As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
Fridge Brilliance
- Bombay taking Adam from the Hawks seems like a real jerkass move that goes against the spirit of the film. However if you look at the apparent similarities between Adam and young Gordon (sensitive, upper class, a Hawk, very talented, Reilly's protegé,) it looks like Gordon may really be trying to protect Adam from Reilly. He feels that his old coach ruined him and may be starting to do the same thing to Adam.
- Eden Hall Academy is Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Fairbault, Minnesota
with the serial numbers filed off. It even has a Hockey Center of Excellence! - The symbolism of the jersey numbers:
- Adam's number when he joins the Ducks is #99 - the same number worn by Wayne Gretzky. This denotes Adam's status as the Ducks' best player.
- Furthermore, Bombay's number when he played for the Hawks is #9, Gordie Howe's number and the number in which Gretzky played off of when he chose #99, mirroring how Banks was the 90's (then-current) not-quite-as-talented version of Bombay (the biggest scouting knock against Gretzky when he was young was that Gretzky was too small).
- Bombay's jersey number with the Ducks is #66, the same number as Mario Lemieux (another great player who won some championships in a career plagued with injuries) and #99 turned upside down (Lemieux wanted to pay tribute to Gretzky's own greatness).
- Goldberg the goalie initially being afraid of the puck is certainly comedic and ironic, but it's rather reasonable that most kids (and probably most adults) would be apprehensive about facing down a highway-speed slap shot of a vulcanized disk of rubber if all you had for protection were old copies of the Enquirer taped to your shins. Just purchasing a new, quality set of goalie pads and equipment isn't going to chase those fears off right away, which is why Bombay had to invoke the Worf Barrage for Goldberg. It was also a way for the other kids to get some fun in and take out long-simmering frustration with regards to Goldberg's puck kvetching in a manner that wouldn't jeopardize the team as a whole.
- When Charlie takes a level in jerkass and starts bitching about Eden Hall, it's Russ who smacks him down by reminding him that they're in on scholarships. Why Russ? Because growing up in South-Central Los Angeles, he never had an opportunity to prove himself like he does now, and he knows that the team can't afford to screw it up. He's probably also personally angry that Charlie would complain about something that Russ could have only dreamed about.
- Although if we're being honest, Charlie also shouldn't be complaining about it. The Ducks are shown to be from inner-city Minneapolis and are not from particularly well-off families, other than Banks (a cake-eater from the affluent Edina). Given that Charlie is raised by a single mother whose source of income is working as a waitress at a diner, he's every bit as fortunate as Russ to get his opportunity.
