorite with the U.S. and Sweden, plays its Olympic opener Friday against Belarus. Even if Kariya’s condition were to improve dramatically and he were to travel to Japan in the next few days, Clarke conceded that Kariya probably could not play before the quarterfinals, which are scheduled for Feb. 18.

Kariya, 23, missed the last major international hockey competition, the 1996 World Cup, because of an injury. He could not play because of osteitis, an inflamed abdominal muscle near the pubic joint.

The persistence of symptoms from his most recent concussion has made Duck team physician Craig Milhouse cautious in his prognosis.

“His symptoms have improved since he sustained the concussion on Feb. 1, but have not been completely resolved,” Milhouse said in a statement.

Clearance to return to practice or play still requires him being without symptoms for a seven-day period.

“Our main concern is Paul’s short-and-long-term health and safety,” Milhouse said.

Kariya has been riding an exercise bike and has skated lightly, but he has experienced problems after each time he left the ice.

“I think he really wants to play,” Clarke said, “but any anger he has is the same anger we have, that he scored a goal and [Suter] deliberately tried to hurt him and got nothing for what he did. This is a great player. He could end the kid’s career. He’s one of the best players in the game and the league doesn’t give him any protection.”

Suter wasn’t penalized on the play, but was later suspended for four NHL games by league disciplinarian Brian Burke.

Losing Kariya, who had 17 goals and 31 points in 22 games with the Ducks this season, is a major loss for Canada, which had counted on Kariya’s speed on the larger international surface to avenge its loss to the U.S. in the World Cup.

“I think it’s a pretty strong blow,” Clarke said. “He’s a special player who brings special skill and speed to the team. To lose a player like that is going to hurt, but I think we’ve still got enough talent that we can win.”