Mighty Ducks

**The Mighty Ducks** (formerly the District 5 hockey team) are a professional junior ice hockey team that compete in the state of Minnesota. They were coached by Gordon Bombay for 4 years, where he took them to championships at various levels, including one international title at the Junior Goodwill Games (as Team USA). Following the team's success there, he left the Ducks to stay and coach the Junior Goodwill hockey team while naming former NHL player Ted Orion his successor. Under Orion, the Ducks were initially reluctant to his style of coaching and some considered dropping from the team altogether. However, they soon developed a chemistry in order to win, and they were able to defeat the Eden Hall Warriors varsity ice hockey team, even earning the right to have their name take over the academy banner.

In the years since, from the 2000s to the 2010s, the Ducks became more competitive in nature and would follow the same path as their immediate rival, the Idina Hawks, being a team that was more about winning than just playing hockey. Coached by the hot headed Daryl Tingman (aka Coach T), by 2019 the Ducks were on the verge of another competitive season and were once again looking to repeat. While the Ducks did win the state championship in Hendrix Pavilion that year (due to the Don't Bothers forfeiting), they would relinquish the team name following a bet with the Don't Bothers where they would have to if they lost in an exhibition match at the Ice Palace.

The newly reformed Ducks, with Alex Morrow as the head coach, would take her team to the hockey training school, Elite Performance Ice Center (EPIC), to compete against several other teams for a chance to compete in the tournament final. While initially butting heads with the school's director Colin Cole, Alex and Cole agree to work together as partners and play against the Canadian Youth hockey team

## History

### The Mighty Ducks

Initially, District 5 was a hockey team with no coach (due to suffering a heart attack one game) or structure. When Gordon Bombay is arrested for drunk driving, he is sentenced to 500 hours of community service by coaching the ragtag team. When Bombay meets the team, he realizes the kids have no practice facility, equipment, or ability to go with it.

The team's first game with Bombay at the helm is against Bombay's old team: the Hawks. Reilly is still head coach and remains bitter about Gordon's shortcoming in that fateful game. District 5 gets pummeled and after Bombay berates the team for not listening to him, the players challenge his authority.

In the next game, District 5 faces a not as tough hockey team in the Jets, but Bombay tries to win this game by cheating. Jesse and Terry Hall are some of the players who take dives, but this upsets the referee to the point he says the team will forfeit in favor of the Jets if these actions continue. Bombay scoffs saying he is insulted. In another botched attempt to try to win, Bombay tells Charlie to act like he’s hurt when the Jets' two big players corner him by the boards.

After being inspired by his friend Hans, Bombay approaches his boss, Gerald Ducksworth, to sponsor the team, which Ducksworth reluctantly agrees. The result is a complete makeover for the team, both in look (as they can now buy professional equipment) and in skill (as Bombay has more time to teach the kids hockey fundamentals). Now playing as the "Ducks", they fight to a tie in the next game and recruit three new players: figure-skating siblings Tommy and Tammy Duncan and slap shot specialist and enforcer Fulton Reed. The potential of Ducks player Charlie Conway catches Bombay's eye and he takes him under his wing.

Bombay learns that star player for the Hawks, Adam Banks, actually resides in the Ducks' district boundaries and threatens Reilly into transferring Banks to the Ducks. Ducksworth makes a deal with Reilly about the Hawks keeping Banks, however, Bombay refuses since it would be against fair-play, which Ducksworth berated him about when he started his community service. Left with either the choice of letting his team down or get fired from his job, Bombay takes the latter.

Adam Banks proves to be a valuable asset. The Ducks manage to make it to the championship against the Hawks. Despite the Hawks' heavy attacks taking Banks out of the game, the Ducks manage to score a tie and earn a penalty shot in the final seconds of the game. Bombay encourages Charlie to take the shot, reassuring him that even if he fails it will be alright. Charlie manages to score a goal using a technique Gordon taught him.

### D2: The Mighty Ducks

*Main article: Team USA*

While Gordon Bombay is making an attempt to make it to the NHL, the Ducks held little to no practice in the offseason during his absence. This is revealed when the Ducks are joining the Team USA roster and competing at the Junior Goodwill Games.

The team is joined by new recruits

In the final match up of the Goodwill Games versus Iceland, the Mighty Ducks rise again, as the whole team puts on new jerseys featuring the image of a duck mask with a jade triangle and hockey sticks behind it. The jerseys may have given them a spark to victory, as a shootout deciding save by Julie Gaffney helped them win the game and take home the trophy.

### D3: The Mighty Ducks

Hoping to come back for another successful year, the team is stunned to learn that Bombay will not be their coach this time around.

### The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers (Season 1)

2 decades have passed since the Ducks took over as the official team at Eden Hall Academy. It appears their management during that span chose to revert them back to a simple junior hockey team while also going through many leadership changes that made them more about winning than about the game itself, mirroring the very team they developed their first rivalry with, the Hawks. A fresh rebrand ensued as well, giving the team new uniforms and a new look with a retro splash in order to acknowledge their history.

The team held tryouts at the start of the new season. Notable players trying out were Evan Morrow and Sofi Hanson-Bhatt, with the team being coached by Daryl Tingman, aka "Coach T", who was also a Mighty Duck himself in his youth. While Sofi makes the team, Evan is cut by Coach T as the Mighty Ducks prepare to defend their title from last year. Coach T also would announce the teams that would play for the upcoming season, including a last minute addition called the Don't Bothers.

As the anniversary of the team approached during the Spirit of the Ducks gala event, many themed promotions and festivities were held in their home arena to commemorate it. Some of the original Mighty Ducks from the 1990s would appear at the gala, minus Gordon Bombay, who staff thought didn't represent what was best for the team. A

The Ducks were a powerhouse team, dominating the standings all year and qualifying for the playoffs. When the Ducks and the Don't Bothers were scheduled to play in the final round, an injury to Sofi's knee would make the Don't Bothers forfeit and give the championship to the Ducks. However, after walking in the concourse with the trophy, a quip from Coach T's mouth saying his team would've won anyway, led to the two teams to settle the score in an exhibition game at the Ice Palace. The bet would be whomever won the game would either cease operations immediately or fold and take over the name of the Mighty Ducks. The Don't Bothers won the game and Coach T's Ducks would be no more.

### Season 2

1 year later, the Mighty Ducks are forced out of the Ice Palace despite earning their good name back, and, as quoted by Nick on his podcast, are looking at the most boring summer ever. With no decent area to practice during the warmer months (and the ice on the ponds having melted), the team would be given a glimmer of hope when they each receive an invite from Elite Performance Ice Center, a prestigious hockey school based in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area.

The Ducks are ecstatic to go, and after making an entrance when they were the last group of players to arrive,

At the Night Draft, Alex gets the first pick and, despite A.J. Lawrence being the higher ranked player on the leaderboard, selects Nick Ganz to be on her team. In addition to reuniting all the members of her team (save for Evan), a few new faces join them: Gertie Willins, A.J.'s brother Cody Lawrence, and Jace Cole, Coach Cole's son. At the end of the draft, when all the coaches pick the names of their teams, Alex decides to keep her team's name, the Mighty Ducks.

## Roster

### Game Changers Season 1

*Note: Some of these players are not present in all episodes which feature the Mighty Ducks team.*

### Game Changers Season 2

 21

* also played for Dominate

## Uniforms

The Mighty Ducks have worn various different uniforms over a 3-decade history. Starting in 1991, when the team was rebranded as the Ducks, the first set of uniforms featured a duck holding a hockey stick on a green jersey, consisting of purple and yellow stripes on the bottom and forming a shoulder yoke. They were paired with purple helmets, gloves and pants. The names and numbers were yellow outlined in purple. These uniforms were worn in *The Mighty Ducks*.

In *D2: The Mighty Ducks*, the team wore a brand new set of uniforms, this one inspired by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL hockey team. They featured a duck-shaped goalie mask with hockey sticks behind it on a green triangle, worn on white jerseys, with jade, purple, and silver colors on the sleeves and bottom hem. The numbers were purple, with a jade and white outline while the nameplates had purple letters. Once again, they were worn with purple pants, but with white helmets. The uniforms were slightly modified in *D3: The Mighty Ducks* when the team wore them during their matchup with the Eden Hall Warriors. The changes are mostly noticeable on the numbers and logo.

Many years later, in a new era of jersey making, the Ducks wore a modernized set of their uniforms from the past. They included home and road uniforms (purple and white respectively) with a forward facing duck mask logo. After the team lost to the Don't Bothers in an exhibition game, this set was retired in favor of the original green jerseys and purple pants the team wore in their first year. In 2022, the Ducks wore a simplistic jersey set with a wordmark reading "Mighty Ducks" on a green jersey. For their matchup against Team Canada, the Ducks would make their most outstanding uniform change yet. Prior to their match with Team Canada in Anaheim, the team was introduced to a uniform set blending old elements with new colors. The side facing duck mask logo with sticks behind it returned with an orange triangle, and the sleeve ends featured orange, gold, and black stripes.