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It’s a strange thing to say when Rene Fasel shows up at an international hockey event, but …

What is he doing here?

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This is not an International Ice Hockey Federation event.

But there’s so much involved with the newly branded Hlinka Gretzky Cup, especially off the ice in the next few days, that the IIHF president figured he ought to be here. Just about everybody else who is anybody in the sport is expected to be here for the final four days. And there’s no lack of IIHF components.

“I think the agreement between Hockey Canada, the Czech Ice Hockey Association and the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation to hold the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton on alternating years will have positive results,” said an insistent Fasel.

“The Oilers Entertainment Group has invested a lot in the Ice District and Rogers Place, so I believe there will be a great deal of room for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup to grow into something most substantial here.