QUEBEC CITY, Canada (AFP) - All-star goaltender Evgeni Nabokov has been cleared to join Team Russia for the 2008 World Ice Hockey Championships.

The 32-year-old San Jose Sharks netminder is expected to arrive in Quebec City on Thursday.

He needed to get his NHL contract insured before he could start competing at the Worlds which are being held in Halifax and Quebec City.

This will mark the first World Championships for Nabokov who competed for Russia at the 2006 Turin Winter Games.

Nabokov started playing for his native country Kazakhstan in the 1990s before becoming a Russian citizen.

He is in his eighth season with the Sharks who were eliminated from the National Hockey League playoffs on Sunday.

San Jose lost 2-1 in the fourth-overtime period to Dallas who took the series four games to two.

Nabokov played just over 114 minutes and was superb, facing 55 shots and making numerous highlight reel saves against Dallas.

He is one of three NHL goalies in the running for this season's Vezina Trophy which goes to the league's top goaltender.

Nabokov's addition solves a goal-tending problem for the Russians who were left with just one healthy netminder after their other two went down with injuries.

They have been using Canadian Kevin Desfosses in practice while they waited for Nabokov to become available.

The 21-year-old Desfosses played last season for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior League.

Russia is also adding Montreal Canadiens defenceman Andrei Markov and New York Rangers defender Fedor Tyutin to their roster.

Markov and Tyutin are joining the team Tuesday.

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