NHLers set to compete at Winter Olympics voice concern over security in Sochi | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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NHLers set to compete at Winter Olympics voice concern over security in Sochi

Vancouver Canucks Daniel Sedin, left to right, goaltender Roberto Luongo and Jannik Hansen attend a media availability at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C. Wednesday, Sept, 11, 2013. Luongo won't have any family joining him next month when he suits up for Canada at the Winter Olympics.The same goes for Sweden's Daniel Sedin. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

VANCOUVER - Roberto Luongo won't have any family joining him next month when he suits up for Canada at the Winter Olympics.

The same goes for Sweden's Daniel Sedin.

The Vancouver Canucks teammates are both concerned over security at the Games in Sochi, Russia, after a series of threats and terrorist attacks in the region.

Two suicide bombers killed 34 people in the southern Russian city of Volgograd in December, and officials say they are hunting three more potential attackers — including one believed to be in Sochi.

"It's definitely on my mind, I'm not going to lie," Luongo said after practice on Wednesday. "I think we're all a little bit concerned. We're definitely going to keep an eye on it over the next few weeks."

Sedin, who is set to compete for Sweden along with his twin brother Henrik, said he was "absolutely" concerned about the news coming out of Russia, including email threats on Wednesday against a handful of European countries set to participate at the Olympics.

The threats were largely dismissed as a hoax, but the concern over security in Sochi is serious.

"We talk about it quite a bit. It's nothing you can really joke about," said Sedin. "It's in the back of your head for sure."

Luongo, the odds on favourite to start for Canada in its first game Feb. 13 against Norway, and Sedin both said safety is the main reason their families won't be travelling to Russia.

Sedin added that if family members wanted to join him and his brother, he would discourage them from making the trip.

An Islamic militant group in Dagestan — which is located about 500 kilometres from Sochi — claimed responsibility for the bombings in Volgograd in a video posted on Sunday. The video also contained a threat to strike the Olympics.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby voiced similar concerns to those of Luongo and Sedin to reporters in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

"Obviously everybody watches the news and knows that there's been things happening fairly close to there," said Crosby, who will captain the Canadian team. "From what we've been told, I think they're going to do everything they can to make sure it's safe and secure. We're going over to play and focus on that.

"It's not something everyone's totally worried about, but I think it's hard not to think about it when things are happening kind of close to there."

Toronto Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk, who will suit up for the United States in Sochi, said back in December that American hockey officials told him that security will be "very tight."

"I know they mentioned things about different actions they were going to take as far as making sure everything's secure," he said. "It seemed like they were on top of all that."

News from © The Canadian Press, 2014
The Canadian Press

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