'Canada Week' to honour late Kuzkin

DUBAI // Victor Kuzkin, the late Russian ice hockey player, will be remembered as part of two special matches this weekend during the 'Canada Week in Dubai' celebrations. Kuzkin, who participated in two previous Dubai-based Canada Weeks with his wife Tatiana, passed away in June last year after suffering a heart attack while driving in Sochi, Russia, at 67.

Kuzkin won three Olympic gold medals, eight world championships and 13 titles in the erstwhile Soviet Union. The Dubai Mighty Camels ice hockey club organised a weekend of matches and activities at the Dubai Mall Ice Rink, with the highlight being the Victor Kuzkin Memorial Game at 2pm on March 14. Jari Kurri, a Hall of Famer who retired after almost 20 years as a professional in North America having clocked 1,398 points in the NHL, will run an ice hockey camp over the two days. Open to youngsters aged between five and 18, Kurri will be helped by fellow stars Veli-Pekka Ketola, Heikki Riihiranta, Jyrki Lumme, Jorma Valtonen and Arto Malinen.

Competitive proceedings begin on the ice on March 13 when the Dubai Mighty Camels take on the International All Stars at 2pm. Kurri will be joined by a host of big names including Riihiranta, the 10-times Stanley Cup winner Yvan Cournoyer, Canadian Olympian Jim Peplinski, former Edmonton Oiler and Stanley Cup winner Ken Linseman and Stephane Lebeau, who is a veteran of seven years in the NHL. The 'Canada Week in Dubai' celebrations will incorporate cultural as well as sporting activities and will benefit the UAE Terry Fox run to commemorate the Canadian amputee who attempted to run across his home country to raise money for cancer research and the Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation.