Vitaly Vishnevsky

The Mighty Ducks followed their recent NHL draft-day method of operation Saturday, which is to say they picked a player no one in the arena knew from Adam. Bursts of applause from a crowd of 10,000 at Marine Midland Arena followed the announcements of other first-round picks, but the silence was deafening when the Ducks selected defenseman Vitaly Vishnevsky, 18, from Kharkov, Ukraine. Vitaly who?

Mighty Duck defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski has spent the last two months introducing himself around the NHL. Hello, Joe Sakic . . . bam. Being a 19-year-old kid straight out of Russia, naturally there's a language barrier. Vishnevski, though, seems to be able to make himself understood. Nice to meet you, Glen Murray . . . crash. Vishnevski does make a first impression . . . and leaves behind forget-me-nots. Bruises. Bumps. A few bad feelings. Pardon me, Owen Nolan . . . crunch.

Mighty Duck defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski has spent the last two months introducing himself around the NHL. Hello, Joe Sakic . . . bam. Being a 19-year-old kid straight out of Russia, naturally there's a language barrier. Vishnevski, though, seems to be able to make himself understood. Nice to meet you, Glen Murray . . . crash. Vishnevski does make a first impression . . . and leaves behind forget-me-nots. Bruises. Bumps. A few bad feelings. Pardon me, Owen Nolan . . . crunch.

The Mighty Ducks followed their recent NHL draft-day method of operation Saturday, which is to say they picked a player no one in the arena knew from Adam. Bursts of applause from a crowd of 10,000 at Marine Midland Arena followed the announcements of other first-round picks, but the silence was deafening when the Ducks selected defenseman Vitaly Vishnevsky, 18, from Kharkov, Ukraine. Vitaly who?

The Mighty Ducks signed right winger Jeff Nielsen and center Ted Drury to multiyear contracts Thursday, leaving six of their free agents unsigned. Nielsen had five goals and nine points in his first full season with the Ducks in 1998-99. Drury, who has been with the Ducks three seasons, had five goals and 11 points last season. Defensemen Oleg Tverdovsky, Jason Marshall, Ruslan Salei and Paul Trnka, forward Antti Aalto and goalie Dominic Roussel remain unsigned. All are restricted free agents.

The Mighty Ducks are one of about a half-dozen teams attempting to sign center Tim Taylor, who played for the Boston Bruins last season. Taylor, an unrestricted free agent, is believed to be seeking a four-year deal worth between $1-2 million a year. He made $675,000 with the Bruins last season. Duck General Manager Pierre Gauthier said he "preferred not to comment on things that have not happened." He had made it clear that building a checking line was a priority this off-season.

For those grading on a curve, this game was progress. OK, so the Ducks didn't get a victory Tuesday night, losing, 3-1, to the Montreal Canadiens in front of 17,510 at the Molson Centre. They didn't get run out of the rink either. And that brought some smiles to the dressing room afterward. Jan Bulis and Brian Savage scored goals, building a 2-0 lead and Yanic Perreault chipped in an empty-netter. Goalie Jeff Hackett made a handful of nice saves when they were needed.