NHL to block Jere Karalahti's games in the ice hockey World Cup

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The NHL has demanded that defender Jere Karalahti's name be dropped from the list of players on the Finnish national ice hockey team that was named for the World Cup yesterday.
      Ken Yaffe, Managing Director of NHL International and the Tournament Director of the World Cup, called Finnish Ice Hockey Association Chairman Kalervo Kummola directly about the matter. The NHL organises the World Cup.
      Karalahti played in the NHL a few years ago, but was ordered into a rehabilitation programme after being caught under the influence of alcohol. Karalahti's substance abuse was specially monitored, as the player had received a minor drug conviction in Finland before transferring to the NHL.
     
Frustrated by the demands of the rehab programme, Karalahti quit mid-way and returned to Finland in 2002. He then vocally criticised the way the NHL's rehabilitation is organised, which may have been too tough a sound-bite for NHL bosses to swallow.
      The NHL's demand is not absolute, and it is still possible that Karalahti will play in the World Cup, which gathers all the world's top hockey players. The World Cup will be played in early September, before the start of the NHL season.
      "I understand the NHL. As a Finn I also understand Karalahti, who did not want to stay there for the treatment but jumped ship and came home", Kummola commented.
     
Karalahti has played for IFK Helsinki since his return to Finland. In connection with being sent to rehab, Karalahti was also banned from playing for six months. He sat out the ban in Finland, and continued with his rehab here.
      Karalahti played for Finland in this spring's World Championships, and the heads of the national team hope that he will eventually be allowed to play in the World Cup. Head coach Raimo Summanen feels that the NHL's demand is not fair to Karalahti. Summanen emphasised that for the past year, Karalahti's behaviour has been above reproach, and that he has been completely reliable.
      Summanen also explained that the main reason for Karalahti's problems in rehab in the U.S. were language-related, and that the defender wanted to come to Finland to get enough support during the process.


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