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HOCKEY STARS PREPARE TO TAKE ON THE WORLD NEXT MONTH WITH EUROPEAN TOUR� Primus Worldstars Tour gives fans and charities �something to cheer about� prior to holidays Many of hockey�s superstars, including Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, Tie Domi and Mats Sundin, will be returning to the ice in December as they take on teams from seven European countries as part of the �Primus Worldstars Tour brought to you by Reebok Hockey�, a two-week, 10-city tour of Europe that will be broadcast in Canada as pay-per-view events. A portion of the proceeds raised from the tour will be donated to the NHLPA�s �Goals and Dreams� and the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation. The Primus Worldstars team, made up of more than 25 prominent NHL players, will meet in Toronto on December 7 for a team practice before traveling to Latvia to kick off the tour on Thursday, December 9. They will go on to play nine more games in Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Poland before returning home on December 23. �It is important to all of us that we are using this time productively, and we thought this was a great way to give hockey fans and some deserving charities something to cheer about,� said Martin Brodeur, one of the player organizers of the Primus Worldstars Tour. �We want to be on the ice playing hockey, and we�re hoping the tour puts some emphasis back on the game itself.� Eight of the 10 games will be broadcast across Canada as pay-per-view events on Viewer�s Choice and Bell Expressvu, and in Alberta and British Columbia on Shaw. Individual games will be available for $9.99 each, or the full eight-game package can be purchased for $59.99. �We thought that this tour made the perfect early holiday gift for hockey fans and we are happy to be able to help bring it to them,� said Andy Day, Senior Vice President, Residential Services for Primus. �We�re looking forward to seeing many of our favourite hockey stars back on the ice in December.� Goalies: Martin Brodeur Dominik Hasek
Defence: Rob Blake Sergei Gonchar John-Michael Liles Pavel Kubina Robyn Regehr Rhett Warrener Mattias Norstrom Pavel Kubina Forwards: Mats Sundin Alexandre Daigle Sergei Fedorov Glen Murray Rick Nash Anson Carter Petr Nedved Ray Whitney Joe Thornton Robert Lang Luc Robitaille Daniel Briere Tie Domi Kris Draper Petr Sykora �We are thrilled to be a part of the Primus Worldstars Tour and fans here are very much looking forward to seeing many of the stars of hockey that they have only seen on television,� said Alexander Steblin, President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and Professional Hockey League. �International competitions like this have always attracted great interest here and it proves to be a great boost for hockey in Russia.� The NHLPA�s �Goals and Dreams� program has donated more than $15 million since its inception in 1999 to grassroots hockey programs around the world, giving thousands of children full sets of hockey equipment, funding for repairs or operating funds for local arenas, or support for grassroots hockey programs. The Garth Brooks �Teammates for Kids� Foundation works with professional athletes to contribute financial resources to non-profit organizations in Canada and the United States serving children with an emphasis on health, education and inner-city services. The Foundation guarantees to triple all donations made by participating professional athletes and includes divisions for three professional sports including baseball (Touch �em All Teammates), football (Touchdown Teammates) and hockey (Top Shelf Teammates). �PRIMUS WORLDSTARS TOUR BROUGHT TO YOU BY REEBOK HOCKEY� SCHEDULE Tuesday, December 7 - Team Practice in Toronto at Ricoh Coliseum (Open to Media) Thursday, December 9 - World Stars vs. Riga 2000 @ Riga, Latvia Saturday, December 11 - World Stars vs. Russian All-Stars @ Moscow, Russia Sunday, December 12 - World Stars vs. Russian All-Stars @ St. Petersburg, Russia Monday, December 13 - World Stars vs. Slovakian All-Stars @ Bratislava, Slovakia * Wednesday, December 15 - World Stars vs. SC Bern @ Bern, Switzerland Thursday, December 16 - World Stars vs. Farjestad @ Karlstad, Sweden * Friday, December 17 - World Stars vs. HV 71 @ Jonkoping, Sweden Sunday, December 19 - World Stars vs. Linkoping @ Linkoping, Sweden Tuesday, December 21 - World Stars vs. Norwegian All-Stars @ Oslo, Norway Wednesday, December 22 - World Stars vs. Polish All-Stars @ Poland (* indicates games not broadcast in Canada) �All of the players hope that the Primus Worldstars Tour gives the fans some enjoyment prior to the holidays while it also helps two charities that do great work for children around the world,� said Tie Domi. �We know the fans miss seeing us play, and we�re definitely missing being able to play in front of them. We are just looking forward to playing hockey.� Contact: Brad Robins Dave Haggith Director, Marketing Director, Communications IMG Hockey IMG Canada Tel: (416) 960-5312 ext. 106 Tel: (416) 960-5312 ext. 123 e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] |
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