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“Off the Floor, On the Board!” The 15th Anniversary of Paul Kariya’s Mighty Ducks Triumph

By Greg Johnson

ANAHEIM, CA - JUNE 7: Teams watch over as Paul Kariya #9 of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks lies on the ice after being hit by Scott Stevens #4 of the New Jersey Devils during the second period in Game Six of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim on June 7, 2003 in Anaheim, California. The Ducks won 5-2. (Photo by: Brian Bahr/Getty Images/NHLI)
ANAHEIM, CA - JUNE 7: Teams watch over as Paul Kariya #9 of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks lies on the ice after being hit by Scott Stevens #4 of the New Jersey Devils during the second period in Game Six of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim on June 7, 2003 in Anaheim, California. The Ducks won 5-2. (Photo by: Brian Bahr/Getty Images/NHLI) /
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The Mighty Ducks Paul Kariya goes down in between New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur, left and Colin White in the second period of game six of the Stanley Cup Finals. (Photo by Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) /

Fifteen years ago, June 7, 2003, was a day that hope for Ducks fans was taken away. Then in heroic form, it was resurrected. We look back at that pivotal moment and what we should take away from one of the most emotional days in Ducks history.

Background

When Paul Kariya was selected in the entry draft by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1993, the team was brand new. In fact, if you went back only seven months, no one knew they were going to exist. Kariya had been successful with Team Canada at the World Junior Championships.

His hockey cards were all the rage. The speedy left wing won the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top player as a rookie at the University of Maine in his freshman season.

I still remember where I was when I found out Paul Kariya was selected fourth overall by the Mighty Ducks in 1993. The internet wasn’t widely available as it is today. I found the news buried in a newspaper sports section a couple of days later since I was on vacation in the mountains. This was huge news for the fledgling franchise.

Kariya was not only talented, he was controlled. Disney was planning to sell the game to families, and they needed a wholesome image to project. Kariya was no risk to the brand. He has always been a gentleman who handled himself well. The young Mighty Duck player became the reason to go see games at the Pond after the shine had worn off of the expansion team.

Kariya’s first two seasons, 2004-06, proved he was highly skilled. It was clear he was missing something. That something turned out to be speedy right winger Teemu Selanne. The Finnish Flash was traded to the Mighty Ducks late in Kariya’s second season. Selanne left Kariya in 2001 when Anaheim traded him to the San Jose Sharks. With Selanne’s push, Kariya had become a full-fledged star in the league.

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