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Finn Koivu is eager to return to action
By Tim Buckley
Deseret News sports writer
Finland won't be playing when games get underway today in the preliminary round of the 2002 men's Olympic hockey tournament. That Scandinavian nation has a bye into the final round, which for it begins Friday with a game against the United States.
Finn Saku Koivu, however, won't be playing Friday, either. Or during any of these Winter Games, for that matter.
The Montreal Canadiens captain — a sure pick for the Finnish team, if he were healthy — took ill before training camp in September and has been sidelined all NHL season.
By stomach cancer. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, specifically.
These days, Koivu's countrymen care more about his health than how he can help on the ice.
"I just talked with him," Finnish Olympian Teemu Selanne of the NHL's San Jose Sharks said before last weekend's NHL All-Star Game in Los Angeles, "and he said maybe when his treatments are done he probably wants to take some time off (and) go someplace where he doesn't have to think about hockey. It's a good idea. Hopefully he's not rushing back, either. He needs time to recover and get his body and mind back to normal."
Selanne's message, however, apparently did not hit home.
On Thursday, after announcing he has finished chemotherapy treatments and is in full remission, the 27-year-old Koivu said he intended to resume workouts soon. His goal, despite the skepticism of doctors: to be back before the end of the NHL season, in April.
The return would not be without precedent.
Eight years after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's, Pittsburgh Penguins star Mario Lemieux will serve this year as captain of Team Canada's Olympic hockey club. Former All-Star John Cullen of the Tampa Bay Lightning also returned to play briefly in the NHL shortly after battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
"I was able to see the happiness on their faces," Koivu said of his Montreal teammates after they heard the news of his remission, "and it made me really feel part of the team — to feel that I'm more than welcome to come and join the team again."
His fellow Finns surely must feel the same, even though he cannot play in these Games.
"We were talking earlier," Selanne said. "We'd like to bring Saku (to Salt Lake), and (make him) part of the team somehow."
RUSSIA'S YUSKEVICH LIKELY OUT: A blood clot in the calf and knee area of his right leg is expected to keep Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Dmitry Yuskevich from playing for Russia in the Winter Olympics.
Yuskevich is being treated with a blood thinner and could miss the rest of the NHL season.
"It would be a huge loss for us," said Russian forward Alexei Yashin of the New York Islanders. "But, more importantly, he's one of my best friends and I want him to get better."
CANADA'S YZERMAN PLANS TO PLAY: Steve Yzerman hopes to play Monday versus Montreal and Wednesday versus Minnesota, and if he fares well, the Detroit Red Wings star intends to represent Canada in the Winter Games. Otherwise, Yzerman — who has missed four NHL games while recovering from arthroscopic surgery in his right knee — may not come to Salt Lake City.
"I don't foresee a problem, but if I can't play, I won't be going (to the Olympics)," Yzerman said. "It doesn't make sense to play at 70 percent."
Potential replacement candidates for Canada, which opens Friday versus Sweden, include Joe Thornton of the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyer Keith Primeau.
Note: Wire-service information was used in this report.
E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com
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February 9, 2002
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