Skip to content

Key combatant tells all about the famous Anaheim hockey stick brawl

Jan 19, 2010, 12:00 PM EDT

it will forever be know as The Hockey Stick Incident; that moment on November 19, 2009 at the Honda Center in Anaheim when Ducks’ captain Scott Niedermayer tossed his hockey stick over the boards into the stands, and wild fisticuffs ensued. In the well-traveled video that has become a fan favorite, two men at first wrestle for the souvenir, then punches fly. A woman joins in the fray and throws some feminine haymakers, as shocked hockey fans look on.
One of the main combatants was Mike Vallely (pictured, left, with the Ducks’ George Parros), a pro skateboarder and part-time pro wrestler who is a notorious hockey fan and has somewhat of a reputation as a brawler. He claims that Niedermayer was tossing the stick to his daughter, 8-year-old Emily, and that he was just standing up for her when the chaos broke out. But this story has now grown bigger than anyone’s ability to control it.
Video following the jump.


Vallely, a passionate hockey fan who has participated in several events for NHL teams, including the Ducks, says that the Anaheim front office has now cut him off completely. From his web site:

“This is truly a corrupted society when a father who refuses to let his daughter’s property be stolen from her is vilified. Understand, I did not start a fight or want to fight anyone… I just didn’t want this man to take advantage of my wife and daughter. When I in turn grabbed that stick and attempted to take it from him, it was he and the female involved that became aggressive towards me.

“Contrary to how it looks I was merely defending myself at that point. They hit me first and they had every intention on continuing to do so. Just because I didn’t let them beat me up that doesn’t make me the bad guy. Believe me, I’m the last person that wanted this incident to happen, especially in full view of my daughter, but if I did not fight back she very well may have seen me get beat up by three different people. Which leads me to ponder… Why was I the only one detained and cited? Three other people were physically involved in this incident, three other people punched me… It makes no sense.”

Here’s a YouTube version in case you can’t play the one above.
And what became of the stick?

“I was supposed to play in a charity hockey game for Luc Robitaille on January 2 but he uninvited me,” Vallely said. “It seems I have been blacklisted in the hockey world — by the Ducks, the Kings and the NHL… for what? Standing up for and defending my family and myself? I’m so disappointed in everyone involved… No one has stood up and said this is wrong, no one in the hockey world has publicly had my back. I’ve lost all respect.”

***
Mike Vallely Responds To The Ducks [ESPN]
Mike V and the Ducks [MikeVallely.com]

  1. kristian michael - Jan 19, 2010 at 5:31 PM

    Shame on the Ducks! It’s unbelievable they’d turn their backs on a devoted fan who did nothing wrong, except not let go of the stick that was obviously given to his daughter.
    The Ducks need to step up and make this right.

  2. mandykay1121 - Jan 20, 2010 at 8:25 AM

    Who cares!!! My boyfriend thinks the same with me. He is eight years older than me, lol. We met online at __Agemingle.com__ a nice and free place for Younger Women and Older Men, or Mature Women and Younger Men, to interact with each other. Maybe you wanna check out

  3. elikritchka - Jan 21, 2010 at 10:37 AM

    “They who do not bellow the truth when they know the truth makes themselves the accomplice of liars and forgers!” …Peguy. Hang in there Mike they just want you to go quietly into the night.

  4. scottyN - Feb 1, 2010 at 6:03 PM

    Mike V, the video tells the truth. The straight arm to the face and shoving him down preceded the swing by the woman. You could have handled it better. You could have enlisted the help of the ushers. With all the Ducks memorabilia you and your family have already received, was it really that important to get one more stick? It wasn’t even a game-played stick. They switch them out strictly to hand out. You could have received an autographed Niedermayer stick easily. Seems like you lost your cool and now you want to blame someone else for it. Sorry buddy, grow up.

Leave Comment

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!