WEARINGTHE "C"

DID YOU KNOW...Interesting Facts About the Ducks

PLUS...• High Five Skills Competition

• Ducks in the Community• Holiday Plans Available

Practice with the Ducks Essay Contest Recap

Anaheim Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer is once again bringing his leadership and defensive skills to the team this season. He has been second on the team in average

ice time this season, making him a constant presence on the blue line. The Cranbrook,

British Columbia native has also been showcasing his offensive abilities. He was tied

for third on the team in points (1-10-11), fi rst among team defensemen, through 16 games.

Beyond the Boards recently spoke with Niedermayer after practice to talk about playing youth hockey, what it means to be

a leader, and his favorite part of the Holidays.

Q: What was your favorite youth hockey memory?Scott Niedermayer: I have a lot of them. It was a lot of fun growing up

playing hockey. Whether it was in tournaments with your team, in front of the house playing road hockey or on a frozen pond somewhere, there

were a lot of fun times with friends.

Q: What made you choose to play defense when you were younger?

SN: I think every kid starts out as a forward because you want to score goals. I got moved back to defense just because there weren’t enough guys that wanted to do it on our team. I don’t think I volunteered, I think I was put back there.

Q: Who was the most influential youth hockey coach you had?SN: It was a gentleman by the name of Len Bousquet. I had him for about fi ve or six years as a young kid growing up. He was the coach I had the longest in youth hockey. He was a gym teacher at the high school and his son was on our team. He was a great coach. He made it a lot of fun and taught us a lot as well.

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Q: What advice do you have for young hockey players trying to make it to the NHL?SN: You have to do it because you love it. That has to be the main motivation. I think that when you enjoy something, you’re willing to put in the hard work that it obviously takes to do anything well. Playing hockey is no different. You have to be committed and ready to put in a lot of work. When you love what you’re doing, it’s easy to do.

Q: What characteristics make someone a great leader?SN: I think somebody that has been through it all and has experiences to draw on. You need someone who is willing to do the things that it takes to win - the hard work and the commitment. You can’t just preach it, you have to walk it. That’s probably the most important thing, being committed.

Q: How would you describe your leadership style?SN: It’s more by example. I’m not the loudest guy.

Q: Being the team captain carries a lot of responsibilities. Does it ever change your style of play?SN: I don’t really change my style of play whether I’m a captain or not. I think you would fi nd a lot of older

guys on the team would say the same thing. They’re going to step up when things need to be said or done. Being the captain gives you a little extra responsibility because of the visibility it gets you, but I don’t think it really changes things too much.

Q: Do you have any pregame superstitions?SN: Not really, just rituals where you do the same type of thing for each game day. You eat at the same time and come to the rink at the same time. I would call it more of a routine that you follow to get ready for each game.

Q: What are some activities you enjoy outside of hockey?SN: I enjoy the outdoors. I enjoy mountain biking, hiking and camping. I grew up skiing as well as playing hockey. I don’t really get time to do that now, but I would still love to do it one day. I also like doing a lot of things with the kids. We have four young boys, so that keeps us pretty busy as well.

Q: What is your favorite part of the Holidays?SN: Getting together with family and taking the extra time to hang out and slow things down. You have more time, the schedules get put on hold and there’s no school or extra stuff going on. You can relax as a family. That would be the biggest thing.

AT SCOTT

Interesting facts about the Ducks

Scott Niedermayer

“His nickname is Norm (from Cheers).”

Saku Koivu

“He wears lifts in his skates.”

Corey Perry

“His nickname is Larry, after Larry Bird. He’s got a cheesy mustache when he

grows it.”

Joffrey Lupul

“He plays the guitar pretty well.”

George Parros

“George grows his hair long, to about 10 inches,

and then he gets it cut off and donates it to

make wigs.”

Mike Brown

“His dad owns a Harley Davidson shop

in Chicago.”

Ryan Carter

“He is an avid fi sherman in the summertime.”

Nick Boynton

“He is a type 1 diabetic.”

Sheldon Brookbank

TM: “His nickname is Bill. Why do we call him Bill?”

JW: “His middle name is William.”

Brendan Mikkelson

“His nickname is Phil, Phil Mickelson.”

Steve Eminger

“He played for Randy Carlyle in Washington.”

Teemu Selanne

“He has 25 or 30 cars.”

Ryan Getzlaf

JW: “He has all fake front teeth.”

Evgeny Artyukhin

JW: “His girlfriend is a supermodel and MTV host

in Russia.”

Erik Christensen

TM: “He listens to thrash metal music.”

JW: “Heavy metal like Slipknot.”

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J.S. Giguere

“Jiggy won the Conn Smythe Trophy in a losing effort and is only the fi fth

person to do that.”

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& Special Guest James Wisniewski

& SpecJames W

Anaheim Ducks center and resident funny man Todd Marchant recently sat down with Beyond the Boards after practice to give us an insider’s look at the team this season. Always the jokester, he recruited James Wisniewski to help him after the defenseman unsuspectingly walked out of the locker

room and into his line of fi re. Marchant quickly changed gears from talking about Ryan Carter to loudly yelling, “Did you know that James Wisniewski

is…” This caught Wisniewski’s attention enough to come over and join Marchant in coming up with interesting facts about their teammates.

...broughtto you

by ToddMarchant

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Petteri Nokelainen

JW: “He is a big tennis player. He loves tennis.”

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Bobby Ryan

“I was told by a fan that they nicknamed him Ricky Bobby (Talladega Nights) for his shake and bake

kind of moves.”

Jonas Hiller

“He is like MacGyver. This guy can fi x anything.”

Ryan Whitney

JW: “He looks like the long lost brother of Scalabrine (Brian Scalabrine of the

Boston Celtics).”

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ANAHEIM DUCKS TOY DRIVEANAHEIM DUCKS TOY DRIVEThe Anaheim Ducks are

getting in the holiday spirit and helping to spread cheer in Orange County this holiday season by

collecting toys as part of the annual Anaheim Ducks

Toy Drive at all home games prior to the Christmas holiday. The Lady Ducks- wives and signifi cant others- will be collecting new, unwrapped, toys, books and games to benefi t the 16th Annual Spark of Love Toy Drive with the Anaheim Fire Department and ABC7. If you can’t make it out to a Ducks game in December, toy donations will be accepted at any of THE RINKS locations in Anaheim, Corona, Huntington Beach or Westminster. Each person with a donation to the Toy Drive will receive an Anaheim Ducks ticket voucher for an upcoming Ducks game (limit one per person). Don’t miss your chance to help make this holiday season special for so many children and families in your local community.

In addition, the Ducks and Honda Center have teamed up with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and ABC7 to support the Spark of Love toy drive by stuffi ng an OCTA bus with toys. This annual event will take place on December 18th in the Honda Center parking lot and ABC7 news will be on hand to collect new, unwrapped toys and sporting equipment donated by the public to distribute to children in the local community.

For more information on the Anaheim Ducks Toy Drive, please call 1-877-WILDWING.

KITS FOR KIDS HOLIDAY DRIVEKITS FOR KIDS HOLIDAY DRIVEAs a holiday surprise to the children at CHOC Children’s Hospital, Ducks players made a special delivery of Anaheim Ducks Wild Wingers Kids Club Kits on December 9th. The kits feature great Ducks merchandise and the chance to come see the Anaheim Ducks play at Honda Center. In addition, the players sent holiday wishes to the children in their rooms on Radio Lollipop, CHOC Children’s fully-equipped radio studio housed in the hospital's main lobby. Each of the Kids Club Kits used at the CHOC Children’s Hospital Holiday visit were generously donated to the children by Ducks fans.

THIRD ANNUAL GEORGE THIRD ANNUAL GEORGE PARROS CUT FOR THE KIDSPARROS CUT FOR THE KIDSOn Monday December 14th, Ducks fans will join George Parros to help in the fi ght against cancer by donating their hair at the Third Annual George Parros Cut for the Kids at The Rinks Huntington Beach Inline to benefi t the Childhood Leukemia Foundation (CLF). Professional hairstylists from SportClips have volunteered to create a championship haircut experience and each participant will leave the event with a new, shorter look. Since the start of his professional career, Parros has been growing his hair long so he can donate it to nonprofi ts that provide children with wigs during their treatments.

Fans are encouraged to come and watch the festivities from 4:30pm – 7:30pm to cheer on the event participants and meet George Parros, who will available for pictures and autographs for a $10 donation to the Anaheim Ducks Foundation, with 100% of the proceeds benefi ting CLF. In addition, an opportunity drawing will be held to win a variety of great Ducks memorabilia.

The CLF is a national nonprofi t organization that offers a wide range of services at no charge to children living with cancer and their families as well as provides thousands of custom made, 100% human hair wigs with kid-friendly hats (Hugs-U-Wear) to children around the country.

Club Kits

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Anaheim Ducks High Five Skills Competition

Coming in February The inaugural Anaheim Ducks High

Five Skills Competition will make

its’ debut Saturday, February 6! The

competition tests skill level in fi ve

different categories: Skating, Shooting

Accuracy, Hardest Shot, Breakaway

Shootout and Goaltending and is open

to boys and girls ages 9-12.

This year the competition will be

divided into two segments, Travel and In-House, in order to create

the most balanced competitive environment. Winners will be named

in both divisions.

The fi rst segment of the competition will be for Travel

players at Anaheim ICE from 7:20 – 10:20 am. The

second segment of the competition will allow In-House

players to go head to head at Aliso Viejo Ice Palace

from 4:45 – 7:45 pm. Ducks players will be on

hand to help out and give instruction to participants

at both locations. Winners will receive a special

Anaheim Ducks commemorative gift and two tickets

to an upcoming Ducks game.

Registration is $25 with all proceeds going to

the Anaheim Ducks Foundation, which helps

facilitate and support programs that produce

positive change for children and families

throughout Southern California. The foundation

seeks to do this by providing educational

opportunities, broadening access to the sport

of hockey and addressing the health and

wellness needs of the community.

Registration for this year’s event will be

available at www.AnaheimDucks.com in the

coming weeks.

2009-10 Anaheim Ducks Player Rink Tour & Speaking SeriesAs part of the Anaheim Ducks Future Ducks Rink Program, the Ducks will be visiting several rinks in the Southern California area this season. Players will visit seven of the program’s rinks, where they will interact with a youth hockey team by visiting their locker room or actually lacinwith the team during their practice.

New to the Player Rink Tour this year will be a s(including Q&A sessions) with Ducks players at

Make sure to continue checking AnaheimDucksand Beyond the Boards for more updates.

This season’s remaining rink visits inclu

Monday, DecembeSpeaking Series #3 Learning from a Vet Corona Inline

Wednesday, JanuarSpeaking Series #4Playing in the OlympicsEastWest Ice Palace

Monday, January 18 Riverside Ice Town

Thursday, February 25Ontario Ice Skating Cente

*Times subject

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be a speaking series ers at some locations.

Ducks.com/youthhockey

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Miracle – The Final Chapter It was a storybook end to a fairy tale season for the 10U Mite Jr. Ducks on Sunday, November 22 as they suited up and stepped onto the ice with the Anaheim Ducks. As the winners of the annual Practice with the Ducks Essay Contest, the inline team out of Corona Inline chose to trade playing surfaces for the day to take part in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to skate alongside their favorite hockey players.

Their winning essay video, Miracle, took viewers through their season last year all the way up to the AAU Junior Olympics in Philadelphia. The essay focused on the team’s perseverance and willingness to stick together as a team. In the fi rst game of the tournament, they were beat 8-0 by the Hawks from New Jersey. They sailed through the rest of the tournament and ended up making it to the fi nals, only to face the Hawks again. It was a hard-fought battle, but the Jr. Ducks ended up winning the championship in overtime. The trophy that they won last season was brought out onto the ice at Honda Center and a team photo was taken with the Ducks and their prize.

Bobby Ryan, who played in the AAU Junior Olympics himself as an inline player when he was younger, addressed the team after they scrimmaged on the ice with the Ducks. “On behalf of all of us, we just wanted to say thank you,” said Ryan. “We had a lot of fun. Hope you did too. Congrats on your AAU Championship. I got a chance to watch your video. It was very well put together. Glad you guys had a great time; that’s what it’s all about.”

Hayden Holt, from the Jr. Ducks, had a great time going head to head with Ryan. “The coach (Newell Brown) told me when he’s got the puck; take him down,” said Holt. “So I went on the ice and checked him a couple times really hard. It was really cool.”

When Ryan called him out on it in the locker room after the practice, Holt’s response, “Want me to do it again?” brought out a big cheer from the Ducks and Jr. Ducks players.

When asked what his favorite part of the day was, David Everson replied, “Shooting on Giguere.” Brent Collins chimed in with “My favorite part of today was scoring on Jiggy. It felt great.”

Before the kids got on the ice with the players, they had the chance to get dressed in the Ducks actual locker room sitting in the stalls along with the players. This was the fi rst time any youth hockey team was ever allowed to do so and the kids really enjoyed the entire experience.

“It was incredible to see these kids - the happiness, the smiles - Christmas came early this year,” said Steven Vidger, father of Jr. Duck Shane Vidger. “We want to thank the entire Ducks organization for doing this. It’s very generous. This is something they will never get to do again and they were all thrilled to death. As a parent you just like to see your kids have an experience like that.”

Images courtesy of Tony Pallares

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#14 Joffrey Lupul