59 Fun Facts About Anaheim Ducks

Which entertainment giant founded the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1993?

Walt Disney founded the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as a 1993 expansion team, naming the club after its 1992 film about a struggling youth hockey team.

Which team, founded by Blockbuster boss Wayne Huizenga, joined the NHL alongside the Mighty Ducks in 1993?

Florida Panthers: the NHL approved both clubs on the same day in December 1992, and the Kings took half of Anaheim's entry fee because the newcomer sat inside their territory.

Whom did the Ducks select fourth overall in the 1993 entry draft, their franchise face for a decade?

Paul Kariya, the club's first draft pick, made Anaheim wait: he went back to college, won silver with Canada at the 1994 Winter Games and only made his NHL debut in January 1995.

Who was the Ducks' first head coach?

Ron Wilson was fired after four seasons, just after guiding Anaheim into the second round of the playoffs; a year later he took Washington to the Stanley Cup Final.

Which former Penguin, a two-time Stanley Cup winner, was the Mighty Ducks' first captain in 1993-94?

Troy Loney was claimed from Pittsburgh in the 1993 expansion draft, wore the C as the newcomers won 33 games, and was traded to the Islanders after a single season.

Which two players did Anaheim send to Winnipeg in the 1996 trade for Teemu Selanne?

Chad Kilger and Oleg Tverdovsky were Anaheim's first-round picks in the two previous drafts; the gamble paid off when Selanne scored 51 goals the following season.

Which Blackhawk's cross-check gave the Ducks' captain a season-ending concussion in 1998?

Gary Suter's cross-check to the head came just after the captain had scored; it drew a four-game ban, ended his season and kept him out of the Nagano Winter Games.

Which defending champion did the seventh-seeded Ducks sweep to open the 2003 playoffs?

The Ducks swept the defending champion Detroit Red Wings in 2003; Giguere stopped 63 shots in the triple-overtime Game 1 win.

Who scored for the Mighty Ducks in the fifth overtime of Game 1 against Dallas in the 2003 playoffs?

Petr Sykora struck 48 seconds into the fifth overtime, after more than 140 minutes of play; New Jersey had traded him away the previous summer, and he met his old club in the Final.

Which Devils defenseman flattened the Ducks' captain with an open-ice hit in Game 6 of the 2003 Final?

Scott Stevens left the captain lying motionless for several minutes, yet the Anaheim star was back before the period ended to score in a 5-2 win; the Devils then took Game 7 3-0.

In 2003 Jean-Sebastien Giguere became only the fifth losing-team player to win which award?

Conn Smythe Trophy: Giguere let in one goal in the entire conference final, shutting out Minnesota three times in a four-game sweep, before Anaheim lost the Cup Final in seven.

The Ducks' captain left in 2003 to reunite with Selanne on which team?

Both spent a single season with the Colorado Avalanche, while Anaheim, a Stanley Cup finalist months earlier, slumped to 29-35-10-8 without its captain.

Which Broadcom co-founder bought the Mighty Ducks from their founding owner in 2005?

Henry Samueli and his wife Susan, whose company already ran the arena, wasted little time: within two years the club had a new name, new colours and its first Stanley Cup.

Which general manager, hired in 2005, built the Ducks team that won the 2007 Stanley Cup?

Brian Burke had the Stanley Cup within two years of arriving; seventeen months after winning it he stepped down, and before the month was out he was running the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Whom did the Ducks take second overall in 2005, in the draft held after the cancelled season?

Bobby Ryan went one pick after Sidney Crosby: with no standings from the lost season to set the order, every team was put in a weighted lottery, and Pittsburgh won it.

Which free-agent defenseman signed in August 2005 to play alongside his brother Rob and was soon named captain?

Scott Niedermayer, as captain, was the first Duck to lift the Stanley Cup in 2007, and he used his rank to hand it straight to Rob, who had never won it.

Which Norris Trophy-winning defenseman became Ducks head coach in August 2005?

Randy Carlyle won the Stanley Cup in his second season, was fired in November 2011, and was rehired in 2016 to replace the very coach who had replaced him.

Which defenseman came from Edmonton in 2006 for Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid and three draft picks?

Chris Pronger arrived in July 2006 after requesting a trade; he was suspended twice in the 2007 playoffs and Anaheim won both games without him.

What did the 2006-07 Ducks do in each of their first 16 games?

Earn a point: Anaheim went 12-0-4, losing only in overtime or shootouts, until Calgary shut them out in game 17; Chicago took the record away with a 24-game start in 2013.

Whom did the Ducks beat in the 2007 Stanley Cup Final?

Ottawa Senators had lost only three games in the first three rounds, then dropped four of five to the Ducks, who clinched their first Stanley Cup on home ice.

Which former first-overall draft pick scored the own goal credited to Travis Moen as the 2007 Stanley Cup winner?

Chris Phillips and his goalie got into a mix-up in Game 5 that left the puck in their own net; Moen was given the goal, which put Anaheim 3-1 up and stood as the winner in a 6-2 clincher.

Where did the Ducks open the 2007-08 season with two games against the Kings?

London's O2 Arena is run by the same company that owns the Kings; the two rivals split the first regular-season NHL games ever played in Europe there, each winning 4-1.

Which goalie did the Ducks lose on waivers to Phoenix during 2007-08, making Jonas Hiller the backup?

Ilya Bryzgalov was claimed by Phoenix on November 17, 2007 and shut out the Kings 1-0 for his new team that same night; he stayed the Coyotes' starter for four seasons.

Which former Canadiens captain signed with Anaheim on a one-year deal in 2009?

Saku Koivu, Montreal's captain for a decade, signed a one-year deal in July 2009 and ended up playing five seasons in Anaheim.

Who became the first Duck to win the Hart Trophy, in 2010-11?

Corey Perry finished in a rush, scoring 19 goals in his final 16 games to reach a league-best 50, and took both the Hart and the Rocket Richard.

Which former Ducks defenseman died in the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash?

Ruslan Salei, Anaheim's first-round pick in 1996, spent nine seasons on its blue line and scored the overtime goal in Game 3 of the 2003 Final that gave the club its first win in a Cup Final.

Which two forwards came from Ottawa in 2013 for Anaheim's 2005 second-overall draft pick?

Jakob Silfverberg and Stefan Noesen had opposite fates: Silfverberg stayed eleven seasons, Noesen played 14 games before leaving on waivers, and the first-round pick in the deal became Nick Ritchie.

Where did the Ducks beat the Kings 3-0 in their first outdoor game in January 2014?

Dodger Stadium drew 54,099 for the first game of the NHL's Stadium Series, with Kiss performing before the puck dropped; Jonas Hiller then stopped all 36 Kings shots.

Which team beat the 2013-14 Ducks to the Presidents' Trophy by a single point?

Boston Bruins finished on 117 points to Anaheim's club-record 116, yet neither got past the second round: each lost a seven-game series there, the Ducks to the eventual champion Kings.

Which center did the Ducks acquire from Vancouver in June 2014?

Ryan Kesler cost Nick Bonino, Luca Sbisa and a first-round pick, then signed a six-year extension that outlasted him: hip surgery in 2019 ended his career with three seasons left on it.

Which Blackhawk scored the first two goals of Game 7 to knock the Ducks out of the 2015 playoffs?

Jonathan Toews struck twice in the first 12 minutes of a 5-3 win in Anaheim; it was the third spring running that the Ducks led a series 3-2 and then lost Game 7 at home.

Which team did the Ducks beat in Game 7 in 2017 to end their Game 7 losing streak?

Edmonton Oilers led Game 5 by three goals with 3:16 left, only for Anaheim to score three times, force overtime and win in the second extra period; Game 7 then went to the Ducks 2-1.

Which NHL record did the 2020-21 Ducks set at 8.94%?

Worst power-play percentage in a season: Anaheim scored on 11 of 123 chances in 2020-21 and gave up five short-handed goals along the way, the lowest rate since the NHL began tracking it in 1977-78.

Which Ducks general manager resigned in November 2021 amid an investigation into alleged verbal abuse?

Bob Murray, in charge since 2008, was put on leave on November 9, resigned the next day and said he would enter a programme for alcohol abuse; the owners apologised to anyone hurt by his conduct.

Whom did the Ducks select second overall in 2023 after Chicago won the lottery?

Leo Carlsson came to Anaheim because the lottery went against it: the Ducks finished last in the NHL in 2022-23, but Chicago won the draw, jumped from third to first and took Connor Bedard.

Which coach, reinstated after the 2010 Blackhawks scandal investigation, was hired by Anaheim in 2025?

Joel Quenneville had resigned from another NHL bench in October 2021 when the scandal report came out; cleared in July 2024, he took Anaheim back to the playoffs in his first season, ending a seven-year drought.

Which two colours did the original Mighty Ducks wear with silver and white?

Eggplant and jade, the purple and green of the original jerseys, gave way in 2006 to black and gold, with orange added as a nod to Orange County.

What did the original Mighty Ducks logo depict?

A duck-shaped goalie mask, set over two crossed sticks, was dropped for a webbed-foot wordmark in 2006, then came back as the main logo in 2024, reframed in the club's orange.

After the 2006 rebrand, the Ducks' logo became a webbed foot forming which letter?

D began as the first letter of the 2006 'Ducks' wordmark; from 2014 the webbed-foot letter stood alone on the main jerseys, until a refreshed version of the original crest returned in 2024.

In 1995, the Ducks' mascot tripped and landed on what?

Fire was the obstacle: he was meant to jump a wall of flames, but he tripped, came down on it and set his costume ablaze.

What is the Ducks' rivalry with the Los Angeles Kings called?

Freeway Face-Off was the fans' choice in a 2007 online contest, taking more than 4,800 of some 12,000 votes to beat Freezeway Series, Ice-5 Series and Crosstown Showdown.

Which 1995 Ducks alternate sweater, showing the mascot bursting through ice, was retired at once?

The 'Wild Wing' third jersey, worn only in 1995-96, showed the mascot smashing through ice; the design came back as a Reverse Retro in 2020-21.

Which bottled-water brand held the naming rights to the Ducks' arena from 1993 to 2006?

Arrowhead's name sat in front of 'Pond of Anaheim' for 13 years; fans simply said 'the Pond', a nickname the arena kept after Honda bought the rights in 2006.

Which Finnish club did Teemu Selanne star for before joining the NHL?

Jokerit kept him for four more years after Winnipeg drafted him tenth overall in 1988; he won the 1992 Finnish title as the league's top goal scorer, then scored 76 goals as an NHL rookie.

Selanne is the all-time leading scorer at which international event, with 43 points?

The Olympic men's hockey tournament brought Selanne 43 points across six Games; at 43, in his last one, he added six of them and was voted the 2014 tournament's most valuable player.

Besides hockey, which job did Selanne hold for three years while playing in Finland?

Kindergarten teacher was the job he took when his army service began, because he did not want to start studying yet; he said he tried to be a fun teacher, not a tough one.

The Ducks opened the 2011-12 season with games in which two European capitals?

Helsinki and Stockholm: the opener was a homecoming for Helsinki-born Selanne, but Buffalo spoiled it 4-1; a night later the Ducks beat the Rangers in a shootout in Sweden.

Which former Capitals coach took over the Ducks bench midway through the 2011-12 season?

Bruce Boudreau, fired by Washington two days earlier, was hired on November 30, 2011 and went on to win four straight Pacific Division titles with Anaheim.

Which city has hosted the Ducks' top minor-league affiliate since 2015?

San Diego got its Gulls when the Ducks bought the Norfolk Admirals and moved them across the country in 2015, as one of five founding clubs of the AHL's new Pacific Division.

Which goalie made his NHL debut for the Ducks in 2013-14 with a 3-0 shutout of Vancouver?

John Gibson, then 20, did it again a month later, shutting out the Kings in his first playoff start; he spent 12 seasons in Anaheim before being traded away in 2025.

Which coach, in his first NHL season, took the Mighty Ducks to Game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Final?

Mike Babcock, promoted from the club's farm team in 2002, went 15-6 in those playoffs; he turned down an offer to stay in 2005 and won the Stanley Cup with another team three years later.

Losing to which team in seven games in 2016 cost the Ducks' head coach his job?

The Nashville Predators won Game 7 2-1 in Anaheim in April 2016, and the Ducks fired their coach two days later despite four straight division titles.

Whom did the Ducks send to New Jersey in the trade that brought Adam Henrique to Anaheim?

Sami Vatanen was spare by Anaheim's own account: 'We had a surplus of defensemen, they had a surplus of centers,' its general manager said, with the Ducks' top two centres both out injured.

Whom did the Ducks draft ninth overall in 2019?

Trevor Zegras made his name in December 2021 by picking the puck up on his stick behind the net and lobbing it over the goalie's shoulder for Sonny Milano to bat in; Anaheim traded him to Philadelphia in 2025.

Who was named Ducks general manager in February 2022?

Pat Verbeek left Steve Yzerman's front office in Detroit to take the job on February 3, 2022, and by the March trade deadline had dealt away Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson and Rickard Rakell.

Which team did the Mighty Ducks beat in 1997 for their first playoff series win?

Phoenix Coyotes, in their first season after the club left Winnipeg, led the series 3-2 before Anaheim won Game 6 in overtime on the road and took Game 7 3-0 at home; a second-round sweep then ended the run.

Who was named the Ducks' ninth captain before the 2024-25 season?

Radko Gudas got the C in September 2024, the first Ducks captain since Ryan Getzlaf retired in 2022; the general manager said a young roster needed a veteran to lead it.

Which trophy did Teemu Selanne win in 2006 in his first season back in Anaheim?

Bill Masterton Trophy: after a 16-goal season on a bad knee he had surgery during the cancelled 2004-05 season and came back with 40, wearing No. 13 that year because Sandis Ozolinsh already had his usual 8.

Who was the first Ducks alumnus inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, in 2001?

Jari Kurri, a five-time Stanley Cup winner, signed a one-year deal with Anaheim at 36 and played all 82 games as the club reached the playoffs for the first time; he was the Hall's first Finnish-born player.