WORLD CUP HOCKEY Team USA will focus on tourney

NHL labor problems won't be a distraction once play begins.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Team USA players promise NHL labor problems that could threaten their upcoming season won't be a distraction at the World Cup of Hockey.
But veteran defenseman Chris Chelios has a contingency plan just in case talk of a possible lockout reaches the locker room after the tournament starts.
He said the topic will be off limits once the Americans begin defense of their 1996 World Cup title on Aug. 31 in Montreal against Canada.
"I guess we're going to talk about it until we go to Montreal and then that will be it, not allowed to talk about it after that just to keep the focus on the tournament itself," Chelios said Friday after the Americans' first practice.
The NHL and the players association will talk next week in Ottawa and then bargain again in Montreal during the World Cup.
Two week event
The two-week tournament, a joint venture between the NHL and the NHLPA, ends Sept. 14. The contract between the league and its players expires the next day.
With the possibility that the 2004-05 season might be delayed -- or not played at all -- Brett Hull said the Americans have to make the most of this ice time.
"It's nice to be able to get together with the guys again and meet some new guys that haven't been on the team before and come out and play some hockey because after this it might not be for a while," said Hull, who scored a tournament-high 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in 1996. "This is fun playing with the best in the world against the best in the world."
The toughest test for the Americans figures to be the Canadians, who come to Columbus for an exhibition game Monday. Team Canada features a long list of NHL stars, including scoring threats such as Mario Lemieux, MVP Martin St. Louis of Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay and Calgary forward Jarome Iginla.
Weak in goal
This doesn't bode well for the Americans, whose weakest position is in goal.
While the Canadians have Martin Brodeur, the NHL's best in net the past two seasons, USA coach Ron Wilson has to choose between three 20-somethings unproven in international competition.
He'll use team scrimmages and exhibition games against Canada and Russia to evaluate Ty Conklin (Edmonton Oilers), Rick DiPietro (New York Islanders) and Robert Esche (Philadelphia Flyers).
"This is a little different for me than '96 when it was clear that Mike Richter was the No. 1 goalie and we were able to focus on getting him ready," Wilson said. "This is a different ball game altogether in that, I mean, it's wide open."
Chelios, who at 42 is Team USA's oldest player, said the Canadians -- hockey players and citizens alike -- still haven't gotten over their 1996 World Cup loss to the Americans.
"I've watched the commercials on TSN and they're still a little upset about that," he said.
Work to be done
Besides choosing a goalie, the Americans have to select a team captain and set their lines. A possible lockout is the least of their worries, defenseman Brian Leetch said.
"This is playing the best hockey in the world within 10 days of coming together and skating," he said.
Chelios hopes the World Cup will spur the sides to reach a deal that saves this season.
"Anybody can talk a tough game now, but when it comes time to closing the doors and losing money it'll get serious," he said.