It’s All About Fun in Great Outdoors

Jean-Sebastien Giguere was playing on the wing and Teemu Selanne was ordering line changes from the bench. Vitaly Vishnevski and Todd Fedoruk had dazzling goals and Newell Brown made big saves.

It might have seemed as if the Mighty Ducks’ world suddenly spun off its axis. Instead, they took advantage of a rare break in the schedule to relive some of their childhood memories and entertain the citizens of Canada’s capital city.

With their next game not until Thursday against the Ottawa Senators, the Ducks took part in a light-hearted intrasquad outdoor scrimmage on the frozen-over Rideau Canal as hundreds of chilled spectators looked on.

They are believed to be the first visiting NHL team to skate on the canal.

“This is a different day, but these are the roots of hockey,” Coach Randy Carlyle said. “These are all things that give us an opportunity to reconnect and give the fans an opportunity to come out and watch us.

“Would you be surprised if there were close to 500, 600 people watching? No, I’m not. Not when it’s in Canada.”

The team donned practice jerseys and split into black and white teams. Selanne and center Todd Marchant served as the coaches, and Carlyle mixed it up on the ice and continually asked for more shifts.

Selanne’s team managed a victory and he gave the credit to Brown, an assistant coach. “He was the MVP,” Selanne said, jokingly. “It’s great when a goalie gives you a chance to win every night.”

Carlyle didn’t think much of Selanne’s coaching ability, but the right wing was impressed with his debut, saying, “I out-coached Marchant.”

Defenseman Scott Niedermayer said the scene reminded him of long days spent outside while growing up in Cranbrook on the eastern edge of British Columbia.

“That’s what a lot of Canadians do growing up,” he said. “It’s cold and this is the option you have in the winter.”

Rookie forward Zenon Konopka knows all about the canal. Konopka and the rest of his age-group youth team jumped into it after winning the Morrow Cup tournament.

“The rink was right by the canal so we ran out after we won the national championship,” Konopka said. “It’s not the cleanest water, that’s for sure.

“I still have a twitch from jumping in. The water wasn’t warm.”