Two decades ago when the first Mighty Ducks movie came out, it clearly resonated with fans across the country. Thousands of miles away from Hollywood, in a little town in central Finland, the film and its sequels also captured the attention of a five-year-old hockey player named Sami Vatanen.
“The Ducks have been my favorite team since I was 5 years old," Vatanen says. "And it all started with the Mighty Ducks movies. I was watching those a lot when I was a kid, and from there the Ducks started being my favorite.” (Incidentally, the original was called Champions in Europe, and later when it was released on DVD it became The Mighty Ducks Are the Champions.