Kids Have Close Encounter With the Cup

The kids at Warren Rychel’s hockey camp got a thrill this summer when a special guest made an appearance.

The Stanley Cup stopped by.

Not so long ago, Rychel was an overworked punching bag with the Kings after Marty McSorley’s departure--the first one--left him as their only tough guy.

Now he’s a new addition to the Mighty Ducks who has been to the Stanley Cup finals twice in four years--winning the championship with the Colorado Avalanche last season after losing to Montreal with the Kings in 1993.

Rychel can tell you there are few finer spoils of victory than the personal visit from the Cup each player on the winning team gets the following summer.

“Everyone gets the Cup for two days,” said Rychel, who shared the trophy’s visit with friends, family and hockey campers in Windsor, Ontario. “The Cup’s such an icon. Everybody wants to be with it, take their picture with it.”

People get other ideas too, which is why an official from the Hockey Hall of Fame escorts the trophy.

“It’s the ultimate reward,” Rychel said. “Guys play for 15 years and never get a sniff at the Cup. A lot of great players have never gotten close. After the first time L.A. got there and the disappointment, I didn’t know if I’d ever get another chance. You might play 10 more years and never compete for the Cup again. Then it happened so quickly, in two years.

“Just knowing your name is going to be on there with guys from the early 1900s. . . . No matter what you do the rest of your life, your name’s on the Cup. Nobody can take that away.”

Rychel chose the Ducks’ three-year, $1.5-million offer over another from the Avalanche, though, because he could be a regular on an up-and-coming team. In Colorado, he played only 51 regular-season games in a somewhat limited role.

“Last year was great, but it’s over,” he said. “It’s really exciting looking at this team. At the end of last year they were playing so well. Then we get Jari Kurri, who’s won all those Cups, to go with Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne.

“The team hasn’t made the playoffs yet. This year we have to be in the playoffs. There are no excuses. Winning’s the only thing. It’s time to step up and be in the playoffs.”

Rychel’s role with the Ducks is to add a little “been there” quality, chip in the odd goal, and try to help fill the void left by the departure of enforcer Todd Ewen, who signed with San Jose as a free agent last summer when the Sharks outbid the Ducks.

Ewen was the last piece of the old “Stuie and Ewie” combo that began when the Ducks did, with Ewen and Stu Grimson taking on anyone who laughed at the original Muscular Waterfowl, as Grimson nicknamed them.

“I think I remember the first time we played them after they introduced the team,” Rychel said. “Everybody was talking about cartoons, and the first day we walked in with the Kings it was two teams physically beating on each other.”

Rychel--a smallish enforcer at 6 feet and 200 pounds--and veteran tough guy Ken Baumgartner, acquired from Toronto at the trading deadline last season, are the heirs to Stuie and Ewie.

“Todd certainly will be missed, and the fact that he goes to a division rival doesn’t help matters,” Baumgartner said. “But toughness, I’ve always believed, is a team quality. This team has a number of players who will answer the bell and stand up for each other. It’s not who has two tough guys. It’s who has 20.”

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Defenseman Ruslan Salei, the Ducks’ No. 1 pick and the ninth pick overall at the NHL draft in June, made an impression on assistant coach Walt Kyle during the first day of workouts.

“You can see he has all the skills,” Kyle said. “You can understand why he was selected so high.”

Salei, who turns 22 in November, is nearly four years older than the typical draft pick. A native of Belarus, he played minor league hockey for the Las Vegas Thunder in the International League last season to draw the attention of scouts.

“That’s a very good league, and he did well,” Kyle said. “Without a doubt, this is a big step up, but he really has the skills. He’s going to be a player. It’s just a question of how much time it takes before he’s ready.”

The Ducks are eager for him to make their team and add depth to the defense, and Salei said he believes he can survive the roster cuts and play in the NHL this season.

“Why not?” Salei said. “I’m excited.”

Duck Notes

General Manager Jack Ferreira said Teemu Selanne and Jari Kurri probably won’t play in the Ducks’ first exhibition game Sunday against the Kings at the Pond, though they’ll join practice later this week after a break following their competition with Finland in the World Cup. . . . Ferreira says he won’t resolve the contract disputes with right wing Roman Oksiuta, defenseman David Karpa or center J.F. Jomphe by sending them to other teams. “They’re not going to be traded--not unless someone really blows me away with an offer,” he said. Nevertheless, he doesn’t want unsigned veterans in camp. “I don’t want them to be here and be a daily distraction. It could be a negative in the dressing room.” Ferreira said all three have been offered substantial raises. However, some agents complained about limited opportunity to negotiate during the summer. . . . In addition to Paul Kariya, who is rehabilitating an abdominal muscle injury, defenseman Jason York and right wing Frank Banham did not participate in the first day of workouts, both because of groin strains.