There will be no rest for NHL superstar Chris Pronger who is the backbone of his Anaheim Ducks team that is vying for the Stanley Cup.

Olympic champ Pronger, a Norris and Hart trophy winner and recipient of many other awards will be this year’s special guest at the 2007 World Ice Hockey 5’s to be held in Hong Kong next month.

He played with the Edmonton Oilers before joining the Anaheim Ducks in 2006, which at press time was battling Detroit for a slot in this year’s edition of the Stanley Cup. The 2007 World Ice Hockey 5’s, scheduled to take place from 11th - 17th June, will be held in Hong Kong’s first full-size ice rink located in the MegaBox shopping mall.

“I’m really looking forward to my first trip to Hong Kong to help promote the 2007 World Ice Hockey 5’s and the opening of Hong Kong’s first full-size ice rink,” said Pronger.

Pronger will travel to Hong Kong with his father and brother, Sean, who is also a former NHL player. The 2007 tournament will, in fact, be moving back “home’, for it was in Hong Kong that the event first began in 1993.

By 2005 it attracted 30 teams, doubling to 60 teams in 2006. So it is expected that this year the tournament will be more successful than ever before.

The hockey teams will play in one of thirteen divisions, ranging from Elite and International divisions to recreational women’s teams, competitive Pee Wee’s and divisions with names like ‘Midget’, ‘Bantam’ and ‘Mini Squirt’. The teams consists of five players plus a goalie.

They play three periods of 12 minutes running time with just 30 second between periods.

Marc Hickox, General Manager of Canada’s renowned Jokers Hockey Club – ‘The funniest team on ice’ –  declares, “Everything about this tournament is amazing.

“The hockey, the kids, the fans, and the beer – it’s good times,” he added further.

 Within the past 10 years there has been growing interest among many Asian nations in ice hockey.  Each year more tournaments are popping up--from Dubai to Mongolia.