FAST FORWARD TO NAGANO
Flew over to Japan with Team Canada on Sunday.

As I watched the guys gather at Vancouver International Airport--- most of them having just flown in from everywhere on the continent following a full slate of league games the night before --- I noticed that when these players get together, wherever they may be from, they bond immediately. These are guys who have had similar lives and experiences - they respect each others game... that and some of them just saw each other a few weeks ago at the All Star Game!

Back to the airport, and next thing you know, there's a luncheon --- with the wives, the fiancees, the girlfriends, some parents and even a few kids, all of whom are traveling with the team --- and then there's the press conference and then the call: it's time to board the four o'clock flight, time for the journey to begin. As the players got on board there was a sense of relaxed confidence.

We're on the plane now, and we've just taken off. Ahead of us: nine hours over water. The water's not a problem. The problem is the nine hours. It's one thing to fly Toronto-Montreal or skip over to Chicago from St. Louis. But NINE hours: Man, talk about a road trip!

One player who didn't make the charter was Paul Kariya. Paul unfortunately suffered a concussion a few days earlier during a game with the Ducks and was still feeling symptoms. As a result of the swelling that occurs in the brain, it is dangerous for Paul not only to play, but also to fly due to the changes in altitude.

Soon after take-off, the coaches called a team meeting. It was kind of cool - the plane we were on had a boardroom like area where everybody could gather. They're watching videos. They're covering everything: powerplays, penalty killing, forechecking. Another big item on the agenda is the rules --- the international rules, not the NHL rules. You name it, there are nuances in everything: penalties, goalie-stick size, icing.

The biggest difference of all, though, is the ice surface. On an international hockey rink, the width is 15 feet greater than on a NHL rink. That's a lot more space. Great for the finesse players. Add to that the fact there are two extra feet behind the net and suddenly the game takes on a different complexion. No wonder the Canadian coaching staff is taking care of strategy ahead of time.

After the team meeting comes the individual meetings, with each player sitting down on his own with the coaching staff. And what are they talking about specifically in those private meetings? As I said, the meetings are private, so I can't tell you. But I do know the coaches are going over each player's role during the Olympics, as well as the various line combinations.

But what's a trip if all you're going to do is meet? Eventually you have to play - and remember the game plan is try to stay awake so that when the players touch down in Tokyo at night, they can get a good sleep and adjust quickly to the time change. So out come the cards. There's Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy, Adam Foote, Keith Primeau and Eric Lindros settling down for a game. As for the game, it's called Schnarples. The rules are kind of hard to explain but it's something like Euchre - it's a popular game around the NHL. The guys do seem to be having fun. You have to figure they are, because they end up playing this game for four hours. You'd think that after such an epic game, there would be some winners and losers but it was basically a draw.

As for the rest of the guys, there's Brendan Shanahan is cleaning up at the chessboard. Turns out Shanny studied under the great Russian master Larionov --- as in Igor Larionov.

And Gretzky? He's brought a copy of The Titanic for the others to watch. Hey, who's worrying? It's about a disaster at sea, not up in the air. Come to think of it, I did mention we were over water, didn't I?

Finally we touch down at Tokyo's Narita Airport at 6pm, 26 hours later when you factor in the 17-hour time change and the fact we crossed over the International Date Line. Which has me thinking: if today suddenly becomes tomorrow by no fault of your own, do you have to pay a penalty on the video you rented today?

The plane has landed and come to a full stop on the tarmac. This is the plan. We'll get off and take a shuttle to the terminal, where there will probably be a few fans and maybe some reporters. Right? Wrong. I mean wrong about getting off the plane and taking the shuttle bus right away. No sooner does the plane door open than the guys are drowned in a sea of flashes from Japanese photographers. The Japanese, it turns out, absolutely love hockey (and I'll tell you more about that in a couple of days) and the attention they're now lavishing upon the guys is genuine. It's incredible. I felt like I was traveling with the Stones.

The media attention continued to grow once we got into the terminal. In fact, it was very surprising for me when Japanese fans greeted me by my first name. The fans here are very knowledgeable about the Canadian players - they had trading cards and politely asked the guys by name for their autographs. Sometimes in North America, we forget that the interest in the game is worldwide.

The team will spend the night in Tokyo and will take a bullet train to Nagano Tuesday morning with the Athletes Village as their final destination.

Needless-to-say, it was a long day for all but the team was excited to be one step closer to Nagano.