Carlyle Pushes Hard on First Day

It is his first NHL head coaching job and it comes after the league and its players battled through a bitter 310-day lockout. That didn’t stop Randy Carlyle from quickly establishing who is in charge on the ice as the Mighty Ducks opened training camp Tuesday at Anaheim Ice.

Carlyle, hired in August after several years as a minor-league head coach and NHL assistant, made clear that he expects his players to push themselves in the next three weeks, even if many stayed away from the rink for much of the last 16 months.

“Training camp is not fun, especially the first day,” Carlyle said. “It’s not supposed to be fun. It’s about work.

“It’s about making sure that we understand the players are getting their first opportunity to be put through their paces. Our work ethic and our commitment to conditioning will be very, very high.”

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Teemu Selanne said he didn’t feel good after the initial scrimmage. Was it a cause for concern after undergoing major surgery on his left knee a year ago?

No problems there. The forward left his off-season home in Finland on Saturday and returned to his Coto de Caza home, but the long flight left him struggling with the 10-hour time difference.

As far as his knee, Selanne said it has been two years since he felt good skating on it. The knee problem limited him to a career-low 16 goals with Colorado in 2003-04.

“That’s the reason why I’m back,” he said. “After the [2004] World Cup, I decided I’m not going to step on the ice until I know for sure that I’m 100%.”

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The Ducks unveiled some possible line combinations and defenseman pairings. One of the more interesting was Selanne on a line with center Sergei Fedorov and left wing Todd Fedoruk.

Carlyle strongly hinted that Fedoruk, known as a rugged, physical player, could be alongside Selanne and Fedorov for a while.

“That’s a choice that we made,” he said. “We want to make sure that our skill players can go in any rink, in any situation and not have to worry about intimidation.”

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The sight of Selanne skating again for the Ducks -- he was with them from 1996 to 2001 -- stirred memories for some, but he won’t be wearing the familiar No. 8. That belongs to Sandis Ozolinsh.

Even with 452 career goals, the nine-time All-Star said he wasn’t about to pull rank on the veteran blue-liner. Selanne will wear No. 13, the number he had when he came up with the Winnipeg Jets.