Returning Wilson Won’t Coach Today

Coach Ron Wilson is expected to return to the Pond of Anaheim today after coaching the United States to the gold medal in the World Cup, but wasn’t planning to be behind the bench for the Mighty Ducks’ exhibition game against the Kings at 5 p.m.

Assistant coaches Walt Kyle and Tim Army will probably run the bench, giving Wilson a chance to watch the Ducks’ first exhibition game from the press box.

Duck goalie Guy Hebert, who played for Wilson on the U.S. team, said he plans to take only a couple of days off before joining the Ducks.

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Jari Kurri won’t be in the lineup against his former teammates today, since he and Teemu Selanne are being rested after the World Cup. It might be just as well.

“I hardly know anybody there,” said Kurri, traded to the Rangers last season and signed by the Ducks as a free agent. “That’s amazing, in how short a time that team has changed. It started last year and the direction is completely different.”