ESPN to Premiere 'Once Upon a Time in Anaheim' on Sunday, June 11

ESPN's award-winning news magazine show, E60, to present 'Once Upon a Time in Anaheim' documentary recounting the origins of The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim franchise in 1993 through the team's fairytale run at the most prized possession in hockey, The Stanley Cup. The one-hour program will debut on ESPN Sunday, June 11 (8 a.m. PT). Following the initial airing, the program will be available for on-demand streaming on ESPN+.

The documentary features interviews with key members from the original Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, including Stu Grimson and Guy Hebert, in addition to 2003 heroes J.S. Giguere, Paul Kariya and Steve Rucchin. Franchise icon Teemu Selanne also appears to discuss his initial years with the club from 1996-2001. 'The Mighty Ducks' actors Marguerite Moreau and Shaun Weiss in addition to film's creator, Steve Brill are also featured in the documentary.

Following the release of "The Mighty Ducks" film, the NHL awarded a franchise to Disney in December, 1992. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim began play in 1993-94 to sellout crowds at Honda Center (formerly the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim). In 2003, the Ducks shocked the hockey world with upsets over the defending champion Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild before falling in seven games to the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Final. Giguere was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 2003 as the most valuable player during the Stanley Cup playoffs, just one of five players in NHL history to win the award on a team that does not win the Stanley Cup. Many of the transactions and successes from the club's 2003 run led directly to Anaheim ultimately winning California's first Stanley Cup in 2007, which occurred just two years after the club was purchased by local philanthropists Henry and Susan Samueli.

Co-producer and director of 'Once Upon a Time in Anaheim,' Scott Cikowski, recalls watching 'The Mighty Ducks' films as a kid. "Growing up, I was a huge fan of 'The Mighty Ducks' and the idea of a rag-tag group of underdogs coming together to take on the best team in the league," said Cikowski. "If you look at the Stanley Cup run that the 2002-03 Mighty Ducks went on, it's almost as though that script came to life."

"What drew me to this story was the relationship at the center of it - the sometimes-awkward marriage between the glitz and glamor of Hollywood and the old-school values of 90s era NHL," said Russell Dinallo, co-producer and director of 'Once Upon a Time in Anaheim.' "There have been a lot of movies based on true sports stories. As far as we can tell, this is the only time an American pro sports franchise has been inspired by a film. It's a story about life imitating art, about a little idea becoming something huge."