New Is Now for the Ducks

Since defenseman Ruslan Salei made his Mighty Duck debut Oct. 7, 1996, he has heard motivational speeches from seven Anaheim coaches and done business with five general managers.

If he’s not fazed by the prospect of playing for a new coach, new general manager and new owners this season -- and under a new system designed by Coach Randy Carlyle to transform the Ducks from defensive drudges into skillful speedsters -- it’s because adjusting to new faces and philosophies isn’t new for him.

“I got used to proving myself pretty much every year,” said Salei, who became the team’s senior player, with 516 games’ service, after Steve Rucchin was traded to the New York Rangers.

“You want to get to know new people, and you’ve got to prove yourself no matter what.”

The Ducks have much to prove this season, and that’s not new, either. They flopped after their run to the 2003 Stanley Cup finals and emerged from the lockout with fiery Brian Burke as their general manager, a gung-ho Carlyle as their coach and neophyte owners in Henry and Susan Samueli. Henry Samueli even made a brief appearance at Tuesday’s first training camp scrimmage at Anaheim Ice, one more appearance than Disney boss Michael Eisner made in that company’s last few years of proprietorship.

But who’s signing the checks matters less than who’s delivering them, and the scrimmage featured a respectable number of thumping hits and a brisk tempo.

Scott Niedermayer’s skating was as fluid as the day he and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Ducks for the Cup. Ryan Getzlaf, a 2003 first-round pick whose versatility at center and right wing gives him a solid chance to win a roster spot, impressed the assembled brass by stealing the puck from a too-casual Sergei Fedorov and scoring in the first half of the two-part exercise.

Keith Carney was his old, steady self on defense and Teemu Selanne, the once and future Duck, looked comfortable skating alongside a similarly European-schooled Fedorov.

“With the new rule changes and the way they’re going to call penalties, you have to be a team that’s more aggressive and create turnovers,” Carney said, referring to the NHL’s promise to eliminate obstruction.

“I think by being a team like that you’ll draw more penalties and create more scoring chances. I think that’s the type of team we can be, because we have skill, we have speed, and if we can be aggressive on the forecheck and create turnovers in the neutral zone and use our transition game, that’s what we have to do to have success.”

Carlyle interpreted players’ smiles to mean they liked his up-tempo pace, which capitalizes on their skills and frees them from their old defensive shackles. And while a few grimaces were evident, especially from players who hadn’t approximated game conditions in nearly two years, optimism was the order of the day for the Ducks and the 300 or so fans who sent the team to the locker room with a round of applause.

“We look pretty good on paper,” Salei said. “We just have to get a pretty good team on the ice. We have to get good chemistry going. We’ve got all the pieces.”

Burke, who spent most of the scrimmage with a lineup sheet in hand amid a row of club executives, was pleased with the team’s effort but realistic. That’s a healthy combination.

“I’m going to tell you what 29 other general managers would tell you,” he said. “I’m very happy. It’s the first day, and we’re all undefeated and our mood is excellent.

“It’s a little early to get out the pom-poms. But I was impressed with the mood, the tenor. But we didn’t scrimmage against anybody but ourselves, and there’s still a lot of things to sort out.”

Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, resigned to wearing narrower pads and to seeing his goals-against average rise in the NHL’s new offense-friendly climate, said the Ducks will use their practices and eight exhibition games before their Oct. 5 season opener to regain sharpness lost during the lockout. He played a bit in Germany and in some charity games; Fedorov said he’d last played last December, also in charity games.

“We have a lot to learn about each other,” Giguere said, “a lot to learn about the system and all that. We’re going to need a lot of communication and we’re going to have to be in game shape too. Game shape is totally different from working out in the gym or practicing.”

But at least there are games to prepare for, not the joyless labor negotiations that dominated their lives since last September.

Fedorov is anticipating more games against division rivals.

“Facing L.A. eight times with Jeremy Roenick against us in the lineup, that will bring some heat,” Fedorov said.

He also thinks the game will be much faster.

“More goals, more assists. In general it will be exciting for the fans,” Fedorov said. “And I do welcome changes and I appreciate what the league is trying to do as far as [eliminating] hooking, grabbing, putting both arms around you. It got out of hand. I wish them all the best in stopping that.”

Carney, though still sweaty from Tuesday’s scrimmage and overdue for a ride on the stationary bike, is ready for whatever the season will bring.

“It’s going to take some adjustments, like in the way they’re going to call penalties,” he said, “but I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time.”