Roar of Crowd a Pleasant Surprise for Kariya : Hockey: About 9,000 show up at The Pond to watch Mighty Ducks’ rookie start practice.

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 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, 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, who signed a three-year, $6.5-million contract last week. “It got a little bit embarrassing after awhile, 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 hoping a few thousand fans would wander in and hopefully buy a T-shirt, a cap or maybe even a season ticket.

“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 team 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, laughing.

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 game against the Kings at the San Diego Sports Arena partly because he expects a physical game. But Kariya 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.’ ”

Grimson 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.”

That will suit Wilson.

“I was nervous because of how many people Stu put out last year,” he said. “But Paul is going to be running into big guys all year. He’s certainly prepared for it.”

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Ready to go: Despite coming to terms only last week, Kariya is well prepared for camp, Wilson said.

He rated among the top Duck players in a bicycle sprinting test and on a vertical-leap measurement.

“Though it may not have looked like he was planning on playing negotiating-wise, he was preparing to play (physically),” Wilson said.

Kariya’s ability stands out on the ice, from his puckhandling to his skating.

“Right off the bat, when he starts doing what we call overspeed drills, where you come out of a tight turn and accelerate, you can see it,” Wilson said.

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No. 2’s debut: Kariya’s presence overshadowed the arrival of defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky, the No. 2 overall pick of the June NHL draft.

Tverdovsky, who has been learning English, said his first day was “not bad.”

After not skating for about 10 days because of a minor injury, he felt winded. Wilson said Tverdovsky seemed nervous and was “really struggling,” but he’s expected to improve as camp goes on.

Duck Notes

Defenseman Anatoli Fedotov, who spent most of last season with minor league affiliate San Diego, has not reported to camp. “I don’t know where he is,” General Manager Jack Ferreira said. “I’ll call his agent tonight.” . . . Center Shaun Van Allen didn’t skate because of a sore back but hopes to be on the ice this week. Garry Valk, recovering from an emergency appendectomy last month, participated in conditioning drills but didn’t scrimmage. . . . Tryout Mark Yannetti, a defenseman, chipped a tooth in practice and required seven stitches in his lip.