Friesen, Cullen Make the Most of Free Time

For those NHL players not going to the Olympics, last week was bonus time.

But Mighty Duck forwards Jeff Friesen and Matt Cullen weren’t working on their tans or relaxing on the couch during the Olympic break. They had family matters to attend.

Helmut Voelcker, Friesen’s 82-year-old grandfather, got married last Sunday. Helmut and Marie Voelcker held a ceremony before family and friends in Edmonton.

“This is really good for him,” Friesen said. “It’s hard to be alone at that age.”

Ermgard Voelcker, Friesen’s grandmother, died a year ago.

Helmut Voelcker immigrated to Canada after World War II. He was a German paratrooper, but spent much of the war in a prisoner-of-war camp.

“He doesn’t like to talk about that much,” Friesen said. “He told me he will write me a history so I can know all about it.”

Cullen returned to Minnesota, where he was able to watch his brothers play hockey and his sister win her region in Minnesota high school gymnastics.

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Duck right wing Dan Bylsma worked out with the defensemen during Saturday’s practice.

“We needed to balance the sides for a scrimmage,” Coach Bryan Murray said. “I tell you what we learned. Dan won’t be playing defense.”

Maybe not, but Bylsma has tried everything except goalie this season, even coach. He ran the Ducks’ workout on Feb. 3, the day after the All-Star game.

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Oleg Tverdovsky (Russia) and Ruslan Salei (Belarus), who played in Saturday’s bronze-medal game at the Olympics, won’t rejoin the team until Monday at the earliest. Russia defeated Belarus, 7-2. ... Paul Kariya, who plays for Canada against the United States in today’s gold-medal game, probably will not be back until Tuesday.