Anaheim Mighty Ducks History.

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, professional hockey team and one of five teams in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Named for the Walt Disney movie “The Mighty Ducks,” the team plays at an arena called Arrowhead Pond near Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and wears uniforms of purple, jade, silver, and white.

After the success of other professional hockey teams in California, such as the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, Walt Disney Corporation petitioned the NHL for the rights to an expansion team and the franchise was awarded in 1992. In 1993 the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim joined the league with another expansion team, the Florida Panthers. The Ducks played respectably in their inaugural season under head coach Ron Wilson, finishing fourth in the Pacific Division and making a run for a playoff berth. The Ducks fell to last place in the Pacific Division in the strike-shortened 1994-95 season.

Left wing Paul Kariya emerged as one of the league’s best forwards in the 1995-96 season. He led the Ducks with 50 goals, was selected for the NHL All-Star First Team, and won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the league’s most gentlemanly player. In the 1996-97 season the Ducks, under the scoring leadership of Kariya and right wing Teemu Selanne, made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. There they were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings.