Hockey remains united on one front
By JIM KERNAGHAN, Free Press Sports Columnist
It's all very bizarre until you remember the rules of corporate life: business is business. That's why Canada's elite pro hockey players and their employers continue to rip each other publicly while maintaining a partnership in the upcoming World Cup of hockey.
It's why owners such as Wayne Gretzky (Phoenix) is executive director of Team Canada and Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh) is a player. There will be no NHL play if, as expected, there is no break in the stalemate over a new collective bargaining agreement before Sept. 15, but business is business and a 50-50 partnership between the NHL and players' association continued last night when Team Canada and the Slovakian national team played before a Corel Centre crowd of about 8,000 who paid $36 and up.
By the time this tournament gets to the final in Toronto Sept. 14, the respective parties doing so much slagging of each other will be splitting millions of dollars.
Last night added a few more quid to the coffers, presumably to strengthen the war chests of the factions. Of greater importance to the coaches, the 2-2 OT result provided much-need game action.
"It's a learning process and we stuck with it after falling behind," said Jarome Iginla, who tied it. "We didn't panic. . . . "
Slovakia jumped in front with two first-period goals inside a minute, Vladimir Orsagh pounding a rebound past Team Canada goalie Martin Brodeur after a goalmouth melee. Ottawa Senators' goal-scoring wizard Marian Hossa followed that power-play goal with a breakaway score.
Team Canada, which appeared to be making strong progress in melding its diverse roster, especially following a decisive 3-1 victory over Team USA last Wednesday here. That came undone at times, though, as giveaways and uncertainty in their own zone crept into the Canadian game.
Once more, head coach Pat Quinn mixed his lines, showing about a dozen combinations. One of the more effective in placing offensive zone pressure was Joe Thornton, who was aligned with Kirk Maltby and Shane Doan along with power-play duties.
Team Canada trailed 2-1 going into the final period after Vincent Lecavalier ripped a stick-side wrist-shot past Slovak goalie Radislav Stana. Iginla finished off a dominant Canadian shift to gain the draw at 11:02 of the third period with assists from Dany Heatley and Thornton.
Quinn and his assistants will be making some tough decisions over the next couple of days as Team Canada prepares to open against Team USA Tuesday in Montreal. All told, there are 26 players in camp. Tournament rules mirror NHL rules in that only 20 can dress -- 18 skaters and two goaltenders.
There are eight defencemen and 10 forwards. That means two defenders and four forwards will be on the sidelines for every game. Quinn would not indicate yet which ones are likely to be disappointed but given the level of defenders here -- Adam Foote, Eric Brewer, Ed Jovanovski, Scott Niedermayer, Wade Redden and Robyn Regehr -- it's likely Jay Bouwmeester and Scott Hannan will be taking a seat.
Based on offensive talent, it's a bit more difficult among the forwards but for one constant Quinn mantra. Assistant coach Ken Hitchcock has been orchestrating the club's defensive pose and players who can't fuse a sound sense of defence with their widely recognized offensive prowess also will be on the bubble.
The line of Brenden Morrow, Patrick Marleau and Ryan Smyth sat out last night. They could well be sitting along with another attacker on Tuesday. Or not.
Quinn has been in the habit of saying the work ethic displayed by everyone is making team selection extremely difficult. That could mean that when it becomes a coin-flip between two players, the one with the most international experience is likely to have an edge.
We'll know Tuesday.
