Five Applicable Life Lessons We Can Learn From The Anaheim Ducks

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Even though their season ended prematurely, we can all learn a lesson or two from the Anaheim Ducks. Pucks of a Feather contributor, Ciara Durant, explains five life lessons she has learned while watching the Ducks in action.

I’ve been watching the Anaheim Ducks play hockey since my junior year of high school. Of course, compared to most of you, that isn’t a long time. When I am passionate about something, I go all in. After listening to my first Ducks game, I went all in and I haven’t looked back.

You could argue like my family does, that hockey was just some haphazard fandom that decided to shoot me in the butt like one of cupids arrows. My brother used to tease me that I had, “jumped onto the hockey bandwagon and landed on my head.”

Regardless, that statement has no merit. My home state of Washingon hasn’t been excited about professional ice hockey since the Seattle Metropolitans won the Stanley Cup back in 1917.

Since becoming a Ducks fan, hockey has been an integral part of my life. It is, in large part, the reason I am who I am. As it is with every sport, there is a significant learning curve when you first start following. It took me a while to learn the in’s and out’s of hockey. Nevertheless, now that I know the sport, I’ve noticed that the learning hasn’t stopped, it’s just beginning.

Let’s break down five life lessons we can all learn from watching the Anaheim Ducks.

Lesson One: You Miss 100% of the Shots You Don’t Take.

19 Dec 1995: Goaltender Chris Terreri of the San Jose Sharks (right) defends the goal during a game against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. The Sharks won the game, 7-4. /

Just like the Anaheim Ducks, every shot not taken is a goal never made. If you have a goal, the only way you’re ever going to obtain it is by taking a shot at it.

During their second season as a franchise, the Anaheim Ducks and the rest of the NHL played a shortened season. This was due to the infamous 1994-95 lockout. Despite the shortened 48 game season, the Anaheim Ducks went through what was probably one of the worst seasons in franchise history. They ended with a 16-27-5 season and fell into the bottom spot in both the Pacific Division and Western Conference. Overall, they were 24th in the league.

One of their biggest issues that season was lack of goal scoring. During that season, they had 1,346 shots on goal. In a shortened season, that number doesn’t seem too terrible. Once you realize that over half of the league had at least one hundred more shots on goal, a you gain a better perspective.

That is one hundred missed opportunities to score a goal, to improve your gameplay, or to rise above other teams in the league. If the Ducks would have taken more shots, perhaps they would not have had such an atrocious season.

Lesson Two: Not Every Victory Shows Up On A Scoreboard

ANAHEIM, CA – NOVEMBER 19: A general view of the scoreboard is seen displaying the names of NHL Hall of Fame inductees and former Ducks players Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne on November 19, 2017. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /

Every victory comes from working hard and pushing forward. However, being victorious doesn’t mean you always win. Being victorious means you have the aptitude to overcome.

Take this season for example. The Ducks were swept by San Jose in Round One. The bigger picture was that they still made it to the playoffs. An impressive feat considering the odds were stacked against them.

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The Ducks started this season off with a plethora of injuries. Then, throughout the first few months, it just seemed to get worse. There was not a player on the roster this season that played all 82 games (cough Andrew Cogliano).

Once everyone was healthy, for the most part, it took the team a while to find their way back to normalcy. All of the injuries had shuffled the top six forwards and changed pairings on the blue line so frequently, they had to learn to play as a team again.

Many people wrote the Ducks off at the beginning of the season. The team was in and out of playoff position while their players waited in line to the see the training staff. Yet, still, we saw the incredible happen. The Ducks came back and stole the second place Pacific Division playoff spot.

Even though they didn’t advance past the first round, they still had major season victories to celebrate. Victories that didn’t necessarily show up on a scoreboard.

Lesson Three: When You Get Hit, Come Back Swinging Harder

ANAHEIM, CA – APRIL 4: Mark Giordano #5 of the Calgary Flames and Josh Manson #42 of the Anaheim Ducks fight during the third period of the game at Honda Center on April 4, 2017. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images) /

We’ve all had moments when it feels like life has thrown off its gloves and superman punched us right in the face. Sometimes it’s difficult to rebound afterward. However, I’ve learned that adversity isn’t won in the fetal position. We’ve got to get up and come back swinging harder.

There are many instances I could use as an example. However, I decided to take to Twitter to see my fellow Ducks fans had to say.

My question was simple: “What has been your favorite fight to break out at a Ducks game?”

My only stipulation was that it had to of happened within the past few seasons. I wanted it to be a fight that was still relatively fresh in everyone’s minds.

My fellow contributor here at Pucks of a Feather, Jake Robles, quickly jumped in with his answer; as he is always so kind to do whenever I have a Ducks related question.

“That faithful night that #WeAreAllJoshManson was born and Twitter collectively lost their minds.” -Jake Robles, Contributor at Pucks of a Feather

On April 4th, 2017 the Ducks faced off against the Calgary Flames. In a monumental third period, the two teams had a combined total of 17 penalties.

Seven minutes into the period, defenseman Josh Manson went head to head with Flames defenseman Mark Giordano. As soon as Giordano got in his first attack, Manson wasted no time throwing punches. Josh Manson knocked Giorando to his knees and skated away, not only the clear winner but also dubbed as the hero of the game.

Lesson Four: Ducks Fly Together

ANAHEIM, CA – MARCH 2: Jakob Silfverberg #33 and Andrew Cogliano #7 of the Anaheim Ducks battle in a fight against Ryan Murray #27 and Cam Atkinson #13 of the Columbus Blue Jackets during the game on March 2, 2018. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Ducks Nation isn’t just the Anaheim Ducks fan base. We are a community that has been brought together due to our undifferentiated love for the Anaheim Ducks. We believe in our team, win or lose. Not only do we defend our team, but we defend each other.

I remember an incident that happened near the end of the season.

On March 2, 2018, Anaheim defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets. John Gibson was back in action after missing three games due to a lower-body injury. We also welcomed Jason Chimera and Chris Kelly to the ice.

The Ducks and Blue Jackets entered the second period tied with one goal each. The tie didn’t last long as the Ducks scored the next two goals. Then, with seven minutes left in the period, a fight broke out among the players.

The fight originally started between Andrew Cogliano and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Ryan Kesler, Jakob Silfverberg, and Marcus Pettersson joined in on all the action followed by a barrage of Blue Jackets. Then, we see usually calm, cool, collected Cam Fowler fly over the pile of hockey players and practically face plant into the ice.

It was not his intended move. Rather it turned out to be a comical representation that the Ducks fly together. They will defend each other when the time comes.

Lesson Five: Keep Calm and Don’t Pull a Nick Ritchie

SAN JOSE, CA – APRIL 16: A referee separates Nick Ritchie #37 of the Anaheim Ducks against the San Jose Sharks in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Photo by Rocky W. Widner/NHL/Getty Images) /

I suffer from what is commonly referred to as “foot in mouth” disease. I think that’s true for many of us. However, when it comes to playing this game we call life, it’s easy to take unnecessary penalties.

Those unnecessary penalties lead to giving the opposing team a power play opportunity. You have to decide, is giving someone else the advantage worth it? Sometimes the best thing to do is keep calm and not pull a Nick Ritchie. I don’t really feel like I have to explain this one very much, but I digress.

Nick Ritchie is only in his third season as a Duck. However, there is one major issue we’ve had with the young winger. Each season his penalty minutes go up exponentially.

In 186 NHL games, he’s spent 171 minutes in the penalty box. This season alone he had 72 penalty minutes. That earns him the Ducks silver medal in penalties. It isn’t an accomplishment to be very proud of.

His hot-headed attitude on the ice has given the Ducks opponents way too many unnecessary power play advantages. Especially during the San Jose playoff series last month.

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In the grand scheme of things, those penalty minutes cost the team greatly. I’m not blaming Ritchie for the outcome in the playoffs. However, if he would have followed my philosophy, there might have been a slightly different outcome.

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