Quackalackin'

Where to find your deactivated Ducks, Part 2.

2011-09-21T23:07:28Z

Tonight's game against the Sharks offers Honda Center patrons a chance to see some different Ducks players out of uniform. Here's where to go:

Team Store (main concourse) - Jonas Hiller, Dan Ellis, Andrew Cogliano (6:00-7:00 p.m.)
FanZone (section 214) - Lubomir Visnovsky, Matt Beleskey (6:00-7:00)

Will Call Window (near section 201) - Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu (6:30- 7:00)

Oggi's Pizza (near section 203) - Kyle Palmieri, Devante Smith-Pelly, Dan Sexton, Brandon McMillan (6:00-7:00)

Phoenix 7, Ducks 4.

2011-09-21T05:13:03Z

The first game of the NHL preseason is a haphazard ritual, its beauty comparable to gargling the morning breath out of one's mouth at the crack of dawn, its timing and coordination no better than of a pack of hyenas attempting to divide a carcass of raw meat.

There is no need here to romanticize the hockey-viewing experience of 12,544 announced spectators at Honda Center -- it was pretty ugly -- but there were a few takeaways.

First, the quick and dirty game synopsis:

Igor Bobkov played roughly the first 30 minutes and John Gibson played the last 30. It was the first NHL game action of any sort for either goalie (Bobkov was at last year's NHL camp and did not appear in an exhibition game), but the seven goals couldn't totally be pinned on them. "We've got to work on defensive-zone coverage. That's what we have to work on, obviously," head coach Randy Carlyle said.

Sean Zimmerman, Kyle Palmieri, Andrew Cogliano and Nate Guenin scored goals for the Ducks, who never led in the game. The offensive effort wasn't much to blink at, either.

"We just seemed to be slapping the puck around in too many situations," Carlyle said. "From our standpoint it's an evaluation game."

On with the evaluating then ...
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• More Carlyle on Cogliano: "He didn't, from my standpoint, play anywhere near what he was capable of playing, but we had a few guys in that category." Carlyle already alluded to Cogliano's untapped potential on Sunday and it seems like the expectations are pretty high for the 24-year-old.

• Four ex-Ducks were in the Coyotes' lineup: McElhinney, Petteri Nokelainen, Kyle Chipchura and Nathan Oystrick. Chipchura fed Nokelainen on a breakaway at the net for empty-net goal with 17 seconds left.

• Carlyle singled out Holland and defenseman Nate Guenin as two players who "were separating themselves a little bit from the others."

• Like Holland, Emerson Etem was playing on a line with two more experienced players (Saku Koivu and Palmieri) and looked good using his speed to get open, then feeding Palmieri for a goal, early in the second period. "He had his flashes," Carlyle said of Etem. "His game is about speed and taking the puck wide, but I didn't think it was as evident as it normally is in his situation."

• Cogliano on Holland (who is the subject of tomorrow's notebook): "He kind of reminds me of Getzlaf. He's big, got good hands, he's smart. ... He looks like he can fit in now."

• San Jacinto native Jake Newton had the primary assist on Guenin's power-play goal in the third period. Newton and Cogliano (both plus-1) were the only Ducks with plus ratings.

• Reigning Hobey Baker winner Andy Miele (goal, two assists) wreaked havoc on the Ducks' defense. If the rookie center keeps it up as the quality of competition increases, he could become the electric scorer the Coyotes have lacked in recent years.

• Great job with the pregame video tribute to Ruslan Salei, along with the other former NHLers who lost their lives this summer. I saw the same video as a segment on NHL Live! today. Definitely got the crowd going.

Where to find your deactivated Ducks.

2011-09-21T00:04:04Z

Players not appearing in tonight's game will be working at various locations at Honda Center during tonight's game against the Phoenix Coyotes and again tomorrow against the San Jose Sharks. Players and times are subject to change:

Team Store (main concourse): Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan (6:00-6:30 p.m.)
Elevator operator (Southeast Concierge near section 204): George Parros (working elevator 6:00 to 6:15 then FanZone from 6:15 to 6:45). FanZone is near section 214

FanZone (section 214): Sheldon Brookbank (6:00-7:00)

Will Call Window (near section 201): Francois Beauchmin and Jason Blake (6:00- 6:20)

Oggi's Pizza (near section 203): Cam Fowler, Luca Sbisa and Nick Bonino (6:00-7:00)

Andrew Gordon's Teemu Selanne connection.

2011-09-20T05:01:29Z

Andrew Gordon's first-period goal accounted for all the offense in the Ducks' 6-1 loss to the Sharks on Wednesday night. Gordon, the former Washington Capitals prospect who signed a two-year contract in the off-season, elicited a positive reaction from Randy Carlyle after an otherwise dreary game for the Ducks.

"I thought that Gordon made an impression. I thought that he was, again, a player that showed the determination and the fire that he showed right from the start of camp to impress some people," the coach said.

Here's something you probably didn't know about Gordon.
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"It was a mid-afternoon game," he recalled. "They broadcast it back to Finland. When you walked in the door, they handed you little Finnish flags with (Teemu Selanne's) face on the back. Teppo Numminen was playing at the same time. I had this little keepsake we had forever from that game."

Then a 22-year-old rookie, Selanne had scored nine goals in his last six games to reach 68 for the season. That was already 15 more than Mike Bossy's rookie record of 53, but Selanne wasn't done. He scored two more goals that night -- numbers 69 and 70 -- en route to an incomparable 76-goal season. The Kings and Jets tied, 3-3.

"It was a cool way to introduce myself to the league," Gordon said. "From then on, Teemu was my favorite player growing up. When I first realized what the NHL was, he was scoring a million goals that year."

Gordon and Selanne are teammates now, which is why Gordon said he hasn't been gushing about his first hockey memory to the 41-year-old Flash.

Still, Gordon had to feel like a fan again when Selanne announced seven days ago that he would return for a 19th NHL season. Before his first game, Gordon said, "my dad told me to watch Gretzky and I kept watching Teemu."

Spoken like a true Duck.

Updates on Foster, Ryan, Macenauer; plan for tomorrow.

2011-09-20T00:00:43Z

Kurtis Foster will have a procedure later
today at UCI Medical Center to remove a piece of wire from his left
thigh, the Ducks announced Monday, and the defenseman is expected to miss 2-4 weeks. Foster hasn't been taking part in drills since training camp opened Saturday.

A team spokesperson said the wire was placed in Foster's left leg during surgery that took place
to repair a fracture in March
2008. The wire was causing inflammation/irritation, and therefore will
be removed.

A two to four week timetable projects to Oct. 3 at the earliest and Oct. 17 at the latest. The Ducks play a preseason game in Helsinki on Oct. 4 and do not play in North America again until Oct. 14, a home game against San Jose. Foster's availability for the Europe trip seems to be in jeopardy, which would open a door for the other defensemen bidding for an opening-day roster spot.

Some more injury updates:

]]> • Bobby Ryan was held out of Monday's intrasquad scrimmage with a strained
groin muscle. "The training staff felt he was better just to rest
another day," Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said. "His strength is back, he feels much better
than he did yesterday. I suspect he's going to skate tomorrow."

• Maxime Macenauer, who is also recovering from a strained groin, "is very close," Carlyle said.

• Mathieu Carle "didn't feel very good today so, after about 5, 6 minutes on the bike, he shut it down," said Carlyle, who didn't know whether the defenseman sustained a concussion when he rammed head-first into the end boards during a drill Sunday.

The Ducks host the Phoenix Coyotes at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Honda Center in the first game of the preseason. Two goalies will split the 60 minutes, though Carlyle didn't say which two. For his part, Jonas Hiller had not been told Monday afternoon whether or not he'd be in the game.

Peter Holland said he's in the lineup, skating on a line with Andrew Cogliano and Teemu Selanne. Saku Koivu and Lubomir Visnovsky are also expected to be in the game.

Selanne ends suspense, signs 1-year deal.

2011-09-15T23:19:58Z

(Photo courtesy of Anaheim Ducks)

Teemu Selanne said he wanted to decide whether or not to extend his playing career by September 16. Looks like he beat his own deadline by a full day.

The 41-year-old right wing signed a one-year, $4 million contract Thursday that will keep the Ducks' leading scorer in uniform for another year. The annual summer ritual of will-he-retire-or-re-sign was getting old, and there was a sense of finality this time when Selanne spoke to reporters on a national conference call.

"I look at it as my last year," Selanne said. "Hopefully it's going to be a good one."

Full story to come in tomorrow's editions. Some more interesting details:

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Selanne said he "couldn't do much for two or three weeks" after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in July. It was around this time that general manager Bob Murray drafted his Plan B in case Selanne decided to retire.

Murray put the contingency plan on paper, but never went as far as making phone calls to other teams or agents. "You have to be prepared," he said.

Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli issued a statement after Selanne re-signed -- a truly unique gesture: "We are ecstatic to have Teemu back. His devotion to our organization, his teammates, and the fans is unparalleled. He is a true Duck at heart and we can't wait to see him flying down the ice again this season."

Murray stressed that Selanne's value goes beyond what he brings on the ice (which, last year, was 31 goals and 80 points). "It's also Teemu in the dressing room. It's Teemu walking to the rink every morning."

The Winnipeg Jets called Selanne's agent, Don Baizley, to see if Selanne had any interest in returning to the birthplace of his NHL career. He did not. "When you have four kids and a couple dogs, a couple horses and stuff, there's no way I could move anymore."

Report: Most game-day social media dispatches banned.

2011-09-15T18:24:07Z

According to ESPN.com, the NHL has enacted a social media policy that will prohibit most posts by players, coaches, trainers and management on game days.

Beginning at 11 a.m. on the day of a game, and ending after post-game media obligations, the aforementioned NHL employees won't be allowed to post on social media websites. Nor can they use another person to post messages to their social media accounts.

Several Ducks players have popular Twitter accounts: Bobby Ryan, Matt Beleskey, George Parros, Cam Fowler, Andrew Gordon, Kyle Palmieri, Peter Holland and Emerson Etem.

The NHL is relatively late in restricting social media use by its personnel. Two years ago, the NFL instituted a policy similar in scope -- blacking out social media statements less than 90 minutes before kickoff up until post-game media obligations commence. The NBA's initial policy, also enacted in 2009, was almost identical.

Enacted in May, Major League Baseball's policy (which you can download here) seems more focused on restricting the content of social media dispatches, rather than their time of day.

Incidentally, Parros endorsed a social-media-use restriction on his own earlier today.

Ducks announce schedule changes; TV dates coming soon.

2011-09-14T18:37:34Z

The Ducks announced six new game times today; adjust your schedules accordingly:

Tuesday, Nov. 1 at Washington - game time is now 4:30 p.m. PST
Friday, Nov. 11 vs. Vancouver - game time is now 7:35 p.m. PST
Monday, Dec. 19 at Dallas - game time is now 5 p.m. PST
Saturday, Jan. 21 vs. Ottawa - game time is now 1:05 p.m. PST
Wednesday, Feb. 1 vs. Dallas - game time is now 7:35 p.m. PST
Tuesday, Feb. 14 at Minnesota - game time is now 4:30 p.m. PST

The team also announced that its 2011-12 regular season television schedule will be released "soon."

Ruslan Salei memorial.

2011-09-09T08:58:29Z

Today I penned a story for Hockey Primetime that attempted to put the makeshift Ruslan Salei memorial outside Honda Center in a global context. You can read that here. After the jump, you'll find a bunch of photos I snapped this afternoon. Warning: My photography skills are, for lack of a better word, rusty.

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Perry surprises FDNY crew on eve of 9/11 anniversary.

2011-09-09T02:10:53Z

(Photo by Getty Images)

From the Ducks:

Corey Perry visited FDNY's Engine 34, Ladder 21 last night in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. The station, which was hit hard on Sept. 11, 2001, has its own pickup hockey league and received a surprise visit from the league's MVP. In tribute to all members of the FDNY and in memory of those lost on Sept. 11, 2001, Perry presented the firefighters with a framed jersey from the Ducks organization. Perry greeted the firefighters, signed autographs and was given a special tour of the firehouse. The firefighters took pride in showing Perry their personal version of the Stanley Cup (silver cooler with a silver cup on top) after capturing a recent victory. They presented Perry with a FDNY hat, t-shirt and patch.

Engine 34, Ladder 21 lost seven men on Sept. 11, 2001 in the attacks on the World Trade Center. While at the station, Perry listened to their personal accounts and offered his thanks for their service and dedication.

Rookie camp invitations announced.

2011-09-08T22:46:20Z

The Ducks announced a list of 17 players who have been invited to the team's annual rookie camp. The group will work out both on and off the ice from Monday, Sept. 12 through Thursday, Sept. 15 at Anaheim Ice. All sessions will be closed to the public.

Full roster after the jump:
]]> Forwards:

Nick Bonino
Joseph Cramarossa
Nicolas Deschamps
Emerson Etem
Peter Holland
Matt Kennedy
Maxime Macenauer
Patrick Maroon
Kyle Palmieri
Rickard Rackell
Rick Schofield
Devante Smith-Pelly

Defensemen:

Mat Clark
Jake Newton

Goalies:

Igor Bobkov
John Gibson
Iiro Tarkki

Ruslan Salei among 43 dead in KHL plane crash.

2011-09-07T21:10:46Z

It will be remembered as one of the biggest tragedies in sports history, and it couldn't have come during a more tragic summer in the hockey world.

An airplane carrying members of the KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed near Minsk, Belarus today, killing 43. Former Ducks defenseman Ruslan Salei was reported among the deceased, along with former NHLers Pavol Demitra, Karlis Skrastins and Brad McCrimmon.

The Ducks released the following statement earlier today:

The Anaheim Ducks organization is shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Ruslan Salei. 'Rusty' was a fan favorite and dedicated member of the Orange County community since being drafted by Anaheim in 1996. Our thoughts and prayers go to his wife and three children, along with all of the other members of the hockey community affected by this horrible tragedy.

Salei, a native of Minsk, joined Yaroslavl in the off-season after playing 75 games in 2010-11 for the Detroit Red Wings. He was a Mighty Duck until 2006, playing parts of nine seasons in Anaheim and one in Russia during the 2004-05 lockout. He signed with the Florida Panthers prior to the 2006-07 season.

The NHL was already left reeling in the wake of the suicide deaths of Wade Belak and Rick Rypien, and the death of Derek Boogaard from a lethal mix of alcohol and painkillers -- all in the last four months. Many players took to Twitter to express their disbelief.

- Ducks forward Bobby Ryan (@b_ryan9): I can't believe I'm writing another one. Thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by the KHL plane crash. Too many players gone this year

- Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler (@camfowler4): "cant even believe theres more awful news in professional hockey. thoughts and prayers go out to family and friends involved with that flight"

- Long Beach native and Ducks prospect Emerson Etem (@tweetem_up): doesn't matter who you are or where you play. another sad day for the hockey world. #KHL #RIP Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

- Russian native and Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov (@bryzgoalie30): My deepest condolences go to families and friends of Lokomotiv. My thoughts and prayers are with wives, childrens and parents of victims

- Orange County native and Nashville Predators defenseman Jonathon Blum (@JonBlum7): Can't believe the news today lost a former teammate thoughts and prayers go to the victims families

- Orange County native and Florida Panthers draft pick Rocco Grimaldi (@RGrimaldi23): My thoughts and prayers are with those who lost loved ones in the plane crash of the KHL team. Be praying for their comfort and peace

- Former Ducks center Andrew Ebbett (@aebbett): I can't even believe what happened in Russia today. So sad. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the players and staffs families.

Ducks change individual ticket pricing strategy.

2011-08-22T23:17:42Z

The Ducks announced a pair of changes to their individual ticket pricing strategy Monday that will reduce the cost of 88 percent of the team's ticket inventory when purchased online.

The first change is something the team calls "all-in pricing" for tickets purchased through anaheimducks.com or ticketmaster.com. Surcharges such as "delivery fees" and "processing fees" will be folded into the listed price of the ticket. For example, the cheapest seat at Honda Center -- listed at $25 -- will come with a checkout cost of $25.

The second change is the addition of four new pricing tiers. Tickets costing $41.50 last year are now priced at $25, $27, $32 and $36.

In sum, the online option is now the cheaper option for buying individual tickets. A team spokesperson said that the majority of fans already purchase tickets online rather than at the box office.

Individual game tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Aug. 27. None of the changes will affect the cost of season tickets.

Hiller declares himself fit for camp.

2011-08-19T21:22:29Z

It wasn't a particularly surprising announcement, given the nature of reports describing Jonas Hiller's progress this summer.

It was a big announcement, however, enough for Hiller to phone in from Switzerland this afternoon for a conference call with North American reporters: The Ducks' All-Star goalie is fit to play.

"I see the puck well and everything," he said. "I'm looking forward to being back playing as soon as possible."

The health of Hiller, who was limited to three games after the All-Star break because of vertigo-like symptoms, was arguably the team's biggest question mark with less than a month remaining before training camp.

Without actually donning pads and making saves, Hiller did his best Friday to relay the message that he's going to be OK.

"I guess for the last month and a half when I've been skating, it's been progressing almost day by day," he said. "At some point, I got back to where I'm used to be."

Plenty more from Hiller in tomorrow's editions.

Via Twitter, an upbeat Teemu Selanne update.

2011-08-18T22:52:51Z

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Sami Lepisto went on Twitter today to provide one of the more revealing - if not substantive - Teemu Selanne updates of the summer.

Lepisto, who like Selanne is currently training in his native Finland, teased fans with this post earlier today:

"Trivia of the day! Who came to practice this morning w this?"

Followed by this, shortly afterward:

"Yea it's Teemu's new one!! And he is looking good on the ice!! 41 yr old shouldn't be that fast!!"

In short: In the opinion of one fellow NHL player, Selanne is looking "good." And "fast." And he has a nice car. For the Ducks, who have been contemplating a Plan B if Selanne's arthroscopic knee surgery doesn't allow him to play this season, this can only be good news.