THIRTEEN NHL PLAYERS NAMED TO U.S. NATIONAL TEAM COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Thirteen NHL players were selected to the U.S. National Team for the International Ice Hockey Federation World Cup that begins this week in St. Petersburg, Russia. The 23-member team, announced Monday, includes goalie Damian Rhodes of Atlanta. The forwards are Steve Konowalchuk and Jeff Halpern of Washington, Jason Blake of Los Angeles, Steve Heinze of Boston, Darby Hendrickson of Vancouver Canucks, David Legwand of Nashville, Jeff Nielsen of Anaheim and Derek Plante of Chicago. NHL defensemen chosen to the team are Ben Clymer of Tampa Bay, Phil Housley of Calgary, Hal Gill of Boston and Eric Weinrich Montreal. Eleven of the 23 players have represented the United States in prior World Championship competition. Heinze, Hendrickson and Weinrich have competed in the Olympics. The U.S. begins preliminary round play on Saturday against Switzerland. *** For the full story, see http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2566003680-ffc > ---------- >