Olympics Still a Major Topic of Discussion

NHL All-Star weekend on Friday sounded a lot like Olympic hockey media day.

Players spent much of the time fielding questions about the upcoming Olympics and were happy to answer.

“Right now, just thinking about winning the gold medal for Canada gives me chills,” the Mighty Ducks’ Paul Kariya said.

Kariya has been fielding questions about the Olympics for more than a year. Now, with the Games in sight, the fervor for Canada to win its first gold medal in hockey since 1952 is evident to him.

“Every time [the Ducks] have gone to a Canadian city, the talk isn’t about the game, it’s all about the Olympics,” said Kariya, who missed the 1998 Games because of a concussion.

“The game we were there for at the time was irrelevant. Everyone wanted to talk about the Olympics, who you’re going to skate with, and what the competition will be like in the Games.”

Toronto Coach Pat Quinn, the North American team’s coach for today’s All-Star game, has an explanation for the intense Canadian interest: “We taught hockey to everybody in the world and it’s still our game,” he said. “Now at the international level we have a chance to claim that title back as the leader of hockey. It really belongs to us anyway.”

Kariya expects tough hockey competition, not a Canadian coronation, in Salt Lake City.

“This is not like the NBA, where the USA goes into the Olympics and you know they are going to win,” Kariya said. “There are a lot of good teams out there.”

One top player who won’t be in Salt Lake City is Colorado goalie Patrick Roy, the NHL all-time leader in victories. He chose not to play for Team Canada, preferring to focus on the Avalanche’s season and said there will be no regrets.

“I won’t have any second thoughts because I really thought about my decision,” Roy said. “I don’t want to go back on that subject. I have too much respect for the three guys there and wish them the best.”

New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur, Toronto’s Curtis Joseph and Dallas’ Ed Belfour will be Canada’s goalies.

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Kariya won the Mac Award, given to the NHL all-star who made the most substantial commitment to children. A $25,000 donation to a charity designated by the player comes with the award. Kariya donated the money to the Ronald McDonald House in his hometown of Vancouver.

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Tampa Bay goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who will play for the World Team, spent All-Star weekend in Southern California two years ago as well. Unfortunately for him, the All-Star game was being played in Toronto.

Khabibulin spent the 1999-2000 season playing for the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League. He was immersed in a two-year contract squabble with the Phoenix Coyotes, which led to a trade that sent him to Tampa Bay in March of last season.

Now, in his first full season back, Khabibulin was selected for the All-Star game. “Considering the fact I haven’t played a couple years, it’s a pretty good accomplishment,” said Khabibulin, who played in only two games for the Lightning last season. “I never had any doubts about my ability to play. But maybe I’m better than I thought I would be.”

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San Jose’s Teemu Selanne denies that there is friction between him and Shark Coach Darryl Sutter. Reporters said there was a heated exchange between the two after a game last month.

Sutter, it was reported, said: “I don’t care if you get into your Porsche and drive back to Anaheim right now.”

To which Selanne reportedly replied: “The Porsche is in Finland.”

Selanne, a free agent after this season, claimed there is not a problem.

“There was a rumor that he was yelling at me,” Selanne said. “That’s not true. I have no problem with the coach, I never have. Darryl is a good guy and a good coach.”

Chris Foster

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In Friday night’s YoungStars game, Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk had seven goals in eight shots to lead a team coached by Barry Melrose to a 13-7 victory over a team coached by Jim Fox.

In the SuperSkills competition, Detroit goaltender Dominik Hasek stopped Colorado’s Joe Sakic in the final shot of the breakaway relay round to give the World All-Stars a 12-11 victory over the North American All-Stars.

For the fourth year in a row, the Mighty Ducks’ Paul Kariya won the puck control race in a close battle over Chicago’s Alexei Zhamnov. Other event winners were Carolina’s Sami Kapanen (fastest skater), Detroit’s Sergei Fedorov (hardest shot); Calgary’s Jarome Iginla and Vancouver’s Markus Naslund (shooting accuracy), and Colorado’s Patrick Roy and Hasek (best goaltender).

Lonnie White