The Canadian national hockey team came to the 1995 Izvestia Cup as a dark horse after a one-year hiatus from the tournament. The team consists of young players from outside the National Hockey League.


Head coach Tom Renniy said assistant captain Jim Hiller is the only one on the team with any NHL experience. He has played in 63 NHL games in three years with three different teams.


Glenn Anderson, 35, the only NHL regular to play for Canada this season, has left the team to seek an NHL job.


In the past, the college players and minor leaguers that made up the national team had a chance to play in the Olympics. But starting in 1998, Canada, along with other hockey powers, will fill its roster with the NHL's best.


"The focus for these guys has changed," said Renniy. "Instead of the Olympics once every four years, now it's the world championships every year" where fewer NHLers are expected to play.


The coach said about seven or eight players on this team have a realistic chance to play on Canada's 25-man team for next spring's world tournament. Based on the first two games at the Izvestia tournament, goalie Andrew Verner might be one of them.


Verner faced 46 shots against the Russians in the tournament opener Saturday to preserve a 2-2 tie. In fact, Canada came close to winning, leading 2-1 with less than three minutes to go when Andrei Potaichuk scored.


"I know how skilled the Russians are," Verner said. "I played against them last year. They are very patient with the puck."


Verner said he was nervous before the game. "There is a lot of history in this [CSKA] building. It's nostalgic to play here, to see [Vladislav] Tretiak's banner hanging up."


(For other results, see Scorecard.)