CALGARY, Alberta -- Defying the NHL Players' Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation, Canada's Olympic hockey team and coaches hit the ice Tuesday night for the first of four practices this week.

	Team Canada captain Mario Lemieux, left, and Eric Lindros took the ice on Sept. 4, violating the NHLPA's quidelines.

"My concern is this team. My concern is Canada," said Wayne Gretzky, Team Canada's executive director. "If the European teams and the NHLPA are mad, they can be mad at me -- that's fine."

Gretzky ignored the NHLPA's two-day limit for on-ice practices and the union's agreement with the IIHF to bar coaches from the workouts, sending all 34 players on the ice along with coach Pat Quinn and his three assistants.

New York Islanders center Mike Peca, the NHLPA's player representative when he played for Buffalo, downplayed the fact they were going to skate all four days.

"There's certain guidelines the NHLPA would like to see followed, but at the same time I think there's a little grace with respect to a few things," Peca said.

"I think if you don't really cross the line it's not a big deal. If you're just doing a few things and not pushing the envelope too much it's probably not a bad thing.

"The NHLPA has always looked out for our best interests and I think in this situation, they're just protecting and guarding against other things. I think they also understand, as the players do, that we're here to get some advanced information and get some work done that probably will pay off in the long run."