MIGHTY DUCKS : For Once, Kariya Won’t Be a Gretzky Fan

Paul Kariya has stacks of videotapes of Wayne Gretzky, the player he tried to mimic as a boy, but today will be the first time he meets him on the ice.

Many an NHL star has asked Gretzky for a stick after playing with him or against him, but Kariya won’t need to after the Mighty Ducks’ game against the Kings today at the Forum.

The rookie already has one.

Kariya, who attended the University of Maine, met Gretzky in Boston several years ago when he went to a Kings-Bruins game while on a recruiting visit to Boston University. Gretzky gave him a stick then.

“It’s a big thrill for any first-year player to play against Gretzky,” said Kariya, who is asked about Gretzky enough that he says it gets “monotonous” but admits it’s “a nice little problem to have.”

“You’ve got to admire him whether you try to play like him or not,” he said. “But I’m looking forward to playing and trying to win the game. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing.”

Kariya probably doesn’t want attention showered on him when his team is struggling, but it is hard to avoid. With seven points in eight games, he is the leading rookie scorer in the NHL, even though he says every game is “a constant learning process.”

Friday morning, Detroit Coach Scotty Bowman, who has won more games than any coach in NHL history, sat in the stands watching Kariya practice.

“He was making a pass left-handed to an assistant coach and getting it back and shooting a one-timer right-handed. I’ve never seen a player do that,” Bowman said. “He’s going to be one hell of a player in this league.”

Kariya’s vision and creativity make people compare him to Gretzky, who Kariya is the first to say is “incomparable.” Nobody is predicting Kariya will be as prolific a scorer. The year Gretzky turned 20, as Kariya did in October, he won the second of eight consecutive NHL scoring titles.

For perhaps the first time in his life, Kariya won’t be pulling for Gretzky, but his admiration has never wavered.

“The way he plays, he could play another 10 years,” Kariya said. “Ninety percent of the game is up in his head. Watching him is sort of like watching Joe Montana play football or Larry Bird play basketball.”

Ducks Notes

General Manager Jack Ferreira said he is not panicking about the team’s defensive trouble. “I said before the season that we might not be as good as last year. We’ve got to go through a growth spurt,” he said. The team is in transition while young players such as Paul Kariya, Oleg Tverdovsky and Valeri Karpov adjust to the league and veterans--Bob Corkum, Garry Valk, Joe Sacco--try to take another step up. “It’s not like I’m happy, I don’t want you to get that impression,” Ferreira said. “I try to be very realistic. I’m not trying to make excuses but I know realistically what growing pains are.”