North Vancouver native Paul Kariya received the ultimate honour from his hockey team Sunday, as the Anaheim Ducks retired his number and raised his No. 9 jersey to the rafters.
Kariya’s sweater earned a place next to the No. 8 of longtime linemate Teemu Selanne, the only other player with a jersey retired by the Ducks. Selanne was there for Sunday’s ceremony, held before a game against Buffalo, along with other former teammates such as Steve Rucchin and Scott Niedermayer, who is slated to also have his Ducks jersey retired next month.
"Thank you for making tonight the most memorable night of my life," Kariya said during the ceremony. "I couldn’t have asked for better teammates, and I certainly could not have asked for a better group of friends."
Kariya grew up in North Vancouver and attended Argyle Secondary before moving to Penticton at age 15 to play in the BCHL. From there he went to the University of Maine where he won the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in NCAA Div. 1 before being selected fourth overall by the Mighty Ducks in the 1993 NHL entry draft, the first ever draft pick by the franchise.
Kariya played 15 years in the NHL with four teams, including nine with the Ducks, eight as the team’s captain. He scored 989 points in 989 career regular season games, was a first-team league all-star three times, a second-team all-star twice and twice won the Lady Byng trophy as the league’s most sportsmanlike player. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last year.
Kariya’s career was cut short by concussions, and for many years following his retirement he withdrew from the hockey world. One of his biggest moments with the Ducks was also one that hastened his retirement, as Kariya was left unconscious by a hit from Scott Stevens in Game 6 of the 2003 Stanley Cup finals but returning to the ice later in the game and scoring a goal as the Ducks forced a seventh game. He retired in 2009 after his sixth recorded concussion.
Sunday’s ceremony was an indication that he is once again willing to take a role in team and league activities.
"Over the years, many of the games, the wins and losses, have faded from my mind," Kariya said. "But I can remember, like it was yesterday, the ovation I received stepping on this ice for my first practice here, and the roar of this crowd when we beat the Phoenix Coyotes for our first playoff series victory here. … You literally and figuratively picked me up off the ice in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Thank you to all the fans for supporting me for nine incredible years."
Kariya still lives in Southern California where he is an avid surfer.
