Wright Is Ready to Show Feistiness

Journeyman center Tyler Wright may forever be linked to Sergei Fedorov in the trade of the six-time-All-Star, but the newest Mighty Duck knows there is no sense to drawing any comparison.

“By no means am I going to come in here to fill Sergei Fedorov’s shoes,” said Wright after his first practice with the Ducks on Thursday. “He is a Hall of Famer.”

Wright won’t be, but he is a 32-year-old grinder who was an original member of the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets after stops in Edmonton and Pittsburgh. As a Duck, he will be expected to provide some feisty play and some offense.

If anything, being traded for Fedorov allowed him to escape a deteriorating situation with the lowly Blue Jackets.

“Obviously I had some good times being an original Blue Jacket from the expansion draft,” said Wright, who had a career-high 19 goals in 2002-03.

“I have deep roots there with my family. But as far as a hockey move, this is a good thing for me.”

After waking up at 3:30 Wednesday morning, Wright grabbed a 6 a.m. flight with a stop in Houston before arriving in Anaheim at 11 a.m. In his first game, as a Duck, the 6-foot, 190-pound veteran had a shot on goal and delivered a hard check on Dallas Star wing Mathias Tjarnqvist in nearly nine minutes of ice time.

“He’s a physical guy who can get in on the forecheck and he did that early,” Coach Randy Carlyle said. “He’s an energy player. That’s the way he plays the game.”

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TONIGHT

vs. Colorado, 7:30, FSNW2

Site -- Arrowhead Pond.

Radio -- 1090.

Records -- Ducks 7-8-2-2; Avalanche 10-6-0-2

Record vs. Avalanche (2005-06) -- 0-1.

Update -- Colorado, fourth in the Northwest Division, started the Ducks’ six-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory Nov. 3 in Denver. Carlyle is holding off on putting Jean-Sebastien Giguere (strained hamstring) on injured reserve in the possibility that he may be ready Sunday against Vancouver,but Ilya Bryzgalov will get his second consecutive start tonight.

Tickets -- (877) 945-3946.