If It’s Thursday in Tokyo, He Must Be a Mighty Duck

If Brent Severyn seemed out of sorts after his first practice as a Duck, he had an excuse. Actually, there were three days worth of excuses. Or maybe it was four. He wasn’t sure. “What day is it here anyway?” Severyn said.

Severyn spent a sleepless night Saturday while wondering which team would pick him in Sunday’s waiver draft after the Colorado Avalanche left him unprotected.

It turned out to be the Ducks, who left Monday for Tokyo. Severyn hustled to Anaheim to meet his new teammates, but he had left his passport behind. Arrangements were made for a new one to be issued and Severyn was off to Japan, some 24 hours after the Ducks departed.

He missed their first practice Wednesday in Tokyo, but arrived in time to join the second Thursday.

“It’s really been a hectic last three days, but I’ve got a job to do,” he said.

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Until last season, Severyn had always been a defenseman. But Colorado had a wealth of defensemen and moved him to left wing, where his size and toughness were needed most.

Duck Coach Pierre Page hopes to play Severyn at both positions.

“We’ll alternate playing him at forward and on defense in practice, so he’ll be ready to play both,” Page said. “He was a forward in Colorado and we’ll probably play him at forward right now.”

That suits Severyn fine.

“There aren’t many people versatile enough to do both, and [Page] can move me back and forth during games,” he said.

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Center Steve Rucchin believes Norwegian rookie Espen Knutsen is a capable replacement for Paul Kariya, an unsigned free agent left wing, on the top line.

“Espen’s a special player,” Rucchin said. “He’s got a gift offensively. People are looking for him to replace Paul, but that’s not necessarily true. He’s going to be a big asset to our line.”

TONIGHT

Anaheim vs. Vancouver

* 8 p.m.

* ESPN2

Site--Yoyogi Arena, Tokyo.

Radio--KRLA (1110).

Records (1996-97)--Ducks 36-33-13, Canucks 35-40-7.

Record vs. Canucks (1996-97)--2-4.

Update--The Ducks open their fifth NHL season without unsigned free agent Paul Kariya. Teemu Selanne, who led the Ducks with 51 goals and 109 points, inherits Kariya’s role as captain and emotional leader. Recent additions Espen Knutsen, Tomas Sandstrom, Brent Severyn and Scott Young will be asked to provide depth in Kariya’s absence. Guy Hebert, coming off a career-best 29 victories, is expected to start in goal. The Canucks’ Trevor Linden yielded his captaincy to Mark Messier, who was lured away from the New York Rangers by a $21-million free-agent contract during the off-season. The Canucks hope Messier will instill fire into a talented but splintered team. Pavel Bure, who asked to be traded, apparently has fallen under Messier’s spell and appears rejuvenated. They skated together on the same line during the exhibition games. High-scoring forward Alexander Mogilny and veteran defenseman Bret Hedican are unsigned free agents and will not play.