How D4: The Mighty Ducks should unfold, if it ever happens

Those who were born the year the Eden Hall Warriors gave way to a Mighty Ducks mascot have reached or are on the cusp of legal drinking age.

Is that enough time for the opening and closing slow-motion flashbacks from D3 to lose their authority? Can the vault reopen for a long-rumored/proposed D4 late in this decade or early in the next?

In the quest for an answer, the most encouraging aspect is the widespread approval of the trilogy’s veterans. In a 2014 Time Magazine piece, Matt Doherty (Averman), Elden Henson (Fulton) and Marguerite Moreau (Connie) all indicated they would want in. Joshua Jackson (Charlie) has repeatedly expressed comparable sentiments.

Technically, “when” still has yet to upend “if” on this matter. Regardless of that status, the question of “how” has more open ice to work with.

To drop the puck on Pucks and Recreation’s 25-day look back on The Mighty Ducks and all of its offshoots, a quartet of staff writers offer their ideal plotlines for a hypothetical D4.

Eden Hall ensemble

Two years ago, Jurassic World gave us one sound example of how to pick up on a ’90s film series two-plus decades later. That is, it rehashed a familiar storyline and brought back a few familiar faces, but let new blood take to the forefront. And that would be the way to go for a belated D4.

With several of the Mighty Ducks actors now focusing on other careers, there is no sense in reassembling the old flock. With that said, there is no reason to shut out the characters whose performers are still in the business. There should be enough to create a story-hopping screenplay that catches up with a handful of former Ducks in their adult, post-playing lives.

Charlie is an obvious must-have, and maybe by now he could be coaching Gordon’s teenaged son at Eden Hall. Meanwhile, to reflect the progress the women’s game has made, the school should field a girls’ team co-coached by Connie and Guy, a la Shannon and Matt Desrosiers.

Like their coaches before them, the new players carrying the Ducks torch will take everything that comes with it, including off-ice hijinks and run-ins with rival teams. A bonus narrative could revolve around the injury-prone Adam Banks trying to end his professional playing career with dignity. – Al Daniel

Like Gordon, like Charlie

The logical choice for D4 would be to bring back many of the central characters, but keep the focus on Charlie. In the same way Gordon grew distant from hockey in the events leading up to the first film, a possible plot in D4 could involve Charlie returning from his own hockey hiatus, this time as a coach of his son’s team.

Throughout the movie, the cast of the original trilogy could make cameos, with Bombay assuming a similar role as Joss Ackland’s late Hans character. Gordon could supply the hockey wisdom Conway needs in his first attempt at coaching.

By the end of the movie, returnees such as Fulton, Banks and Julie Gaffney could all make an appearance to cheer on Charlie and his son’s team as they face their main rival.

Who would be that rival? If the primary antagonist is a player from a previous Ducks movie, be it an ex-teammate of Charlie’s or a former opponent, conflicting loyalties could make for an interesting D4 plot twist. – John Morton

Aging with grace

The Mighty Ducks trilogy’s original fan base has grown over its quarter-century of existence. It would therefore make sense if the movie universe had moved on in time as well. So, if D4 is made, it should be set in the present day with a recently retired Charlie Conway.

Conway went on to have a long, successful career in the NHL, and is now coaching his son’s team. He is struggling in that role because he is overbearing on his kids, and must realize that he is becoming like Coach Reilly from the first movie. He must learn the balance of getting his players to win, but keeping it fun for them in the process.

Conway’s relationship with his son would be a major storyline in the movie. Due to his time away from the family in the NHL, he doesn’t have a great relationship with his son. Having missed many special events, he decides to coach his son’s team to rebuild their relationship. But with his intensity, their already shaky relationship becomes even rougher.

Eventually they get it together and face off against a rival team with Conway’s son winning on a breakaway with a quadruple deke because the goalie only expects the triple deke. Charlie Conway had made the triple-deke famous in the NHL, therefore the move has become commonplace. – Zach Green

The more things change…

If D4 ever happens, the time that has passed since the original three came out offers a great chance to go full circle. The kids from the original film would likely be in their 30s by now, perhaps with kids of their own playing youth hockey

D4 should focusing on two teams, one for each generation. One would be the traditional Mighty Ducks, made up of a few children of some of the original team, and perhaps a few other players. It would be most fitting for Charlie to coach the team. As Bombay’s protege, it is only fitting that he would go on to fill his shoes someday.

The tactics and style of play would now be engrained into Mighty Ducks hockey, and the team would truly be a force to be reckoned with. They are no longer underdogs, but the dominant team in the area, much like the Hawks once were.

The other side of the film would focus on the original crew, now playing on an adult-league team coached by Bombay. The guys would have grown up to be successful in their adult lives, thanks to the shift in focus from winning to teamwork fun as the original films progressed.

Along with the success in their day-to-day lives, the hobbies of the original crew would be shown. Among these would be reflecting on their “glory days” of hockey, watching their children play for their former team and playing their own games. – Andrew Wisneski

Ex-sitcom stars who should follow Jennifer Aniston back to TV

 

Jennifer Aniston is reportedly the next A-lister seeking seconds on the small screen. The Hollywood Reporter’s Lesley Goldberg wrote last week that the former Friends ensemble staple is teaming with fellow movie mainstay Reese Witherspoon for a series revolving around a fictitious morning talk show.

The finer details of the show, and whether anyone will even pick it up, remain to be seen. But assuming Aniston returns to sitcom acting, in addition to executive producing, her perceived success will hinge on the angle a given viewer takes.

As long as no one is holding it too high up the Friends measuring pole, it ought to have a fair shot at achieving respectability. What it does to live up to that standard is, well, up to its own creative minds.

Regardless, Aniston’s former castmate, Courteney Cox, mustered six seasons as both the protagonist and co-executive producer on Cougar Town. Elsewhere, Seinfeld alum Julia Louis Dreyfus cracked the old show’s supposed “curse” via The New Adventures of Old Christine, and is still shattering it with Veep. Former Seinfeld executive producer Larry David later proved his mettle as a lead actor on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Ed O’Neill went from 11 years of Married…with Children to 12 years of minor film credits to (so far) eight years of Modern Family. Rashida Jones has reeled off her supporting success on Parks and Recreation to land the title part on Angie Tribeca.

Aniston may have garnered more movie fame than each of the aforementioned, but those other track records prove that this reported move is far from daring.

In that spirit, the Pucks and Rec writers have selected their own handful of former sitcom staples who would make top-shelf candidates for another go-round, whether that’s behind the scenes, before the camera or both.

Steve Carell

Carell has been focusing on movies since leaving The Office after eight years in 2013, he has been focusing on movies. But his sense of humor and sarcasm is well-suited for television, as he can display his personality more.

In The Office, he often had the opportunity to chime in on events happening in the world and country while the show was being filmed. He also would make numerous references to pop culture, sports and different fads of the time.

In his movie roles, he has not enjoyed as much free reign, so a return to TV would be welcomed by those who enjoy his type of humor. – Andrew Wisneski

Mila Kunis

It has been nearly three years since Kunis cofounded Orchard Farm Productions in association with ABC Studios. But while the former That ’70s Show standout has continued acting in movies and as a voice regular on Family Guy, nothing definitive with her executive-production imprint has come to life yet.

ABC could have an easy sparkplug to the solution in Sarah Hyland, who as Haley Dunphy emitted a mild Jackie Burkhart vibe in Modern Family’s formative years. In multiple interviews over this decade, Hyland has been apt to embrace the comparisons to Kunis.

While Modern Family still has at least two seasons yet to come, it will end eventually. When it does, a new show with Kunis and Hyland as sisters is all but obligatory.

If the two were both full-timers in front of the camera, it may be hard to ward off comparisons to Frasier and its old dynamic of Kelsey Grammer and deuteragonist David Hyde Pierce. But that would be a small price to pay. – Al Daniel

Jerry Seinfeld

Since his eponymous NBC show ended, Seinfeld has tried a few other projects, such as the stand-up documentary, Comedian. He was also the star in the animated Bee Movie, where he reunited with several former Seinfeld mainstays, including Michael Richards and Patrick Warburton.

Despite continuing his stand-up career, Seinfeld could benefit more by bringing his observational comedy back to a wider audience. With his web-based talk series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, now on Netflix, he could think about using that opportunity to parlay back to the small screen, perhaps with a mix of some fellow Seinfeld alums and a new cast of characters. – John Morton

Will Smith

Smith broke into the acting scene with the title role on Fresh Prince of Bel Air. He spent six seasons on the show, and was nominated for two Golden Globes during his tenure. 

As the ’90s rolled along, Smith’s performance spring-boarded him from being known as a rapper into someone who is now more well known for his acting. He has since starred in movies like Men in Black, I am Legend and Suicide Squad. 

In order to attract Smith to return to the small screen, a role would likely have to be made just for him, and he would probably want to direct the program as well. This would likely make money for the network, though, as the Fresh Prince was a hit, and plenty of people will want to watch Smith for the nostalgia. – Zach Green

A new chapter in the Riley family hockey story

What do you want to want to be when you grow up?

This question was one that we all heard throughout our younger years. For most, the answer was something generic. A firefighter, a police officer or maybe a pilot.

For Jack and Brendan Riley, the answer was more specific: Division I hockey player.

The Riley family is well known throughout the college hockey world. Jack and Brendan's grandfather John (Jack) Riley, played hockey at Dartmouth and coached at Army West Point for 36 years. Of his five children, one son played at Harvard, two at Boston College, one at Brown and his daughter played at St. Lawrence.

After he stopped coaching at Army, his son, Rob, took over, and was eventually joined by his brother — Jack and Brendan's father, Brian — who assisted. In 2004, Brian took over as head coach, and now enters his 13th season and the 67th consecutive year with a Riley as the Black Knights bench boss.

Jack and Brendan are two of Brian's three children, with daughter Dani being the middle child. As a Division I hockey head coach, it is easy to understand how his children all grew up to be athletes. Jack plays hockey at Mercyhurst University, where he is a redshirt junior. Dani played four years of lacrosse at Merrimack, while Brendan is joining his brother as a freshman for the Lakers this season.

'On skates at an early age'

Raising children while being a Division I hockey coach could make it difficult to balance time between home and work. However, it also allows for an opportunity to expose one's children to the game at a young age. Brian Riley shared his memories of how his sons got into hockey with Pucks and Recreation.

"It's kind of funny, Jack was on skates when he was one, just kind of walking around the rink on his skates," he said. "They were both on skates at an early age, but with me being a coach and being up here at the rink and them coming up to see me at the office and watch games.

"It's just a sport that they really fell in love with, and being around the rink as much as they were really drew them to the sport."

Jack and Brendan both have numerous memories of being around their dad at work growing up. This lifestyle naturally influenced their interest in hockey, though whether they would each sustain that passion all the way to the NCAA level was not always certain at the start.

"Growing up, and I'm sure my dad would tell you the same thing, everyone didn't know if I was actually going to be a hockey player," Brendan admitted to P&R. "He would always tell me 'You know, Brendan, you don't have to play hockey if you don't want.' But being around the program and being around such a good hockey mind helped me learn the game."

Perhaps those initial doubts came as a result of one of Brendan's early hockey experiences.

"It's a pretty funny story," he said, "I was playing mini-mites or something. I was playing a game, and I got my first penalty. I think I two-handed a guy who took the puck from me and I was crying in the box, so that's pretty much the first thing I remember: Sobbing."

That notwithstanding, the two brothers would develop dreams of growing up to play Division I college hockey, but achieving that is much easier said than done. They both had to work hard, go to prep school and play in juniors to eventually live the dream.

"It was at an early age that I saw that he (Jack) really did have good hockey sense," Brian said, "and that's something that you can't teach as you get older. That gave him a solid foundation and he worked on the other parts of his game, just getting bigger and stronger.

"He also has an unbelievable trait: He loves to play but he wants to win, and you can see that when he's out on the ice.

"Brendan, on the other hand, is a different player than Jack. Good size, skates well, and really was kind of a late bloomer. He went away Kimball Union in New Hampshire prep school for two years and had success there. I think watching him over those two years, his skating ability and knowing that he's getting bigger that there's a good chance that he would have an opportunity to play Division I college hockey."

Off to Mercyhurst

Their play in prep school and juniors got the brothers onto the recruiting radar. When it came time for Jack to decide where to go, familiarity played a big role. He shared the factors in his college decision with P&R.

"I grew up watching the (Atlantic Hockey) league play, so I had seen Mercyhurst multiple times," Jack said. "They've always been one of the good teams in the league; they are at the top of the league every year. When it came time to choose colleges, the assistant coach (at the time) Bobby Ferraris called me and he said they were interested, so I came here to visit and I just fell in love with the campus.

"I grew up knowing Coach (Rick) Gotkin, too, and he's always been a good guy and a good coach in the league, so when it came to choose I felt like Mercyhurst would be a good spot."

Jack is now entering his fourth year at Mercyhurst. However, unlike the previous three, a new chapter begins, as he will no longer be the only Riley on campus. Besides his new teammate in Brendan, his sister Dani is joining the Laker community as a graduate assistant lacrosse coach.

It may seem somewhat improbable for three children from the east side of New York State to end up at a small school in Erie, Pa. However, the development did not really surprise Brian.

"They are a close-knit bunch, and they like the feel of a small school," he said. "Jack has really enjoyed his experience, so that kind of drew Brendan there. When Dani was looking at grad school, she had the idea of 'Wow, maybe I can go to Mercyhurst and be there with Jack and Brendan.' It's really kind of neat how it worked out."

Not only will the three be attending the same school, but this season will be the first time Jack and Brendan are on the same team in competitive hockey. With both being forwards, it is also possible that they could see time on the same line.

"We've played in summer leagues together, like men's leagues and stuff like that," said Jack. "I always joke and tell people that it's going to be hard not to yell at him on the ice because normally I yell at him to do this and do that because he's my brother, so it's easy.

"I think it would be fun playing with him. Just from the aspect that he's my brother and that I've never been able to play with him. I know what type of player he is, we actually kind of fit together. He's got the speed and the body type I wish I had. I definitely think it would be a cool experience, and if it were ever to happen against my dad's team that would be even more crazy."

Brendan had similar thoughts in terms of the idea of playing with Jack. Not only would it be an opportunity to play with his brother, but as a freshman playing with an established upperclassman, it would be a valuable learning experience as he looks to establish himself. He also envisioned being on the receiving end of some passes from his brother.

"I'm sure he'd set me up for a few backdoor tap-ins," he expressed.

'Army's basically been my favorite team'

Playing against the team they grew up rooting for (Army) is certainly a unique aspect of playing at an Atlantic Hockey rival. To go along with that, playing against Army of course means playing against a team coached by their father.

Jack has experienced this already in his career. He certainly rose to the occasion during one of the meetings with his father's team. On Dec. 6, 2014 Jack scored two goals and added two assists en route to a 6-3 victory over the Black Knights in West Point.

But for Brendan, that first encounter will come on Jan. 13, in the rink he practically grew up in.

"I always tell everyone that it's probably the hardest thing I've ever done," he said. "It's super difficult. I've grown up and Army's basically been my favorite team in any sport. We grew up basically going to all of my dad's games, even the away games.

"So when I made the decision to go to Mercyhurst, I kind of thought in the back of my mind, 'I could still root for Army,' just not when we play against them."

Despite the admitted difficulty of playing against Army, Jack has clearly shown the ability to succeed. When asked if his brother had any advice to offer about playing against Army, Brendan joked, "I know they normally try to take a couple runs at him, so probably keep my head up."

Their dad certainly knows what it is like to return home to play against one's father. All of the brothers in Brian's generation paid the same visits to West Point when the elder Jack — who passed away in February at the age of 95 — was coaching the opposition; a homecoming of sorts.

"I always knew how excited we were to come back to play against my dad," Brian reflected. "More just because of being able to play at West Point, our home. We wanted to make our dad proud of hopefully playing well. I'm sure the boys are going through the same thing. The opportunity to come back and play here at West Point in front of family and friends, play in the rink where they grew up, is probably really exciting for them." 

It is definitely a special moment when Mercyhurst and Army face off for all members of the Riley family. As the coach of the opposing team, however, Brian has to balance the role of being a coach and a parent. While he has to do his job during the course of the game, he allows himself to appreciate the moments in brief spurts before and after.

"At the start of the game when you see him introduced and he comes out to the blue line, you're just really proud as a parent," he said. "As a coach, the game is going on and it's pretty fast and I'm not saying that I don't notice when he's out there, I do, but it's really after the game where I can watch video and see how he played. It is really exciting, and I just can't imagine what it will be like to have both of them out there.

"It's always been a special moment for me after the game to be able to go through the line and give Jack a big hug afterwards, and now to be able to give them both a hug afterwards will be really, really special and something that I'll always cherish."

Jack can appreciate that balance as well. He realizes that his dad is doing his job and doing what he can to help his team win. At the same time, he knows how much his father hopes for the best for him.

"The first time I remember just looking up and I was almost in awe seeing him on the other bench because I knew deep down he was rooting for me but at the same time he can't root for the team," Jack said. "He always jokes and says 'I hope my son scores a hat trick, but we win the game 4-3.'”

More coaches to come?

Playing hockey has been a big part of the Riley's lives. For many members of the family, after their playing careers ended, they were able to continue to their heavy hockey involvement through coaching.

Brian was able to grow up learning from Jack, who besides his lengthy NCAA tenure coached Team USA to its first Olympic gold medal in 1960.

"I think what I learned from my dad is that the most important thing is to care for your players more as people than hockey players," Brian said. "When you do that you create this relationship and develop this bond with your players that it's really about kind of being part of a family. When you have that bond as a coach with your players, they will do anything for you."

This desire and passion for coaching is something that appears to have been passed on to his children. His daughter has already taken her first opportunity as a coach. Along with her, both of his sons have expressed interest in coaching someday.

Given the knowledge base they have developed and growing up in a family full of hockey, Brian thinks the job would bode well for Jack and Brendan.

"I'm sure if that's what they do they'll both be very good coaches, much better than me," he said.

Jack has already succeeded in achieving the goal of becoming a Division I college hockey player, which he remembers setting in grade school. In the future, he can see himself putting all of his knowledge of the game to the test.

"Besides being a Division I college hockey player, being a coach has been my other goal," he said. The only thing I really know is hockey.

"I know the ins and outs of coaching from my uncles, my dad and my grandfather. I just want to be a coach somewhere, so wherever the opportunity is hopefully I can achieve that goal."

Being just a freshman, Brendan likely has a number of years until he needs to decide on the next phase of his hockey career. However, much like his older siblings, he acknowledged that coaching may be a possibility in his future.

"Like people say it's not only what you know, it's who you know," he said. "So we're pretty fortunate in that respect that we've got a few connections."

- Andrew Wisneski