Twenty years after skating for Canada at the world hockey championships, Lanny McDonald is back on board. The Hall of Famer has signed on as Wayne Gretzky's right-hand man for the 2001 world hockey championships in Germany. McDonald's official title is assistant executive director of the Canadian team.

The position is unpaid. McDonald says he wants his payoff to be a gold medal.

This is all about pride and passion and doing something for your country, he said Friday from Calgary. And I love it.

His enthusiasm is unbridled.

I'm ecstatic about it, he added. My God, what an opportunity to represent your country and do it for Canadian hockey.

This year's world championships are of special interest because of the proximity to the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

What a great way to go over and send a message to the rest of the world that we're here to play for keeps and this is the way we're going to be at the Olympics.

Still, McDonald acknowledges he will have to use some of his talents as a salesman to convince players to extend their already long season and play for Canada.

I think the advantage I have is being a past player and having participated in three different events that were on the world scale - Canada Cup in '76, Challenge Cup in '79 and then '81 world championships - is that I understand what they're going through, in being away all year.

We'll try to make sure this is a family affair.

But with the Olympics around the corner, what an opportunity for them to show that they belong (on Team Canada).

McDonald played for Canada at the 1981 championships in Sweden, losing the bronze-medal game to the Swedes.

Obviously that was very disappointing, to come home in fourth place, but the opportunity to play for your country only comes along so often and it was a great experience.

McDonald, who was joined by the likes of Guy Lafleur and Larry Robinson, had three goals.

While Don Cherry, who along with John Ferguson coached the 1981 world championship team, has said McDonald would be a great coach - citing his recent pre-game speech to the Cherry team before the Top Prospects game - McDonald says he will leave the coaching in Germany to Wayne Fleming and his staff.

But the man with the mega-moustache will play a large role in selecting who makes the squad, along with Fleming and his coaches and Canucks vice-president Steve Tambellini, another member of the Canadian team at the '81 worlds who is serving as a player consultant.

You have to have a great combination of different players, he said when asked about his philosophy. But what you don't want to do is take a player out of his own element and try to get him to play a different way. That usually doesn't work.

Most of all they obviously need to be able to skate, especially on the big ice surface, he added. But play the game with a passion and pride that Canada is famous for.

McDonald said he started scouting players weeks ago when he first got the call asking if he was interested in the job.

Gretzky will oversee the 2001 world championship team in Germany as executive director.

Lanny brings together experience as both a player and in a management role, and will be able to assist us in building a team that will go for gold in Germany, Gretzky said in a statement.

McDonald, inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992, spent 16 seasons in the NHL with Toronto, Colorado and Calgary, finishing his career with 500 goals and 506 assists.

He still holds the Flames record for most goals in a season with 66.

McDonald later served as vice-president of corporate relations for the Flames, resigning last August. He took five months off after leaving the Flames, then did some part-time marketing work for Baker Hughes, a Calgary oil and gas company.

Canada will open the world championship on April 28 against Norway.