DUCKS : Rookie Kariya Big Hit as Practice Draws 9,000

They came, 9,000 strong, to watch a hockey practice. The first day of hockey practice.

And many of the fans who spent their Labor Day filing through the turnstiles at the Mighty Ducks’ free public session at The Pond of Anaheim were there to watch Paul Kariya take his first official step onto NHL ice.

Kariya did no more than step off the bench, and they cheered. Kariya quickly put his head down and stretched, they cheered. Kariya skated, they cheered. Kariya, a compact 5-feet-10 and maybe 170 pounds, checked 6-5 tough guy Stu Grimson into the boards, and they really cheered.

“It was really nice,” said Kariya, 19, the strikingly creative playmaker who signed a three-year, $6.5-million contract last week. “It got a little bit embarrassing after a while, but it was nice.

“The big thing I didn’t expect was all the fans. I thought it was a closed practice and then came into the arena parking lot and saw all these cars. It was amazing. I had no idea people would be here to watch an open practice.”

The Ducks opened their first day of practice believing a few thousand fans would wander in and hopefully buy a T-shirt or maybe even a season ticket. (The team already has sold 12,000 season tickets).

“I won the office pool,” Coach Ron Wilson said. “I said there’d be 5,000 people and as soon as I saw all the people there in the morning, I said there’d be 10,000 when Paul came out.

“I thought maybe I’d come on the ice a little ahead of him and they’d cheer and I’d wave.”

Nobody was shunning this rookie--certainly not captain Randy Ladouceur, a 12-year veteran.

“We were skating around and Randy said, ‘I better get up with you so I can get media attention,’ ” Kariya said.

Even his teammates were eager to get their first look.

“I think they’re actually excited,” Wilson said. “They’re curious to see what he can do. Paul’s so unassuming, it’s not like he pushes people aside. He works as hard as everybody else. That’s what will endear him to his teammates.”

And the fan reaction?

“It’s not like everyone went, ‘We’re not worthy,’ it was nice and polite,” Wilson said.

Wilson will hold Kariya out of Sunday’s exhibition against the Kings at the San Diego Sports Arena in part because he expects a physical game. But the rookie made an impression by playfully mixing it up with Grimson, who accidentally put three teammates out of commission with ill-aimed hits last season.

“I checked him into the boards,” said Kariya, who also took some nudges from Grimson. “I didn’t know if I should touch him or not, but he said, ‘Way to work.’ ”

He also made a small gesture.

“Like, there’s a fly on me,” Kariya said. “I’d better stay away from him the rest of the year.”