Kariya Shows a Talent Beyond His Years

Encore.

How will Paul Kariya follow up his first 50-goal season?

It was a year in which he finished tied for seventh in the NHL in scoring, set or tied 19 Mighty Duck records, won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and was a member of a select fivesome whose other members were Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Alexander Mogilny and Joe Sakic.

Their common link? Those were the only players in the NHL who had 50 goals and 100 points.

The question to muse about used to be what Kariya might do if he had a linemate capable of finishing off the chances he created.

Then Teemu Selanne came to Anaheim and gave Duck fans an inkling.

Now with Kariya and Selanne potentially together for an entire season and Jari Kurri added to the mix, Kariya is only the third most accomplished goal-scorer on the team.

After all, who are you until you’ve scored 70? Kurri had 71 goals for Edmonton in 1984-85, and Selanne scored 76 for Winnipeg as a rookie in 1992-93.

What has put Kariya in such an elite group after last season is his age--or more accurately, his youth.

He is only the 16th player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season at 21 or younger. (Kurri did it at 23 and Selanne at 22).

Of those 15 young scorers who preceded Kariya, only five scored 50 goals again the next season: Mike Bossy, Wayne Gretzky, Lemieux, Joe Nieuwendyk and Pavel Bure.

Five others haven’t repeated the feat in their careers.

True to the approach he has taken his entire career, Kariya--who turns 22 Oct. 16--isn’t interested in discussing projections or his expectations about the statistics he’ll have at the end of the season. (That’s not the same as not caring, if you recall the determination and exhilaration he displayed when he scored his 49th and 50th goals in the final game last season.)

There’s a bit of uncertainty about how well Kariya’s abdominal muscle injury has healed and how it will hold up to the rigors of the season. But there are no indications he’ll be hampered.

“It’s just like I never like to think about numbers before the season,” Kariya said. “Some people do. I never set goals like that. Teams might be taking away my shot; I’ll still be able to pass the puck. If I’m doing good things defensively and offensively and contributing to the team winning, who cares?”

Duck Coach Ron Wilson nods his approval, though he suspects Kariya won’t forget his benchmarks.

“I mean, I hear Paul say he doesn’t set personal goals, but he put a mark on the tree up there last year and I think he’ll try to achieve that again,” Wilson said. “But more important is that Paul does what it takes for the team to win.

“Paul might score 60 goals, or he might score 40. He’ll make adjustments, playing with a pure goal-scorer like Teemu and someone in Jari who used to be a pure goal-scorer but who’s just as much a playmaker.”

Making deft adjustments was what led to Kariya’s remarkable second season.

As a rookie, the smallish left wing who reported to camp addressing his coach as “Mr. Wilson” had 18 goals and 39 points in the lockout-shortened season--numbers that would have projected to a 68-point season. He also proved something of a defensive liability, with the worst plus-minus on the team at minus 17.

When the Ducks made it clear to Kariya that they needed him to score goals because too many of his lovely passes were going unconverted, he adapted his game. He got stronger, improved the speed of his shot and the quickness of his release, learned to play the point on the power play, and he simplified, simplified, simplified. His plus-minus? A plus 9, third-best on the team.

Kariya’s point-per-game output went from .83 to 1.32 during his 108-point second season. In the 29 games after Selanne’s arrival, Kariya scored at a pace of 1.52 points a game--which would translate to a 125-point season.

Even with Selanne alongside for less than half a season, Kariya’s second-year scoring pace exceeded that of such players as Sergei Fedorov, Jagr, Brett Hull and Mark Messier in their second seasons.

Who did better? Lemieux (1.78 ppg), Gretzky (1.73) and Eric Lindros (1.49).

Where to from here? Kariya imagines he might move closer to his playmaking roots, but he’s waiting to see what develops.

“With all three of us on a line, it’s like we talked about when it was me and Teemu,” Kariya said. “We can both pass and shoot, and that puts us in the position of not knowing what we’re going to do. That’s the best thing that can happen. Having three guys on a line like that makes it even better.”

If that line stays together, the biggest temptation might be to overpass.

“We’ve all got good shots and we should use them,” Kariya said. “Sometimes that’s the best pass in the world, put a shot on net, and there’s a rebound there to knock in.”

Kariya was at his best down the stretch last season, carrying the Ducks to victory time after time--and paying for it by getting teeth knocked out more than once. (He since has had the repairs made. “They’re nicer than what I had.”)

After all that, the mission to make the playoffs ended up one point shy.

“It initially was very hard because we’d done a lot of good things,” Kariya said. “Looking back, none of us were devastated. We were disappointed. We knew we played well and we knew things we didn’t do well that got us in that position. We’ve got to improve and learn from that and not dwell on it.

“Looking back is not going to help. This is a new team, and we have a good opportunity with Jari and Teemu. Who knows what type of seasons we’ll have. A lot will depend on how teams play us.

“As far as I’m concerned, last season is over with.”

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The Kariya File

* Position: Left wing (shoots left).

* Height and Weight: 5-11, 175.

* Born: Oct. 16, 1974, in Vancouver.

* How acquired: Picked in first round (fourth overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft from the University of Maine.

* 1995-96 highlights: Set club records for goals (50), reaching the total with two goals in final game. . . . Also set club mark for assists (58) and points (108). . . . Named the NHL’s player of the month for April. . . . Scored a goal in his first NHL All-Star game.

* Career highlights: Scored 112 and 132 points in two seasons with Penticton of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League, before leading Maine to the 1992-93 NCAA championship as a freshman. . . . Became first freshman to win Hobey Baker award as the top U.S. college player by scoring 100 points in 39 games. . . . Led Team Canada in scoring at 1994 Olympics, winning a silver medal. . . . Was a finalist for Calder Trophy as rookie with the Mighty Ducks in 1994-95, and led team in scoring with 39 points during strike-shortened season.

* Personal: Was a dean’s list student at Maine. . . . Father Tetsuhiko was member of Canadian national rugby team. . . . Did construction work as his first job.