The Mighty Ducks Imagines

Ducks In The Crowd

For the sake of this story, any real players mentioned will be current players since that's who I know.

It's been a few years since us Ducks were on the ice together. Only a few of the guys still play - at least in the NHL. Sometimes, a few of us scrimmage, but it doesn't happen as much as we'd hope. To no one's surprise, our very own Charlie Conway is the captain of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

It's game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. It's Ducks vs Avalanche. Out of our gang, Charlie is the only active player to make it past the conference finals - Adam was really close, but anything can happen in overtime. Jesse and Guy got stuck in the second round and Russ just missed out on the playoffs.

We keep in contact as much as we can, though Charlie takes it very seriously, so he gets pretty busy. I'm pretty good friends with the current team - as well as a few guys across the NHL - that's why it was bittersweet to see some guys leave at the trade deadline. At least I get to see my buddy Josh Manson tonight with the Avs.

Since it's the deciding game, a few of us decided to get the gang together to show our support. Even Bombay is here. With their hockey money, the guys helped to pay for tickets and transport. We've got the best seats in the house - right up front by the Ducks net. The only thing between us and the players is the glass. A few guys from each team recognised me and came to say hi during warm ups. I would've talked to Cale Makar, but he was pretty zoned in.

The game started strong for the Ducks. I don't think Charlie ever realised we were here - he was zoned in like Cale. At one point, Darren Helm got a good hit on Adam Henrique into the boards right in front of me. He might have lost a tooth if there was one to lose. Trevor Zegras - ever the creative goal scorer. I noticed him try a few fun plays, though none of them worked. That is until he completed his third Michigan goal.

"Yes, Z!" I cheered as he skated past.

By the end of the first period, the score was 2-1 in favour of the Ducks. For the Ducks, we got goals from Z (assisted by Sonny Milano and Kevin Shattenkirk) and Troy Terry (assisted by Jaime Drysdale). For the Avs, the only goal scored was by the captain, Gabe Landeskog (assisted by Nathan MacKinnon and Nazem Kadri).

The second period was strong for both teams - the Avs clearly started to feel comfortable with their plays. There were a couple of powerplays for each side, both scored on one of them. Overall, it was a highly enjoyable 20 minutes of play. By the second intermission, the score was 5-2, still in favour of the Ducks. Going into the final period, we all had high hopes.

However, the Avs had a fire lit under their asses. They knew that they only had 20 minutes to get back in the game. It was like a sense of desperation knowing that there wouldn't be another game. The Ducks slipped up with each hit and shot. It's no secret how hard it is to come back in this situation. However, that's exactly what they did. The Avs kept scoring and Charlie got angry. He's his own worst enemy sometimes. His anger got him a roughing penalty which led to Mikko Rantanen tieing the scoreboard. Now, at the end of regulation, it's 5-5.

"Hell of a game." Bombay comments from my left.

"You can say that again." Fulton agrees.

"Trevor! Z!" I Shout and tap on the glass to get his attention. "Come here!"

"What's up?" He asks as he skates over.

"I don't think Charlie knows we're here. Do me a favour and just tell him to look over here before the face-off? Hopefully it'll give him a new energy or something."

"Yeah, sure, totally."

"Thanks, man. Good job tonight!" I call out as he starts skating away.

"Thanks! See you at Timmies tomorrow!"

"Dont forget to bring Drys this time!" He just laughs before rushing to his team.

During this unexpected intermission, some of us split off to get snacks and stuff for the group. However, Adam and I set out for business. Since everyone knows him - and he's a well respected member of the league - everything goes our way.

With only a couple of minutes remaining before overtime begins, we all regroup in our seats. Connie hands me a churro as the teams make their way to the ice. As everyone gets set up, the announcer and screens work together.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. On this historic day, we are joined by the people behind the Mighty Ducks. Please welcome the original Ducks!"

As the whole crowd roars, our faces are displayed on the jumbotron as we discussed. However, I look over at an old friend as he realises. Trevor nudges Charlie and points over to us. When he turns to us, I can easily say that I've never seen a bigger grin on his face. We all cheer and wave - I even make an effort to show him that we brought Bombay.

Both teams surround their benches for a final pep-talk. Out of nowhere, I hear something that I haven't heard in a while. The Ducks start quacking just like we used to - they never do that anymore. The crowd picks up on it and soon enough, everyone is quacking.

Charlie wins the first face-off, taking the puck immediately to the o-zone. After a few minutes of solid offensive work, Compher manages to clear the zone. In practically a second, the flow of the game changes and Cale Makar speeds into the Ducks zone. Nerves are high as they take shot after shot.

"Hang in there, Gibby, you got this!" I yell.

Eventually, Gibby manages to freeze the puck and give everyone a break. They take the draw to his right - winning a face-off has never been so crucial. He wins the draw and passes it back to Shatty. Shatty sends it across to Z who rushes across the neutral zone. As the Avs defence target him, he shoots the puck while he still has space. The puck bounces off Darcy Kuemper's pads - though he is unable to clean the rebound. In no time at all, Charlie scoops up the puck and sends it top shelf with a wrister.

Ducks win! The crowds roars - its deafening - as The Ducks race over to their heroic captain. Us original Ducks are among the people freaking out. We're so proud of him and the whole team. When things settle a little bit, they prepare to present the Conn Smythe award. And the winner is... Charlie! Oh my god!

With that now out of the way, they bring out the legendary cup. Since Charlie is the captain, he is the first to hoist the cup and state with it. Almost immediately, he skates over to us, cup in hand.

We all shout variations of "Congrats, Charlie! We're proud of you, man!"

"I love you guys!" He shouts above the crowd.

Charlie quickly skates back to his team and passes the cup to Z and starts hugging everyone. Tonight is gonna be an epic celebration.

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At the time of writing this, the Avs have a 3-1 series lead over the Lightning. Who do you want to win/What team (or teams) do you support? Personally, I'm originally a Ducks fan (because the films got me into hockey) but I also support the Avs (I basically followed Josh Manson when he got traded - I'm fairly new to hockey).