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The Mighty Ducks (movies)



         


The Mighty Ducks is a trilogy of movies released in the 1990s about a hockey team that sticks together throughout the various difficulties the team has. The movie's success, despite its predictable plot and negative reviews by movie critics, was used as the basis of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim National Hockey League team, as well as an unrelated The Mighty Ducks television series.

All three movies are written by Stephen Brill, and casts an opposing hockey team that represents the various obstacles to the team. This team is mainly consisting of large players of a single ethnic background, of which the Ducks, a team with smaller players of different races and genders, must overcome. In the end to each movie, the Ducks prevail over them by a single goal.

Many of the goals that the Ducks score are artistic or gimmicky in nature. One of their gimmicks is the Flying V, which involves all five skaters skating down the ice in much the same manner as a flock of geese, and the puck being under the control of the player at the head of the V.

Basil McRae, Mike Modano, Wayne Gretzky, and Paul Kariya have made cameo appearances in the three movies.

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Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

In The Mighty Ducks, a lawyer named Gordan Bombay (played by Emilio Estevez) is sentenced to community service, coaching hockey, a sport that he claimed to hate, after being charged with drunk driving. There, he meets the District 5 peewee hockey team, a team of perennial losers who could not afford proper hockey equipment, finished at the bottom of the league standings year after year, and were shut out each game by at least five goals. However, the players learn that Bombay was once a player for the Hawks, a perennial champion team, but left hockey because he could not make a penalty shot that ultimately cost him a peewee championship. Both the players and coach Bombay learn to overcome losing, and thanks to Bombay, who taught him all he knew about hockey, the Division 5 team (now christened the Ducks, after Bombay's employer) became a winning team, and manages to make the playoffs in the final game of the regular season. Bombay would eventually face the team he grew up playing for, led by the same coach that coached him. Ironically, the game was won by a penalty shot.

In D2: The Mighty Ducks, Bombay, inspired by his own players, decided to try out in the minor leagues. After an injury, he was offered a chance to coach Team USA (and the Ducks) in the Junior Goodwill Games. However, the lure of celebrity was a distraction to both Bombay and his players, and reality kicked in when they lost against Team Iceland in an embarrassing defeat. Frustrated, Bombay drives his players even harder, yet Team USA continued to suffer, to the point where a group of kids playing street hockey could beat them. Bombay realized that the most important thing was to have fun, and soon, after a change in attitude, the Ducks once again met Team Iceland in the championship game. The game was decided by a shootout, won by the Ducks by their two goaltenders.

In D3: The Mighty Ducks, the movie shifts focus from Bombay to his protége, Charlie Conway (played by Joshua Jackson). Charlie and his teammates are awarded a scholarship to Eden Hall Academy, a prestigious school where Bombay attended. However, their arrival was met with hostility from the varsity team (mainly consisting of white players who are members of rich families), as well as Bombay's hand-picked successor, coach Ted Orion (played by Minnesota North Stars, but stayed in Minnesota when the North Stars moved to Dallas, in order to take care of his paraplegic daughter. Charlie and Orion quickly bonded in time for the Junior-Varsity Showdown, and thanks in large part to the work of Charlie, the Ducks win from a shorthanded goal scored in the dying seconds of the game.

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Roster

This is a list of all the players and coaching staff of the Ducks, along with their jersey numbers.

Coaches:

Players:





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