The Mighty Ducks Still Shine
Monday · Oct 14 · 2013 | 1:25 AM PDT
Photo from Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim looked fantastic on Throwback Night
I still puzzle over this one. Why did the NHL have to lose one of its coolest brands? And make no mistake, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were definitely among the best. And don't give me a lame business or marketing excuse. This uniform should still be making regular appearances every night.
Sunday night was a special one in Ducks history. Not only did they pay homage to their inaugural team with the most crowded ceremonial puck drop ever, but they did it in style by breaking out the old eggplant and jade jerseys no one can forget.
Photos from Anaheim Ducks
Twenty years on, those uniforms still look great. Is the crest a little cartoony? Maybe, but it's a classic. Are the colors a little unusual? Of course, but that's what gave this team its identity! Anyone who doesn't love these jerseys doesn't love hockey uniforms for the right reasons.
Photos from Anaheim Ducks
One of my favorite rules of good sweater design is whether the team is still recognizable without the crest. This one absolutely is! The current Ducks jerseys are as well, for the most part, but for the wrong reasons. All three California teams wear black and, for one of the sunnier states in the union, that's sad.
Look at this. Is there any question this is a California team? Can't say that about the black and gold.
Photo provided by Paul Gheduzzi
Icethetics reader Paul Gheduzzi was at the game Sunday night and snapped a few pictures during warm-ups. I particularly like seeing the original Mighty Ducks third jersey from 1996 in the crowd above. Still have one of those hanging in my closet.
Photo provided by Paul Gheduzzi
One of my favorite aspects of Ducks' Throwback Night was how even the TV side got involved! Throughout the game, Prime Ticket used classic-colored graphics and the Mighty Ducks logo and even mixed in a few old-style Chyron overlays.
Stills from Prime Ticket (via NHL GameCenter Live)
I enjoyed the use of the original Ottawa Senators logo too. Some Icethetics readers wondered if the Sens had planned to surprise us with an early '90s throwback of their own. But this was Anaheim's night, so it wouldn't have made much sense.
It was a pretty spectacular night all around for jersey geeks and Mighty Ducks fans. So the next question we have to ask... will they do it again?
The Ducks haven't announced plans for any other throwback nights this season, but given how popular this one was (on Twitter at least; I wasn't at the Honda Center), I could see them scheduling one more later in the year.
Could Ducks go Mighty again for outdoor game?
Let's not forget that the Ducks will play an outdoor game on Jan. 25, 2014. They will meet the Los Angeles Kings at Dodger Stadium as part of the NHL's new Stadium Series. (All five teams involved are expected to have special sweaters for the games.)
But before you point out that teams wear white on the road (and the Ducks would be considered the road team for this game), understand that none of the standard rules really apply when we talk about these outdoor "event" games.
The Sabres wore white when they hosted the first ever Winter Classic in 2008. In this season's Winter Classic, neither team will wear white. Plus, if the Ducks and Kings wear throwbacks, they'd be "throwing back" to a time before 2003 when teams did wear white at home.
I point this out not because I don't want to see a white version of the Mighty Ducks jersey again, but because it would make more economic sense for Reebok to produce just one throwback jersey for the Ducks in a single season rather than two. This is an outdoor game, but it's one of four so it won't be as big a deal as the actual Winter Classic. (In other words, I'm tempering expectations.)
So that's my take. What's yours? And what did you think of seeing the Mighty Ducks on the ice again after seven years? Would you want to see more or less of them in the future?
Reader Comments (45)
Those awful 1996 ducks jersey are far from classic. They are a cartoony, eyesore.
Very simple - yes! As a Brit who lives hockey, any time I talk about ice hockey with anyone they always say: "oh, like the mighty ducks". It wa the best & easiest team for anyone to follow & become a fan. It's a great shame, and they need to become mighty!!!
I do not think of California when I see eggplant and teal on a jersey. For some reason, I think of Florida.
LOVED them. They look awesome and would love to see them come back permanently. You make an excellent point about all of the Cali teams wearing black. There is definitely precedent too for bringing back older styled jerseys. Look at my Isles. They first brought back the royal blue for a throwback night as well. Then it became the third jersey. Then it became the full time jersey. Judging from the response I hope the Ducks are considering the same thing.
I absolutely loved seeing these throwbacks. I wish they would go back to these as their main uniforms next season. While I don't mind the current sweaters, they don't stand out and "wow" me like these always have.
Nice to have color back in the league (even for 1 night) cause ya know we need more teams to wear black regular uniforms an 3rds!
If reebok was able to recreate this jersey without using an edge template except for the collar and cut, why did all teams have to change their uniforms?
The Ducks WILL wear an orange based jersey at the Dodgers Stadium game vs. the LA Kings.
I noticed that the commentators were also using microphones with the old Prime Ticket logo. It was very subtle, but it was very nice.
I don't remember the teal coming up so high back in the day. I wish it wasn't such a large portion of the jersey. I've always hated the fact the team was given it's name based off a Disney movie, and always thought the logo was way minor league. Having said that, these are way better than the monstrocities they wear today. The Ducks could go for a complete rebranding, name included, and I'd be ok with that.
Rumor is that the jersey will be a reworked version of the current 3rd jersey with the Mighty Duck logo in front. Maybe moves the shoulder patch to the front.
I LOVE those old jerseys, always have. The Ducks current home and road are easily the worst uniforms in the NHL. They seriously need to go back to these old jersey.
My guess is we see a repeat of the game with the Wild Wing and Burger King sweaters.
Just, wow. Last night has been one of the most beautiful experiences I've ever had as a fan of hockey. For many, many reasons, I really enjoyed last night.
I haven't really cared about old team jerseys and logos until recently, I don't recall watching a Mighty Ducks game on TV growing up, even though I probably did watch one or two. But, as a person who has come to immensely appreciate something like this, this was a whole night of wonderful sensation for me, from the expected, and unexpected.
Ever since I heard they were planning this throwback night, I was more than ecstatic, and couldn't wait to see the eggplant and jade return to the ice with those iconic Disney-designed jersey and logo. I remember vividly seeing them a lot through my childhood, I played the old video games a lot and have all the old jerseys embedded into my mind from seeing them a lot in the old games (I was very interested in aesthetics back then as well, in sports games I always looked through every team's jerseys, which is how I had a pretty good knowledge of them prior to learning more about them a couple years ago).
Yesterday was the big day, I was more than excited. It was the return of one of the greatest, most memorable hockey, no, sports identities in history. It was very strong, an unusual origin, yes, but it had an incredible following since 1993, and many, many jersey enthusiasts like myself, and Anaheim fans alike, have come to put this idneitity at the top, or near the top, of our favorites list. It's unique, it's nostalgic, it's historic and legendary. It's immediately noticeable, and I could not have been more glad that they brought them back. But, no, my list of reasons for enjoying last night's experience does not end there.
I love the 90's. I love the decade so much, and not just for the hockey jerseys from the era. I mostly love what those years had to offer. I occasionally go online and look up stuff about the decade, what events happened, what pop culture was like, what commercials and TV shows were popular. I like 90's-style things, logos (of sports teams, companies, websites, etc.), I like the old, rough, staticy effect you get from watching old VHS tapes, I love old artifacts, movies, video games, I love all of it. I may not have really been a 90's kid (I was born in 1996, but I have one or two memories from the end of the decade), I still love and appreciate the decade as much as anyone who grew up through most of it. So, from that, you can expect all that they did for last night was something that made me feel all good inside.
If you were there, you could probably almost swear it was the 90's. Mostly everything that was seen and heard at that game came or was inspired from the decade. First, and most obvious, the 1993/94-1995/96 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim uniforms. Sick, and classic. Everyone loves and remembers them. The ones that originated from the movie, the sequel to the original Mighty Ducks, were the white ones, and they brought them to the new team in '93, in a matter of amazing decisions, and made a purple one for the road games. The jersey they used was in a Reebok Edge cut, which transferred surprisingly well, I'm glad the old design could fit on the new template. They didn't put the Mighty Ducks shoulder patch they used from 1996/97 to their last Mighty season in 2005/06. I personally would have thought it would have been cool, but this is a tribute to the inaugural season. Although, a minor thing, the helmet logo was the primary logo, and not the old Mighty Ducks script which was used on the helmets from 1993-2003, which is kind of disappointing, but not a major letdown.
In addition to the jerseys the layers wore, a whole horde of the crowd wore old Mighty Ducks merchandise: shirts, jerseys (I don't think I saw a Wild Wing one in there), hats, among other things. They had 90's music playing at the Pond (yes, I dare call it that!). They had the old goal horn (which would inevitably go off that night!), and Rock and Roll (also known as the Hey Song), one of the best goal songs in my opinion. They don't nearly use it that much today (though the Pens use it currently as they always have), it's one of the most iconic and most used songs in sports, especially in the 90's. As a song in general, it takes me back to the years I wasn't even alive. It feels great.
One of the things I absolutely loved the most is thay they played their original intro video (from 1993 I guess? From what little I saw of it I saw that it had 90's logos and animation that seemed to hail from the decade), which is something I would really love to see the full version of. In any case, I'm shocked they kept such a thing over the years, and hopefully they uploadi to somewhere for archival and nostalgic purposes. The arena and LED boards had Mighty Ducks logos and colors all over, and I'm glad they payed attention to small details like that. Speaking of small details, it was a nice little unexpected surprise to see the old Senators logo, of which is one of my favorites in the league, used among the Anaheim logo from the time. Ottawa is only one year older than the Mighty Ducks, if they were born the same year, the Sens could have brought back their old sweaters as well. But hey, it's good enough,
One of my favorite parts was the broadcast. It was amazing to see 90's-esque on screen graphics for the player introductions and the commercial intermission score bugs. It really added a whole new level of throwback to the table. The Mighty Ducks-related stuff that Prime Ticket had to offer was amazing, they had the original colors, even the old logo for the wipe/transition. It just really shows how much time and effort went into putting the littlest details for this event, and that is why watching it made me very happy. It was a heck of an experience for the people that were graced with tickets to the game, but I myself have enjoyed it a lot just watching the television broadcast.
It has strongly revived my true love for the Mighty Ducks identity, and has urged me even more to get old (and new, they're going to sell old-style merch around the holidays in the store website!) Mighty Ducks merchandise, and I plan to. This revival of an old brand has done and will do more wonders for the team and fans in the future. The jerseys and event itself could have brought them the glorious 4-1 victory. Hopefully they will being back the uniforms in the future, or maybe some more changes invoking them can come in the future. Only time will tell.
I was amazed at their commitment to the throwback. Played the old siren/Garry Glitter combo, found the old emblems at the ends of the arena, hell even the board graphics were the originals. Ducks may not have much history, but they sure did it proud! Wish I was there.
If you look on the Ducks third jersey schedule it says *Retro jersey for retro night and *outdoor jersey for the outdoor game so I assume they will be separate jerseys and I hope it's the white version that would be awesome.
Huge success in my eyes they definitely did it right and OMG did those duds look beautiful , IMO they gotta bring this look back it is so much nicer then the simple "D" duck logo and if they can't bring it all the way back at least wear it a few more times it just looked right .
I wasn't sure how I felt about this when it was announced. I don't like Anaheim's current logo or jerseys, so I was kinda open to giving these another chance, but these still didn't do it for me. The color scheme clashes with itself and has little contrast. The logo, diagonal stripe, and pretty much everything else is steeped in 90s quirk. It was fun to see them back in action for nostalgia's sake but that doesn't make them good.
NASCARFAN160, that was a great- no, that was a MIGHTY post! Kudos to you, and to the Mighty Ducks game and win last night! Setting a new team record with 56 shots-on-goal was icing on the cake. Like Anaheim G Jonas Hiller, I feel bad for Ottawa G Robin Lehner. But I actually feel worse for Senators G Craig Anderson. Lehner stopped 45 of 47 shots v. Anaheim, only a night after stopping 47 of 50 shots against San Jose. Anderson who? LOL! Also, IMO, It was nice to see former Mighty Duck Bobby Ryan get a goal in his return to Anaheim; no matter how Anaheim fans may feel about him now. BTW, who were all the former Mighty Ducks at the opening ceremony? I easily recognize Stu Grimson, what with him being a former Predator who now does radio color for Nashville. And, for the record, while I was never actually followed Anaheim to any extent (aside from the short time personal fave Ron Tugnutt played in net for them), I did have a Mighty Ducks t-shirt in junior high-school. Anyhoo...
Yep this needs to stay, use the orange and black for a 3rd but bring back the plum and jade. With the Kings, Sharks, Islanders, Bruins, Hurricanes, Coyotes, Penguins, Sens all with black jerseys a little color doesn't hurt at all. Since the kings killed off their retro purple jersey, purple is gone from the NHL. The NHL only has a couple stand out color schemes like the San jose Teal, Dallas's new Green, Philly orange, But as it stands right now there's 6 red and blue teams alone, 12 Red teams, 10 blue teams. New fans come and go but classic looks no matter how cartoony people say they are last forever.
Simple put, the Mighty Ducks where in my top three favourite teams, and the Ducks are not in my top twenty. I have a home and away Mighty Ducks jersey, but I will never buy a Ducks.
My absolute favorite part was watching and seeing Teemu in that old jersey i miss seeing that
I love it, it was awesome to see these back for a few times. Why not bring that awesome logo back and mix it with the current black, gold, and orange sweater?! Move the Webbed-D as a secondary patch.
Chris, extremely well-said. Even as the Anaheim Ducks, which I prefer, those uniforms are perfect for Anaheim. I've already made my feelings well known about the colours(LOVE THEM), but the logo really tells the story:
Goalie mask: Hockey element
Duck shape of the mask: Team name
Reason behind team name: Disneyland, the first Disney-themed park of its kind.
They looked amazing, I love everything about the old Mighty Ducks so I was in my glory watching the entire game last night, plus their domination of the Sens. From the TV graphics, jumbo-tron/in arena graphics, goal horn, and all the classic music. The Ducks did a helluva job of making it a true throwback experience, I really wish these come back as primaries or even 3rds one day. Hopefully we'll find out more about the outdoor game very soon.
When I played minor hockey for TASA in Tantallon Nova Scotia, we always had plain burgundy jersey's. Then one practice they announced we were getting new uniform sets. Out skated a few of our teammates dressed in the Eggplant and Jade, Ducks style! Both home and away sets. I have been partial to this look ever since.
Jersey's look great the logo however is still awful.
While we're at it, why not bring back the old Senators look? That logo in they used in the TV overlays is umpteen times better.
I can tell you this much: it wasn't even a sellout crowd and I have NEVER seen the Pond more crowded. It was an amazing atmosphere, and everyone loved it. I could not have been happier to see those jerseys come back, and I know I'm not alone on that.
I also agree these jerseys are amazing and should replace the horrible set they currently wear. I do also think that the teal does take up more of the jersey than the ones in the 90s looks a little awkward when you notice it.
I was never a big fan of the Mighty Ducks jerseys back then, but now I must admit they look fantastic. A thousand times better than the ugly black-gold-orange rags they dress up in nowadays.
The dark maroon/purple-ish color is great.
They would be a lot better if the teal part was much smaller though. Not that the color is ugly, but the jerseydesign isn't top notch.
I love the colours (except for the silver), but hate the diagonal stripe.
The logo.... idk, it still kind of has a feeling of "if you wear this you'll get beat up" LOL. But it's simple and memorable, which are good things.
Really don't understand all the love for this jersey and it pretty much sums up the awful jerseys of the 90s. First of all the colours are terrible. They may suit the friends of Barney the dinosaur or a muppet but a pro-hockey team? And the logo is down right offensive! Could anything be more symbolic of the NHL's corporate sell-out? Seriously, a logo based on a Disney movie for kids? They may as well have just used some Mickey Mouse ears in the logo. What a joke! Give me the Wings or Hawks jerseys any day.
So these look great, agreed.
But can we start talking about how they cut this jersey together?
Obviously the stripes are a departure from the usual Reebok EDGE templates - so it stands to reason that teams such as Colorado and Calgary (and to some degree Dallas) can return to their late 90s triangular hem stripes.
Fingers crossed.
Colors aside that logo has character regardless of weather you like it or not. Colors are okay for current ducks uniform but that black jersey with typo font logo makes me feel like the team has no soul.
@Peter Please, yes! I was afraid they wouldn't be able to make the old design on the Edge template. I hope that the Avs bring back their old unis for the 2015/16 season (their 20th anniversary), and the Stars bring it back as a throwback one day. Whatever the case, thank goodness this is possible! I can't wait.
@pete: That's fair, and to each his own. But are you saying you'd want the Ducks to look like the Wings and Hawks? Or every team to look like the Wings and Hawks? Wouldn't that degrade the Wings and Hawks. But you can't grade the Mighty Ducks on that scale. These are teams from very different eras.
And but for its history, I dare anyone here not to call the Wings uniforms "boring" or "uninspired." We like it now because it has stood the test of time, not because it's particularly good design. No one put a lot of thought into hockey sweaters in the 1920s. They just needed to differentiate themselves from the other teams in the league.
On that point, the Mighty Ducks were successful. Nobody looked like them before and nobody since. But nobody here is comparing the Mighty Ducks to the Red Wings. Nor would fans of the eggplant and jade want to see the Red Wings look anything like that. The point is that on its own, the Mighty Ducks had a great looking uniform. And the only thing we're comparing it to is what they wear today.
Also, you're misusing the word "offensive." And probably "sell-out." Whatever you may think, a hockey team is still a business, not a work of untainted art, a fact I'm sure you've heard many times. Regardless of how the team's name and logo came about, it stood out as a great brand and still does as evidenced Sunday night.
The Original Six teams have great histories and uniforms, no question, but, to quote you, could anything be more symbolic of the stagnation and unwillingness of traditionalists to stop living in the past? Keep your Wings and Hawks jerseys. I'll keep the Mighty Ducks.
Also, pete, I apologize for calling you out. It's not personal (since I don't know you) but I needed a naysayer to pick on. I certainly respect that you prefer the Wings and Hawks to the Mighty Ducks. Many do. I just don't buy your reasons for why the Mighty Ducks were bad.
I want to see them apply their old colour scheme to their new jersey design. Both their old jersey and their new one have an upward-slanting waist stripe, just the newer one is, well... obviously more modern-looking. Imagine if you replace every instance of black with eggplant, every instance of orange with jade, and every instance of gold with light-grey? They'd be unique and modern. I think it would look great, but maybe I'm the only one.
And yeah, I too love those old alternate jerseys.
I'm thinking we see white Gretzky-era Kings jerseys against these ones at the game at Chavez Ravine.
I wonder how many guys have worn an original and then had the same jersey on for their "throwback night". That probably didn't make Teemu feel young but it was awesome..
I completely agree with everything you've said. Yeah, the uni's aren't the greatest colour scheme and the logos a bit cheesy, but that was their identity. Those films skyrocketed hockey for younger generations in non-traditional hockey markets. I'm from Raleigh, NC and am a huge Hurricanes and hockey fan, but without early Nintendo hockey video games and Charlie Conway with the formidable triple deak, I don't think I would gave stumbled upon the greatest sport in the world. So by all means bring back the eggplant Disney jerseys and give this game changing franchise their identity back.
Quack, Quack, Quack.
The original Mighty Ducks uniforms were far from cool. Those uniforms were designed with children in mind. I don't think I have personally ever seen anyone over the age of 15 wearing one of those sweaters in public.
Imagine being an NHL player who worked your tail off your entire life, with dreams of sporting the majestic blue, blanc & rouge of the Canadiens, or the black and yellow of the powerful Bruins, and instead wound up playing in a uniform that resembled kiddie pyjamas complete with a Donald Duck logo. If a team of 8-10 year olds wore that uniform, fine. But was embarrassing to see grown men wearing that awful Disney crap.
Even the name was awful, "Mighty Ducks of Anaheim"....blech. Thank God they changed their entire identity and now wear uniforms suitable for adults.
The jerseys were awesome, I thought the change of name and uniforms was to do with Disney,
Clearly not if they were able to wear them the other night...
I only wish they would make the change back and regain identity...and also the sense should do the same, that new logo has never sat right in my eyes, bring back the side on, classic, retro look is timeless and hence always looks good!!
Just think about the eastern teams that still look awesome today bruins, habs, leafs etc....timeless!!
Hey Chris, thanks for commenting on my post. I can understand the points you make and I totally agree that teams should differentiate themselves. It’s true the new Ducks uniforms are nothing special and no, I would never want all the teams to look like the Hawks or Wings. That being said, I still believe a certain classic style should be respected. A hockey jersey should still look like a hockey jersey. IMO the new uniforms that came out this year from DAL, MIN and CAR all do a good job of that …to a varying degree. Teams need to remember that just because they want something “new” or “fresh”, it doesn’t give the designers the right to do whatever they want just to be different. Call me a traditionalist but I’m sorry, all those kitschy jerseys from the 90s still make me cringe … NYI’s Capt. Highliner, LA’s Burger King, BOS’s teddy bear, PHX’s Picasso coyote. What disasters! Maybe the Mighty Ducks weren’t as bad those but they’re not far behind.
But the worst of all with “The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim” was the Disneyfication of an NHL team. Debating the quality of designs is one thing (people will always disagree about piping or fonts or whatever) … but naming your team after a company’s product? That should not be up for debate! Hell, I could even live with their diagonal striping and wacky colors but there is no way I could ever accept the name and logo. It’s like the New York Red Bulls and it is most definitely a corporate sell-out. This type of “co-branding” is bad enough but to do it with a Disney movie for children is just pathetic. Bush league. Maybe the Ducks’ new uniforms aren’t the best but at least they’re not a caricature. Look, I understand that pro-sports are a business and corporate sponsorships are a fact of life but really? We’ve gone from ads covering the arena and ice to the actual team name being an ad? Let's not go there. Next they’ll start slapping the ads all over the jerseys/helmets like in the European leagues.
I love seeing the Ducks in the eggplant and jade again. When I first got into hockey they were my team and Paul Kariya was my favorite player. As a kid from north Alabama I never was able to follow the Ducks and I have since become a Predators fan, but without the Ducks I doubt I would even care about hockey. Also being a graduate of a high school and a student of a university who both use purple as their primary color, it makes me sad that no one in the NHL uses it for their primary color any more.
@pete: I hate to say it, but there are quite a few sports teams, let alone hockey clubs that are named after some sort of business.
And if you really want to get down to brass tax- the Mighty Ducks weren't sell-outs in the films. In all three films the Ducks rebel against any sort of commercialisation. The movie team represented so much more than just Disney- diversity- they had Hispanic, African-American, Jewish, and young women. It showed that kids can succeed through diversity, working hard, and not selling out. I'd be proud to represent and wear an eggplant jersey if that's what it stood for. In fact from reading your comment, there was a little Charlie Conway coming through, you might be a duck after all.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/22915/whats-nickname-origins-all-30-nhl-team-names