| UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE by Ihor Stelmach Sitting ducks not The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim seemed to be going nowhere, while the Winnipeg Jets were going somewhere elsewhere soon. Together, these two erstwhile situations created the atmosphere that led to the Ducks' first blockbuster trade, when they sent Ukrainian defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky (second over-all draft pick in 1994), center Chad Kilger (fourth over all in 1995) and the Ducks' third-round pick in 1996 to Winnipeg for right-winger Teemu Selanne and the Jets' fourth-round draft pick in 1996. Anaheim GM Jack Ferreira always said the Ducks would build slowly through the draft and was emphatic he wasn't willing to part with Paul Kariya, Tverdovsky or Kilger. In early February, he parted with two of the three for a player the Ducks consider a true NHL superstar. The Ducks gave up a ton of potential - Tverdovsky and Kilger are both only 19 - but got a proven star who is still only 25 and has over 150 career goals and well over 300 career points: 30+ goals and 100+ points this season. The Jets decided to part with Selanne largely because even with three highly paid offensive stars in Selanne, Ukrainian left wing Keith Tkachuk and center Alexei Zhamnov, the Jets had missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons and are in danger of doing it again. | |
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