Episode 11: Anaheim Ducks

LIFE ON TOUR

Most of us grow up dreaming of becoming professional athletes. It’s understandable, we love our teams, we love the players who become personal heroes. On this episode of Life on Tour, TravisMathew followed three NHL Anaheim Ducks players who have gotten to live that very dream, who have become the heroes we all wished to be. Though at different points in their careers, Teemu Selanne, Ryan Getzlaf, and Hampus Lindholm are all an integral part of the Ducks legacy—a legacy that’s hungry for more Stanley Cups and NHL Championships.

“Winning the Stanley Cup is obviously any NHL player’s dream,” Anaheim Ducks Defenseman Hampus Lindholm stated, his words both wistful and resolved.

Drafted sixth overall in 2012, Hampus is now in his sixth year with the Ducks. As a part of the 2007 NHL Championship Team, Lindholm’s team captain, Ryan Getzlaf, already has a Stanley Cup in his trophy case.

“You know, the Stanley Cup is something that as a kid you grow up wanting,” Getzlaf told us when we caught up to the Canadian native in his Orange County home. “Seeing the passion and what it meant to Teemu is a prime example. I remember the look on his face when we won and I’ll probably never forget it.”

Teemu Selanne. If you’re a Ducks fan, and even if you’re not, you’ve probably heard his name. Hockey Hall of Famer, four-time Olympic medalist, and member of the 2007 Anaheim Ducks (the only year the team has won the Stanley Cup), the now-retired winger is something of a legend.

“Winning the Stanley Cup, you gotta be so good for 10 months, and then the last two months…it’s like a war,” Teemu told us from Selanne’s Steak Tavern, his gourmet steakhouse in Laguna Beach. “It was the crown for my career, for sure.”

As the first Finnish-born player to be drafted in the first round of the 1987 NHL draft, Teemu Selanne grew up fantasizing about playing in the NHL. With a 20-year career that encompassed close calls, broken bones, championships, and ultimately victory, Teemu is now concentrating on his life off the ice.

“I like golf, I like tennis. I like everything outside, so this is a dream come true for me,” Selanne disclosed, regarding his life in California, post-retirement. “I’m happy where I am right now.”

As we met with Lindholm, Getzlaf, and Selanne, all incredible players at different points in their careers, one thing became apparent: life comes in stages—even when you’re a professional athlete.

“Team on the ice, I’m a lot more the boss than at home. Team at home, I fall in behind Mama.” Anaheim Ducks Team Captain Ryan Getzlaf discloses, with a resigned smile.