Picking Ducks, Panthers : Hockey: Even people connected with expansion teams aren’t sure who they got.

Florida Panther owner H. Wayne Huizenga, a draft veteran, witnessed the birth of his second professional team within an eight-month span, and it was not much different from the first time around with baseball’s Florida Marlins.

Once again, his new family--the 24 players selected by the Panthers in Thursday’s NHL expansion draft--were, with a couple of exceptions, like orphans thrown together.

It was the same a few steps away at the draft table of Anaheim’s fledgling Mighty Ducks at the Grand Theatre.

Goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck is the Panthers’ hockey equivalent of Marlin relief pitcher Bryan Harvey and a lot cheaper with a $1.15-million yearly contract. Vanbiesbrouck found his way to South Florida from the New York Rangers with a four-day career as a Vancouver Canuck this week.

The Ducks’ three goaltenders--for now, at least until today’s Phase II of the expansion draft--are Guy Hebert of St. Louis, former King Glenn Healy of the New York Islanders and Edmonton’s Ron Tugnutt.

Other Anaheim players with the most name recognition are defensemen Alexei Kasatonov of New Jersey and Montreal’s Sean Hill, and forwards Anatoli Semenov of Vancouver and Hartford’s Terry Yake.

Florida selected Vanbiesbrouck, Quebec’s Mark Fitzpatrick and Toronto’s Daren Puppa as its goaltenders. Even Panther General Manager Bob Clarke was a little confused, calling Fitzpatrick Fitzgerald. That was understandable, because the Panthers also selected forward Tom Fitzgerald from the Islanders. Fitzgerald scored nine goals and 27 points last season, and the Panthers’ leading scorer is Oiler forward Scott Mellanby, who had 15 goals and 17 assists.

“I’ve never heard of a lot of these guys,” Huizenga said. “But I never heard of a lot of the baseball players we selected. . . .

“There’s a lot of young, unknown names. Everyone talked about the no-names we took in baseball, yet today they’re not no-names.”

Michael Eisner, Walt Disney Co. chairman, used his movie background to describe his new experience on Thursday: “It’s very dissimilar from what goes on in Hollywood. In Hollywood, you don’t draft Robert Redford and Tom Cruise. You don’t have actors playing out their options. And if you find a director in Kansas City, you don’t put him in the draft and lose him to MGM.”

Eisner, whose two sons play youth hockey, said he had not heard of most of the players selected. He had to rely on his children for information.

The Ducks were not pretending they had drafted an all-star team. General Manager Jack Ferreira was asked about one draftee and admitted that the player is earmarked for the minor leagues. Ferreira also said that he made no deals with other league general managers to bypass their players, although he suspected the Panthers had struck at least one accord.

“Obviously, (the talent) is limited,” said Pierre Gauthier, Ferreira’s assistant. “This year was better than last year. This is a start. It’s a chance to start selling the team . . . and the T-shirts and the hats.”

One player not so willing to embrace the Ducks was King left wing Lonnie Loach, who was the 42nd pick overall. The Kings’ unprotected list was treated like a hot potato, and every other NHL team had at least one player selected before a King was taken. Anaheim also took another King, enforcer Jim Thomson, with its next selection, earning him the distinction of being taken in three consecutive expansion drafts.

King General Manager Nick Beverley was asked how long it would take to get Thomson back.

“It might be three times and out,” Beverley said, smiling.

Loach got the news several hours after the draft when he returned home from a vacation in Palm Springs, hearing he was a Duck on his answering machine.

“We had such a good thing going with the Kings,” said Loach, who had 10 goals and 23 points last season. “I think I was going to get the chance to play here. I’m only 25. I don’t know if they took me because they wanted me, or if they had to take two players. If I’m just drafted to be drafted, it’ll be like when Ottawa drafted me and didn’t play me. I’ve got to play a lot, and I’ve got to prove myself again.”

King Coach Barry Melrose was instrumental in bringing Loach to Los Angeles and said Loach would be able to help the Ducks, especially if he played on a line with Semenov.

Said Beverley: “Let’s put it this way, we have some guys who don’t have as much experience who are still going to be good players. Maybe it (hurt) our depth just a little bit. One of our things is to get size in the lineup, and I think someone like (1991 draft choice) Keith Redmond will pan out fine.”

Beverley is making an effort to acquire a first-round pick, which is not easy because the entry draft is said to be the deepest since 1979 and teams are reluctant to give up choices. The Kings owe the Oilers their top pick this year, the last shred of the Wayne Gretzky deal.

“I’m still doing some talking,” Beverley said. “But our basic list is ready. We don’t want to give away something that will hurt us for something that will help us Saturday.”

Already, the Kings were talking about their future. Loach was not quite sure about his hockey future, especially the prospect of being called a Mighty Duck and wearing their, well . . . interesting jersey.

Said Loach, “I don’t know about it. I’m already getting ripped back home.”

* DUCKS’ DRAFT

They go on the defensive, selecting goalies with their first two picks. C2