Mighty Luck to Mighty Ducks - The region will have a new professional team, and that’s just . . . ducky

Hockey’s combination of grace and ferocity has produced some legendary sports images over the years. How will the Mighty Ducks, the lighthearted new National Hockey League franchise that will skate in Anaheim next season, fit that tradition?

No doubt it will require some attitude adjustment for traditionalists reared on the exploits of such greats of the game as the poetic Jean Beliveau and the pugnacious Eddie Shore. They will have to get used to the idea of a rink likely to be called “the Pond in Anaheim.” But, for everyone, this new team should be fun to have around.

This is, after all, Southern California, where remaking images is a way of life. Who better than Walt Disney Co. to present a game that, in its natural habitat in places like Saskatchewan, is played in a deep freeze? As for the Mighty Ducks name coined by Disney Chairman Michael J. Eisner, even the head of the NHL’s players association predicts that it will win acceptance from grizzled players. And if “the Pond” seems an odd name for an arena, remember that places with names such as “the Garden” are part of sports lore. (Before long, we’ll know if the Mighty Ducks’ faithful--like some legendary Dodgers fans--duck out of “the Pond” early to beat the traffic.)

As home to the Kings, the Los Angeles area is no stranger to professional hockey. But the Mighty Ducks will bring a special flavor to the sport: Duck calls will be marketed for all who are eager to quack, and more than a few duck jokes are inevitable as the expansion franchise wobbles through its first season.

But whatever the team’s immediate fortunes, it will be a kick to have them skating in the land of Donald.