Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (NHL, 1993-94)

1993-94 Regular Season Opener:
Mighty Ducks vs. Detroit Red Wings

     NHL hockey arrived in Anaheim, California, in 1993, as the Walt Disney Corporation purchased an expansion franchise. Disney executive Michael Eisner was named governor of the new team, called "The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim", in honor of the popular Mighty Ducks kids movies. The Ducks called the new 17,174-seat Arrowhead Pond home. The Ducks were the third NHL franchise to call California home, the most of any state or province.
     Jack Ferreira, formerly the Director of Pro Scouting for the Montreal Canadiens, was named the team's first General Manager. He, in turn, named Ron Wilson the franchise's first coach. Wilson, who played in the NHL with Toronto and Minnesota in the 1970s and 1980s, was an assistant coach for the Vancouver Canucks from 1990-93, helping lead the Canucks to two straight Smythe Division titles. The Ducks stayed in California when looking for a farm team, signing with the IHL's San Diego Gulls.
     Expectations were low for both the Mighty Ducks and the other expansion team, the Florida Panthers. Most expansion franchises are bottom-feeders for their first few seasons, as they are stocked with castaways from other teams and are forced to build through the draft. Recent expansion franchises in Ottawa, Tampa Bay and San Jose were especially brutal in their first season of play.
     However, both the Ducks and Panthers were surprisingly competitive. Anaheim finished the season with a 33-46-5 record. While a finish like that might be a letdown for an established franchise, it was a record-setter for the Ducks. Both expansion teams, in fact, won 33 games, shattering the NHL record for most wins by a first-year franchise, previously 31 by the 1967-68 Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers. Anaheim finished ninth overall in the Western Conference standings, 11 points back of San Jose, but 5 ahead of defending conference champion Los Angeles. The fans responded to the Ducks' surprising season, as they averaged 16,728 per game at The Pond, or 97.4% capacity.

    The Mighty Ducks weren't that mighty on offense, scoring the fourth-fewest goals in the NHL, with 229. Center Terry Yake, formerly of Hartford, led the team with 21 goals and 52 points. Center Bob Corkum, picked up from Buffalo, led the team in goals with 23. They were the only two players on the roster that scored over 20 goals that year, as Garry Valk was next in line with a mere 18. Todd Ewen, coming off a Stanley Cup with Montreal, supplied the muscle, picking up 273 penalty minutes. Following Ewen to the "sin bin" is heavyweight contender Stu "Grim Reaper" Grimson, who racked up 199 PIM in 77 games.
     The Ducks' defense was a surprise this season, as the team allowed just 251 goals, ninth-best in the NHL. Anaheim's starting goalie was Guy Hebert, a 26-year old formerly of St. Louis. In his first starting job, Hebert played in 52 games, going 20-27-3 with an impressive 2.83 GAA and 2 shutouts. His backup for most of the season was veteran Ron Tugnutt, formerly of Edmonton. Before being dealt to Montreal at the deadline, Tugnutt went 10-15-1 with a 3.00 GAA and 1 shutout. After Tugnutt was dealt, Mikhail Shtalenkov finished out the season, with a 3-4-1 record and 2.65 GAA. Defenseman Bill Houlder (drafted from Buffalo) had a career year, scoring 14 goals and 39 points in 80 games.
     While the Mighty Ducks didn't qualify for the playoffs, they had an excellent inaugural campaign to build upon. The team drafted wisely before the season too, selecting University of Maine left winger Paul Kariya with the fourth overall pick. Kariya would soon become the face of the franchise.
     This program is from the Ducks' home opener on October 8, 1993. Their opponent was the Detroit Red Wings, a powerful team coming off a 47-28-9 season in 1992-93 and would win the Central Division in 1993-94. The Wings were loaded with future Hall-of-Famers, such as: Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Dino Ciccarelli, Paul Coffey, Nicklas Lidstrom, Mark Howe and head coach Scotty Bowman. Needless to say, the Wings rolled to a 7-2 victory, spoiling the opener in front of a sellout crowd of 17,174.
     The rosters for both teams that night is on the left. They were in the middle of this program, on their own page in a huge Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water ad. Former Wings defensemen Randy Ladoceur and Bobby Dollas played the full season on the Anaheim blueline. Former Flint Spirit, Saginaw Hawk and future Detroit Viper Lonnie Loach played three games for the Ducks before spending the rest of the year in San Diego.
     This program is 40 pages long, all in color and on glossy paper. Paul Kariya is profiled on pages 28-29, with Ferreira saying he was "best suited for the franchise". Head Coach Ron Wilson was interviewed for the inaugural program on pages 34-35. Wilson described his goals for the new team, the difference between building from scratch and a rebuild, the upcoming rivalry with the LA Kings, and his expectations for Kariya. The front office, including Governor Michael Eisner have bio articles in the beginning of the program.
     Local advertisements include Disneyland, Rembrandt Mouth-Washing Rinse ("Positively Alcohol Free"), Pavilions Party Platters, KLAC 570 AM and Glacial Garden Ice Arena. The San Diego Gulls are featured on page 27, which includes their promotional schedule, box office number, and what radio station the Gulls will be on (AM 600 in Orange County).

Aftermath: Led by Kariya and recently acquired superstar Teemu Selanne, the Mighty Ducks would qualify for the postseason for the first time in 1996-97, losing to Detroit in the second round. They would reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 2002-03, falling to New Jersey in a thrilling seven-game series. Disney sold the franchise in 2005 to Henry and Susan Samueli, who rebranded the team as "Anaheim Ducks", with gold, orange and black uniforms. The Ducks would win their first Stanley Cup in 2006-07, defeating Ottawa in five games. 

References:

National Hockey League Season Statistics: 1993-94,  from hockeydb.com

Mighty Ducks Tonight 1993-94 Regular Season Program