Here鈥檚 a big clue about the origins of the team鈥檚 nickname: They once were the Mighty Ducks. That鈥檚 what the Walt Disney Company, based in Burbank, Calif., decided to name the NHL expansion team that it launched in 1993, a year after the release of 鈥淭he Mighty Ducks鈥� movie. The Disney comedy about a youth hockey team was such a hit, it led to a cinematic trilogy. After Disney sold the team in 2006, the new owners decided that one way to distance itself from the movies was to drop 鈥淢ighty鈥� and just go by 鈥�Ducks.鈥�
MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS
