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Ducks Tales: A Brotherly Pass – The Niedermayers

By Ed Stein

ANAHEIM, CA - JUNE 06: Rob Niedermayer #44 of the Anaheim Ducks and brother Scott Niedermayer #27 pose with their mother Carol and the Stanley Cup after their team's victory over the Ottawa Senators in Game Five of the n June 6, 2007 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The Ducks won the game 6-2. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - JUNE 06: Rob Niedermayer #44 of the Anaheim Ducks and brother Scott Niedermayer #27 pose with their mother Carol and the Stanley Cup after their team's victory over the Ottawa Senators in Game Five of the n June 6, 2007 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The Ducks won the game 6-2. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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The 2006-07 season was the most memorable season in Ducks history. A that stands out was when captain Scott Niedermayer picked up the Stanley Cup and handed it off to his brother Rob for a victory lap.

If you played hockey growing up, you dreamed about hoisting the Stanley Cup and taking your skate around the ice with it over your head. You would then hand it off and celebrate with your teammates. I’m sure very few of you ever in your wildest dreams thought about handing it off to your sibling. Scott Niedermayer did; and it happened on June 6, 2007, when Ducks captain handed the cup to his younger brother Rob.

The Setup

2007 wasn’t the first time the Niedermayer brothers played in the same Stanley Cup finals. The two met up in the 2003 cup finals. Unfortunately, Anaheim’s first finals appearance ended in disappointment. Scott would lead the New Jersey Devils to the series win over Rob’s Ducks. It was New Jersey’s third franchise title and Scott’s second.

Rob took the loss hard, he wasn’t sure he would have another shot at a title. “It was a tough situation, to say the least,” Scott told NHL.com. That all changed when Scott signed with the Ducks in August of 2005 and joined Rob in Anaheim. It took a little while for the Ducks began to gel under new coach Randy Carlyle that year. Eventually, Anaheim made it to the Western Conference Finals before bowing out of the post-season, but the table had been set.

A Year to Remember

The 2006-07 was a magical season. The Ducks collected what was at the time a franchise high 110 points. They went through the first three rounds of the playoffs with a 12-4 record resulting in a trip to the cup finals against Ottawa. Again, the Ducks were dominant in a series, winning the finals four games to one. As a result, the Anaheim Ducks were Stanley Cup champions.

Scott, the team captain, took the cup, hoisted it over his head and handed it to his younger brother Rob. It was a moment that transcended the sport and only a very few have ever experienced. Rob told reporters later that night, “It’s the best feeling I have ever had in my career.”

The moment wasn’t lost on Scott either. “You can only dream of passing it to your brother,” Scott, said to Reuters. “To be able to do that is definitely a highlight of my career.”

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