NHL DRAFT : Ducks Get Maine Wing Kariya; Young Enforcer Rejoins Melrose

QUEBEC CITY —  There was no mistake about the vastly differing approaches the Mighty Ducks and the Kings took with their top selections in Saturday’s NHL entry draft.

With the fourth overall choice, the Ducks took the University of Maine’s Paul Kariya, the Hobey Baker Award winner who led the Black Bears to an NCAA championship. A gifted playmaking left wing, Kariya is straight out of the Disney mold. He quickly fell in line, praising the team’s name one day after blushing and laughing at its mention.

“I love the name,” said Kariya, who will turn 19 in October. “At first, it’s different, but it grows on you. It adds spice, and it’s entertaining.”

Said Toronto General Manager Cliff Fletcher: “He’s a dandy. He may have more talent than any other player picked today.”

Meanwhile, a few tables away from the Ducks, the Kings selected a 17-year-old enforcer, Shayne Toporowski, a right wing from Prince Albert of the Western Hockey League, with the No. 42 pick. An instructor at King Coach Barry Melrose’s hockey camps in Kelvington, Saskatchewan, the 6-foot-2, 204-pound Toporowski had 57 points and 235 penalty minutes last season, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Kerry, who led the WHL with 505 penalty minutes in 1990-91 at Spokane.

“I’m very excited,” Melrose said. “That’s the type of kid I want. He’s very aggressive. Shayne is different--his brother is crazy.”

Said Shayne Toporowski: “Barry always said some day I would play for him, and now here I am, being drafted by the Kings, and he’s their coach. I can’t believe it.”

With their third-round pick, the Kings selected 18-year-old center Jeffrey Mitchell, who played in Detroit of the Ontario Hockey League. He had 25 points last season and 100 penalty minutes.

The Ducks received the fourth selection after losing the coin toss to the expansion Florida Panthers, who exercised their option to take the fifth spot. That means the Panthers get the No. 1 pick in the 1994 entry draft and the Ducks will follow.

The Ottawa Senators selected center Alexandre Daigle as the No. 1 overall pick after reaching an oral agreement Saturday morning. Daigle, who scored 137 points for Victoriaville, was rewarded with a five-year, $12.5-million deal. His contract angered a large faction of NHL general managers and cast something of a pall at a few draft tables.

“It depends on what you are buying. If you pay $200,000 for a Cadillac, you are a . . .,” Hartford General Manager Brian Burke said. “Unless the trunk is filled with gold.”

After Daigle, the Whalers flipped draft picks with the San Jose Sharks, moved up to No. 2 and selected defenseman Chris Pronger. The Tampa Bay Lightning took center Chris Gratton and the Panthers followed the Ducks by taking left wing Rob Niedermayer. The Sharks then found themselves with the player they wanted, right wing Viktor Kozlov of Moscow Dynamo.

As for Kariya, Duck General Manager Jack Ferreira said he was sold on him after watching him play in an NCAA regional this spring with assistant general manager Pierre Gauthier.

“At the end of the second period, I looked at Pierre and said, ‘This guy is a home run,’ ” Ferreira said. “. . . In all your years of scouting, there are very few people you go see. There are guys in the game who you can’t wait to see on the ice and you are disappointed when his shift ends. That’s what he did for me.”

NHL Notes

The Ducks established another early trend, selecting five players from the former Soviet Union in the 11-round draft. For now, fifth-rounder Mikhail Shtalenkov, 27, is scheduled to be the Ducks’ No. 3 goaltender as he appeared in 47 games last season with Milwaukee of the International Hockey League. . . . With the exception of the first-round selection--which went to the Oilers as the last part of the Wayne Gretzky trade--the Kings had picks in every other round, including three in the fifth. They took three players from the major junior team in Detroit--including high-scoring left wing Bob Wren in the fourth round (94th overall). Wren scored 57 goals and 145 points last season. “His size (5-10, 174 pounds) may have scared some people off,” King General Manager Nick Beverley said. “He has the kind of heart and courage that Barry Melrose wants on his teams. He has a big, big heart.” . . . Minutes before the start of the draft, Dallas Stars’ European scout Matti Vaisenen suffered a seizure and was attended to by Dallas assistant coach Rick Wilson before doctors arrived. He was expected to be released from a hospital Saturday night. . . . Wilson, a former King assistant, watched his son, Landon, selected 19th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Landon Wilson, a right wing, scored 29 goals, 65 points and recorded 284 penalty minutes last season with the Dubuque of the U.S. Hockey League.

Staff writer Robyn Norwood contributed to this story.