When Ducks Stream's 'A Mighty Journey' debuted this August, with a first episode centered around former Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer, we learned about the man Ducks fans, players and coaches point to as the unquestioned leader of California's first Stanley Cup champion.
Today, it's time to focus on that team's heartbeat: goaltender Jean-Sebastian Giguere.
"J.S. has always been more than a goaltender," Ducks television color analyst Brian Hayward said. "He's a model character whose love for his family, friends, teammates and the sport of hockey has fueled his desire to be great in life."
LISTEN: A MIGHTY JOURNEY ON DUCKS STREAM
Affectionately known across the hockey world as "Jiggy," Giguere joined Anaheim as an unheralded backup in 2000 and quickly asserted himself as one of the game's premier netminders, backstopping the Ducks' remarkable run to the 2003 Stanley Cup Final and then lifting the Cup on home ice four years later.
"There are no words to describe what it's like to win the Stanley Cup," Giguere recalled in the episode. "You work so hard to get there. I won the Stanley Cup 100 times as a kid in the street, but I never thought it would actually happen to me."
Sixteen years after that monumental victory, he still holds many of Anaheim's goaltending records, including wins (206), shutouts (32) and playoff wins (33). He also remains the last NHL player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, annually awarded to the playoff MVP, as a member of a team that did not win the Stanley Cup that season.
The episode, narrated by Hayward, will tell the story of how Giguere, the youngest of five siblings, made that journey to the game's brightest stage.
You'll learn about his older brother, Stephane, a 1986 draftee of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jean-Sebastian's role model as a kid, the family paper route and how a tissue ball in the hallway helped Giguere discover his passion for stopping pucks.
"He would always have him with a Kleenex ball, taped with hockey tape and he brought it everywhere," Stephane said of his younger brother. "Everywhere he went, he had it all the time, all the time, all the time. Even at home...We'd play for hours and hours and then our mom would say, 'Okay, it's time to go to sleep.'"
You'll also hear about his deep connection with former Anaheim goaltending coach Francois Allaire, the man Giguere credits with helping to turn his career around.
I needed to put my game back together and I needed me confidence back together, too," Giguere said. "Frankie really helped me from that first meeting we had.”
Recalled Allaire, "He took the challenge I offered to him to change his style and change his work habits. He took it personally and challenged himself because his career wasn't going in the right direction."
The episode also includes the story of Giguere meeting his wife, Kristen, in French class and his unique way of getting her phone number.
And of course, you'll learn more about Giguere and Anaheim's march to the 2007 title, including the emotional moments when the beloved goaltender temporarily left the ice in the postseason to attend to the health of his son, Maxime, who was born with a rare eye condition but is now following in his father's footsteps as a budding goaltender.
"When my son was born and I had to miss those games, not knowing what was wrong with him and if he was fully blind, I just didn't have my heart in the game and I wanted to be close to my wife and family," Giguere remembered. "[Backup Ilya Bryzgalov] played those games and he was amazing. He was just on fire...I knew we had an amazing team, and I knew that we were ready to go all the way.
"Just knowing my son was healthy and knowing that we had finally achieved the dream, it was a euphoric moment, one that I'll never forget. It's something my wife and I both cherish."
The episode debuts tomorrow on Ducks Stream, available on AnaheimDucks.com/DucksStream, the Tune-In app or wherever you get your podcasts.
