TORONTO (CP) - Dominik Hasek says the Worldstars are in for a rough ride if they don't take their competition seriously on their Dec. 7-23 European charity hockey tour.
``I know it's going to be competitive,'' the Ottawa Senators netminder said Thursday at a news conference announcing the tour. ``They're already in the middle of their seasons over there. I've spoken to players in Russia and Slovakia. They want to prove they can beat us.''
This is the second time around that player agency IMG has organized a tour of Europe for locked-out NHL stars.
Early indications are that the hockey will be a little more serious than 10 years ago when Wayne Gretzky and friends played the first version during the last lockout.
``The fun part will be there but we'll realize when we see the competition that we'll have to bear down and play some serious hockey,'' said New Jersey Devils star Martin Brodeur, who will share netminding duties with Hasek.
Also on the 27-player roster announced Thursday were Robyn Regehr and Rhett Warrener of the Calgary Flames, Mats Sundin of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jaromir Jagr of the New York Rangers, Sergei Fedorov of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Luc Robitaille of the Los Angeles Kings, Joe Thornton of the Boston Bruins, Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Daniel Alfredsson of the Senators, Daniel Briere of the Buffalo Sabres, Kris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings, Rob Blake of the Colorado Avalanche, Pavel Kubina of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Sergei Gonchar of the Bruins.
Veteran NHL defenceman Marc Bergevin, 39, will be the head coach and former NHLer turned agent Petr Svoboda an assistant.
A source indicated former NHL tough guy Marty McSorley may be the other assistant coach.
The Worldstars will leave Toronto on Dec. 7 and open the 10-game, seven-country tour against Riga 2000 in Latvia on Dec. 9.
That's the same club Sergei Zholtok played for before collapsing during a game Nov. 3 and dying of heart failure.
The Worldstars then take on the Russian all-stars Dec. 11 in Moscow at the famous Luzhniki arena, a side that should include the likes of Atlanta Thrashers star Ilya Kovalchuk, Detroit Red Wings centre Pavel Datsyuk and free-agent winger Alexei Kovalev.
``We're playing in the rink where Paul Henderson scored the goal,'' said Maple Leafs tough guy Tie Domi, who's also on board with the Worldstars. ``I'm pumped about playing in the rink, Canada hasn't played there since. That's going to be something else.''
Domi's inclusion on the star-studded roster might raise some eyebrows but it's not a bad idea just in case someone wants to make a name for himself by taking liberties with someone like Sundin or Jagr.
``Obviously if something like that happened, people know what I do in those situations,'' Domi said with a smile.
Brodeur and Fedorov first came up with the idea months ago.
Brodeur, who doesn't have an agent, approached IMG about it and that's when agents J.P. Barry and Pat Brisson got to work.
``But they didn't put my name on the tour, uh? What's up with that?,'' Brodeur laughed. ``But a couple of guys had this idea because of what Wayne did in '94.
``I talked to IMG and said hey, `this would be fun.'''
For Hasek, the return to competitive hockey comes nearly a year after he shut it down with Detroit because of a serious groin problem.
``Physically I feel very good, I don't want to say I'm in my top shape but I skate 2-3 times a week, with the (OHL) 67's in Ottawa,'' he said.
``(The groin) doesn't even bother me anymore.''
The Worldstars needed a heavy roster of 27 players because not everyone will play the full 10-game schedule because of their European club commitments.
Briere, in fact, will play for his Swiss club Bern against the Worldstars Dec. 15, but then join the Worldstars for the three games in Sweden.
Thornton and Nash, who both play for HC Davos, can play on the tour while the Swiss league is on Christmas break.
Alfredsson, meanwhile, will likely only play a few games.
``My intention is to try to play the games in Sweden,'' Alfredsson said Wednesday in Chicago where he attended the NHLPA meeting with agents as part of his duty as a vice-president on the executive committee. ``I have to spend some time in Ottawa for a while. I just bought a new house and have some things to take care of.
``But it's going to be a great tour. The hockey is really hyped up right in Sweden with all the NHL players there and I think the fans will really get into it.''
Primus is the main sponsor of the tour, giving IMG the financial backing in what is an expensive proposition. Reebok is providing the hockey equipment.
Some of the proceeds from the tour will go to the NHLPA's Goals & Dreams fund, which donates equipment to underprivileged children around the world, and to the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation, which helps out needy children in Canada and the U.S.
The tour will also have stops in St. Petersburg, Russia; Bratislava, Slovakia; Bern, Switzerland; Karlstad, Jonkoping and Linkoping, Sweden; Oslo, Norway, and Katowice, Poland.
The games will be shown live on pay-per-view in Canada and repeated in prime time ($9.99 Cdn per game or $59.99 for an eight-game package).
