DUCKS PREVIEW: DUCKS FIND WAYS TO GET BIGGER, FASTER, MIGHTIER SPEED, SIZE, DEPTH ADDED TO LINEUP.Byline: Frank Welch
Frank Welch (1835 – 1878) was a Nebraska Republican politician. He was born at Bunker Hill, Charlestown, Massachusetts on February 10, 1835 and moved to Boston in with his parents. Staff Writer ANAHEIM - When the Mighty Ducks
Mighty Ducks is a half-hour Disney animated series aired on ABC and The Disney Afternoon in the fall of 1996. Twenty-six episodes total were produced. first entered the National Hockey League National Hockey League (NHL) Organization of professional North American ice-hockey teams. The league was formed in 1917 by five Canadian teams; the first U.S. team, the Boston Bruins, was added in 1924. It today consists of 30 teams in two conferences and six divisions. in 1993, the perception of the franchise was, ``Do they wear the same jerseys, you know, like the ones in the movie?'' When the squad acquired sniper Teemu Selanne, and paired him with Paul Kariya Paul Tetsuhiko Kariya (born October 16, 1974 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), is a professional ice hockey player who plays for the St. Louis Blues. Personal life , the team was slapped with an additional stigma - one which it still has yet to shake: ``There is Kariya, Selanne, and, uh, uh, who else?'' Labels stick like glue, especially in Anaheim's case. It happens when you win one playoff series in your first seven seasons of existence. Immediately following last season, one which found the Ducks out of the playoffs and under .500 (34-36-12-3, 83 points), third-year general manager Pierre Gauthier Pierre Gauthier is an ice hockey administrator in the National Hockey League. Gauthier started out in the NHL working for the Quebec Nordiques in various scouting roles from 1981 to 1993. and coach Craig Hartsburg Craig Hartsburg (born June 29, 1959 in Stratford, Ontario, Canada) is a retired professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons with the Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League from 1979-80 until 1988-89. set out to change things. And the Mighty Ducks top brass certainly was busy. ``We needed to get bigger, faster, and we needed to address our depth,'' Gauthier said. ``We needed to make some moves to better the club. We feel we have made good progress.'' On July 1, the first day NHL NHL Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, see there teams could sign free agents, Anaheim went out and snagged veteran center German Titov. Four days later, they addressed the toughness issue and signed free agent right wing Jim Cummins Jim Cummins can refer to any of the following people,
On July 13, Anaheim inked former King winger Dan Bylsma Dan Bylsma (born 19 September, 1970, in Grand Haven, Michigan) is a former National Hockey League forward. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, by the Winnipeg Jets. , a penalty-kill specialist. The next day, it signed highly-touted draft pick Jonas Ronnqvist Jonas Ronnqvist (born August 22, 1973 in Kalix, Sweden) is a former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. , who figures to add much-needed offense on what has been traditionally a punchless third line. And Anaheim went looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. someone with an edge, to complement the efforts of Cummins. The Ducks last week traded for a big chippy chip·py or chip·pie n. pl. chip·pies 1. A chipping sparrow. 2. Slang A woman prostitute. [From chip2.] winger in Andrei Nazarov Andrei Nazarov (born May 22, 1974 in Chelyabinsk, U.S.S.R) is a Russian professional ice hockey player who most recently played for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League, playing a handful of games during the 2005-2006 season. , whose 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame further adds to the team's upgraded bulk at the forward spot. ``We have more depth now, much more,'' said Hartsburg, who is 69-70-25 in his first two seasons in Orange County. ``We're bigger yes, but not slower.'' Anaheim's busy summer wasn't completed with those moves. The club also re-signed left wings Marty McInnis and Mike Leclerc, centers Antti Aalto and Matt Cullen, right wing Ladislav Kohn and defenseman Patrick Traverse. The most noteworthy re-signing came when the club locked up front-line defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky for three years after Tverdovsky held out briefly. While it is true that the Ducks lack big names outside of Kariya and Selanne, they have upgraded a club that spent last season trying to climb back into the Western Conference playoff chase after another slow start. Anaheim finished ninth in the conference, missing the postseason by four points. ``This, I do believe, is the best team we've had coming in since I've been here,'' Selanne said. ``But we can't afford to have stretches where we go 1-8-1 or something. DUCKS SEASON ANALYSIS FORWARDS Once center Steve Rucchin returns from a broken hand (in about two weeks), the top line of Paul Kariya, Teemu Selanne and Rucchin is set. Rucchin will need to get back in a hurry and stay away from his notorious slow starts, while Selanne is coming off a down year by his standards (33 goals in 79 games). The second line is a huge key with German Titov, Mike Leclerc and Marty McInnis. Leclerc had just eight goals in 69 games last year, and a healthy McInnis should pick up from last year's 10 goals in 62 games. Titov had 17 goals in Edmonton last year. SPECIAL TEAMS Kariya, Selanne and Rucchin will go up front with Tverdovsky and McInnis in the back. McInnis replaces departed Fredrik Olausson and the hope is that the Ducks don't again repeat last year's dreadful beginnings with the man-advantage. COACHING Is Craig Hartsburg's job in jeopardy? Not at present. GM Pierre Gauthier isn't fond of change behind the bench. However, another sub-.500 season could force Gauthier's hand. Hartsburg signed a two-year extension following last season. DEFENSE The six top blue liners are young and many appear on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of breakout campaigns. Oleg Tverdovsky figures to be paired with Niclas Havelid, Ruslan Salei and Patrick Traverse, and Pavel Trnka and Vitaly Vishnevski make up the second and third pairings. Vishnevski gets raves for his work and he antagonizes opponents, which teammates and coaches love. Tverdovsky is a big plus on the power play from the back. GOALTENDING goal·tend·ing n. 1. Sports The act of protecting a goal, as in hockey and other such sports. 2. Basketball Big question here: Can Guy Hebert leave last season's struggles behind? Hebert's numbers (28-31-9, 2.51) were acceptable, but soft goals too often found the back of the net. Backup Dominic Roussel, coaches say, will get into more than the 20 games he saw last season. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, perhaps the team's goalie of the future, is waiting in the wings at Cincinnati, the Ducks' top minor-league affiliate. OUTLOOK Anaheim, if its host of questions are answered mostly in the affirmative, should be able to finish in the top eight in the West and make the postseason. But with the likes of Dallas, St. Louis, Detroit or Colorado looming in the first round, the team will be hard-pressed to get out of round one. - Frank Welch DUCKS 2000-01 ROSTER Forwards No. Player Pos. 14 Antti Aalto C 21 Dan Bylsma LW 17 Matt Cullen C 19 Jim Cummins RW 15 Tony Hrkac C 9 Paul Kariya LW 29 Ladislav Kohn RW 12 Mike Leclerc LW 16 Marty McInnis LW 26 Andrei Nazarov LW 22 Jonas Ronnqvist C 8 Teemu Selanne RW 13 German Titov LW Defense No. Player 28 Niclas Havelid 23 Jason Marshall 24 Rusian Salei 3 Patrick Traverse 27 Pascal Trepanier 7 Pavel Tmka 10 Oleg Tverdovsky 6 Vitaly Vishnevski Goaltenders No. Player 31 Guy Herbert 30 Dominic Roussel Injury reserve No. Player Pos. 20 Steve Ruccin C CAPTION(S): 3 boxes Box: (1) DUCKS SEASON ANALYSIS (see text) (2) 2000-01 DUCKS SCHEDULE (3) DUCKS 2000-01 ROSTER (see text) |
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