Mighty Duck Soup

Today we turn our headlights on the floundering Mighty

Ducks of Anaheim, searching for signs of life and looking ahead at the organization's

future prospects.

The Present

Anaheim were on a roll prior to the Olympic break, but failed to answer the

bell once NHL play resumed in late February, posting a losing record (7-9-2-0)

and sliding 20 points out of the playoffs. Coach Bryan Murray, in his first

season at the helm, has succeeded in radically reducing the club's goals against

this season, and received solid goaltending from Jean-Sebastien Giguere and

Steve Shields. The defensive gains have not, however, translated into a corresponding

leap up the standings due to their inability to score.

Key Stats

Have allowed a respectable 193 goals against to rank 11th overall … have

the worst power play in the league at 11.9% … offense ranked 27th overall

with just 170 goals for … have scored under 2 goals per game (1.94) since

the Olympics ended.

The Wish List

1. Offense from everywhere, specifically the top two lines

2. Better blueline puckmovers to complement Oleg Tverdovsky

3. A genuine power play quarterback

4. A big power-pivot like Bobby Holik who can pot some goals

5. More size on the wings

6. Improved system depth

7. A much smaller wish list

The Rookies

Andy McDonald cooled

off since suffering a concussion and 25-year-old Finnish winger Timo Parssinen

has failed to make an impact. That's all, folks.

System Noise

Not in the playoff hunt and not promoting any prospects for a trial with the

big club. Sounds promising. No one deserve a cup of coffee? How about Ben

Guite? Acquired at the trade deadline from the Isles, the former Maine standout

is a fast, versatile two-way player who has contributed since joining the Baby

Ducks (7-1-4-5).

But there’s no quick scoring fixes down on the farm, making last November’s trading of Czech Petr Tenkrat to Nashville, all the more puzzling. GM Pierre Gauthier dealt away one of the few young players with some scoring upside for 32-year-old Swedish winger Patric Kjellberg, who was unable to rediscover his 23-goal form of `99-0.

The organization's best prospects are still in junior or, as is the case with

Stanislav Chistov, the

top-rated prospect on the McKeen's Top 100

list, caught in a political and legal spiderweb that is bound to write new

national Russian law between the state and the Professional Hockey League body.

After a twisted series of legal assaults and backdoor wrangling, it appears

that Chistov may be free to join the NHL once his military obligations are completed

in May of 2003. But, the Russian way is never a clear-cut road and his future

still remains cloudy.

Trade Bait

A sparkling North American debut from 21-year-old Russian Ilya

Bryzgalov and his .916 save percentage have given management a surplus in

goaltending. Whether Gauthier can turn it into immediate help will be a key

to watch for this summer.

Draft Strategy

The Ducks will need a lucky lottery spin to harpoon one of the big fish in Jay

Bouwmeester or Rick Nash, or will hope to leapfrog into the No. 3 spot and take

Finnish blueline stalwart Joni Pitkanen, a mobile, all-around player with an

intriguing mix of size, skill and dependability.