Ducks Have New Look About Them

The Mighty Ducks begin training camp today at their Anaheim practice rink with new faces almost everywhere.

There’s a new team president and general manager in Pierre Gauthier, a new coach in Craig Hartsburg, two new defensemen in Kevin Haller and Fredrik Olausson and two new enforcers in Stu Grimson and Jim McKenzie.

There also is a new standout left winger in Paul Kariya.

Well, Kariya certainly could pass for a new player. After all, he played in only 22 games last season--missing the first 32 because of a contract dispute and the final 28 because of post-concussion syndrome.

But he has been free of the headaches and dizziness, stemming from Gary Suter’s infamous Feb. 1 cross check to the jaw, since April. And he’s been skating for almost a month without complications.

“It’s just exciting to be skating again and to be healthy,” Kariya said after passing a physical examination Saturday. “I’m not particularly looking forward to training camp, but it feels good to be back.”

There are still serious concerns about his health, and with good reason. Kariya, 23, has suffered four concussions in his career. The last two have come after he’s been cracked in the jaw.

This season, Kariya will wear a football-style mouthguard and a helmet with extra padding in an attempt to cushion the impact of shots to his head.

“Anything we can do to give him more protection,” said Craig Milhouse, the Ducks’ team doctor. “In every guy who has had a concussion there is a four to six times greater chance of another concussion as opposed to a guy who’s never had one.

“There’s no way of knowing how anyone is going to react to their next one. Anything else I say [about the possibility of another concussion for Kariya] is pure speculation.”

The Ducks acquired Grimson and McKenzie during the off-season to act as policemen to deter physical abuse against Kariya. The organization has a great deal riding on Kariya’s health--not the least of which is the $8.5 million they are paying him this season.

“I was kind of glad to hear him say [during the off-season], ‘I’ve got to get my stick up to protect myself more,’ ” Gauthier said. “I think we’re all going to hold our breath the first time he gets checked hard.”

There’s little question that Kariya and right wing Teemu Selanne are the Ducks’ cornerstones. They have been hailed as the best one-two punch in the NHL.

Despite appearing in only 22 games, Kariya had 17 goals and 31 points last season. He averaged 1.41 points per game, highest in the NHL. Selanne tied Washington’s Peter Bondra for the league lead with 52 goals and also had a team-leading 86 points.

Without Kariya in the lineup for much of the season, the Ducks stumbled from a second-round playoff appearance in 1996-97 to a 12th-place finish in the 13-team Western Conference.

In addition to Kariya, defenseman Milos Holan also hopes to prove his fitness in training camp. Holan, who underwent a lifesaving bone marrow transplant two years ago, has apparently beaten leukemia.

But Gauthier cautioned against expecting too much from Holan, who was given little chance to play again in the NHL.

“Milos is here on a tryout,” Gauthier said. “We’re not counting on him to make the team.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Mighty Ducks: at a Glance

* Today: Training camp opens

* Sept. 19: Exhibition play begins, vs. Phoenix at the Pond

* Oct. 10: Regular season begins, at Washington