Hockey is the most exciting and fast-paced sport of all time — I said what I said. So it’s a bummer that hockey movies are few and far between. That’s not to say there aren’t any, and of the handful of movies in the genre, they’re typically top-shelf.
Far more often than other sports movies, a good chunk of hockey films dive deep into hockey’s history as well as politics and current events during the time they’re set or filmed. Movies like “Miracle” center (ice) on the 1980 Olympics and how the Cold War affected the battle for gold. Meanwhile, documentaries like “Willie” catalog the NHL’s evolution and what still needs to change within the league (spoiler alert: a lot). The best hockey films have a good combination of, you guessed it, playing hockey, an emotional storyline, and how history shaped the NHL and hockey culture at large.
Here are seven of the best hockey movies that deserve a celly. You’ll notice that the classic film “The Cutting Edge” is missing, but I consider that to be a figure skating movie, as the actual hockey playing is few and far between, so don’t come for me.
'The Mighty Ducks'
When it comes to hockey movies, “The Mighty Ducks” easily had the biggest impact on the sport. So, how could a wholesome and arguably corny ‘90s movie inspire such a scrum-happy league? Well, if it weren’t for the film, the Anaheim Ducks wouldn’t exist. In fact, the team was actually founded by the Walt Disney Company in 1993, just one year after the movie was released.
Disney sold the team 12 years after founding it, but even I can admit that the Ducks (one of the Kings’ biggest rivals) helped shape hockey in SoCal. Of course, I had to sacrifice my algorithm to double-check these details. No, I don’t want to purchase a Ducks anything, thank you very much, but that’s the price you pay as a writer.
For anyone who didn’t grow up as a millennial Disney kid, “The Mighty Ducks” is your classic underdog tale of the Mighty Ducks — a terrible hockey team newly coached by a jaded lawyer who’s tasked with whipping the hopeless team into shape after a DUI. Naturally, the kids win him over and he sees the error of his ways.
Sure, the plot may not be the most original, but there’s a reason it’s a tried and true sports movie staple. Of course, my favorite part of the film is the fact that it features not one but two girls on the team. That was pretty groundbreaking for 1992 — especially as Julie (Colombe Jacobsen-Derstine) is the team’s best goalie. The movie certainly inspired a slew of young girls to take up the sport.
Given that the women’s U.S. hockey team has been far more successful than the men’s team in the past decade, it’s (Minnesota) wild that women didn’t get a well-supported professional league with the PWHL until 2023, when so many leagues struggled to get off the ground before its inception. That’s exactly 31 years after “The Mighty Ducks” debuted, highlighting how revolutionary that plot was at the time.
The cast includes Emilio Estevez (Gordon Bombay), Joss Ackland (Hans), Lane Smith (Coach Riley), Heidi King (Casey), Josef Sommer (Gerald Ducksworth), Joshua Jackson (Charlie), Elden Hanson (Fulton), Shaun Weiss (Goldberg), M.G. Gainey (Lewis), Matt Doherty (Les), and Marguerite Moreau (Connie). Beyond film sequels, the franchise even got a TV reboot in 2021 on Disney Plus.
Watch on Disney Plus
'Miracle'
Watching the men’s U.S. hockey team compete in the Olympics is akin to Leafs fans suffering on an annual basis (sorry, Leafs, you had a lot of former Kings on the team a few years ago, so no hate). Since 1920, the U.S. men’s hockey team has only taken home 11 medals in 71 games — and just two of them were gold. In my humble opinion, Jonathan Quick (the most winningest U.S. goalie in NHL history) carried the team in 2010, and the U.S. could have skated away with a gold medal if the rest of the team demonstrated some ‘shoot the puck’ energy. That was the last time the team placed, and they’ve only scored one other medal (2002) since the United States’ Cinderella win over the Soviet Union in 1980.
How is this at all relevant to a hockey movie? Well, that 1980 win was dubbed ‘Miracle on Ice’ and inspired the 2004 movie “Miracle” — which is arguably the greatest hockey movie of all time. The ‘80s marked the height of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union had been dominating the Olympics since 1964, snagging four consecutive gold medals. The ragtag U.S. team was the first to break their streak, and the win had as much of a political impact as it did on hockey history.
So, now that you’ve got the backstory on the impact of the Miracle on Ice, you can probably tell why this story was so integral to tell on the big screen. It’s honestly surprising that it took almost 25 years to make given that hockey movies were going strong through the ‘70s, and it would have made sense to debut it during the Cold War hysteria that was still intense nine years after the Olympic win. With that being said, I’m glad it didn’t or we probably wouldn’t have gotten this stellar movie with heart, grit, a phenomenal cast, and an impactful history lesson all wrapped up in an icy bow.
Fun fact: 1980 gold medalist Buzz Schneider’s son Billy auditioned to play his father in “Miracle” and snagged the role as an "unknown."
Watch on Disney Plus
'Willie'
Whether you’re a sports fan or not, pretty much everyone knows the name Jackie Robinson, the first Black player in the MLB. The same notoriety wasn’t given to Willie O’Ree, the first Black player in the NHL. Like Robinson, O’Ree faced a horrendous amount of racism both on and off the ice, or in Robinson’s case, the field. Sadly, O’Ree’s accomplishments were largely lost to time for decades. I truly believe that given his incredible skill and tenacity, he could have been an NHL superstar had things gone a bit differently.
It baffles me that it took until 2019 for O’Ree to score a documentary that tells his story. Keep in mind that this was over 20 years after he became the NHL’s diversity ambassador in 1998 (which in itself was decades after his last NHL season in 1961).
The NHL has miles to go in terms of diversity and ensuring a safe environment for players and fans alike, but it all starts in the minors. So many talented players are all but ousted from minor leagues because racist and homophobic behavior has very little checks and balances. Yet documentaries like “Willie” and outreach initiatives at the peewee hockey level to get kids with all kinds of backgrounds involved in the sport, which is slowly (seriously, very slowly) changing the culture. We have players like O’Ree to thank for that.
I’m always astounded by the grace of people like O’Ree. Though he's humble and gracious, I’m just going to go ahead and rant about the injustice of a racist league disrespecting him so much that he had to go into hotel security at Hotel del Coronado instead of immediately snagging a well-deserved place in areas like sports broadcasting or back-end roles that so many former NHLers land right after retirement.
Sufficed to say, this is a phenomenal documentary that shines a spotlight on the trials and triumphs of O’Ree — a trailblazing player who managed to have a short-lived NHL career while nearly half-blind and a long career in the minors afterward. Given the level of intensity and skill required in hockey (along with the puck being incredibly small and easy to miss), that’s pretty much the most impressive thing I’ve ever heard in the hockey history books. O’Ree narrates much of the doc himself and it even has cameos with the greats like Wayne Gretzky.
Watch on Peacock
'Face-Off: Winter Comes Early'
The ‘70s were one of the best decades for iconic hockey movies. At its core, “Face Off: Winter Comes Early” is a romantic drama meets sports movie. The George McCowan-directed film debuted shortly after the Maple Leafs dominated the NHL for 13 seasons, but the team has won precisely zero Stanley Cups since then. Leafs fans were still hopeful that Toronto would bounce back — which explains the main character in the movie becoming an overnight NHL sensation for the Leafs, with big hopes to take the team all the way. Hindsight is 20/20.
Newly-minted (fictional) Leafs hotshot Billy (Art Hindle) falls for folk singer Sherry (Trudy Young), but their contrasting lifestyles cause quite a bit of drama that feels impossible for them to navigate. The core relationship in the film feels fresh and unique, even today. The movie has some classic ‘70s beats like the time’s drug epidemic, the period’s anti-establishment vibes, and an accurate portrayal of the game in the early ‘70s (which makes sense since that’s when it released).
Not only is the movie pretty brave for a romantic drama, but it stands out as one of few hockey films that features real players and game footage. As a die-hard Kings fan, I particularly loved seeing clips of the classic 1970 Kings team when they played at the Forum. It even features the now-defunct California Seals. The real Leafs stars in the film include the Maple Leaf Gardens arena, Jim Dorey, Jim McKenny, Darryl Sittler, Paul Henderson, Brian Glennie, Ron Ellis and Bobby Baun. It’s safe to say that there’s no other movie like this and there probably won’t be again.
OK, so the film got panned in its time and still gets roasted for its cheesy nature, which is fair, but the historical significance (especially looking back a good 60 years later) is almost a time capsule of hockey at the time. Rather than simply showcasing fictionalized hockey, we get the real deal with actual NHL clips and a slew of real players. Hate it or don’t hate it, but that’s something special. The NHL gets that, as the movie is honored in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Watch on MGM Plus
'Goon'
As you can probably surmise by the title, the 2012 movie “Goon” isn’t exactly a hard-hitting film. It’s basically an inside joke to hockey fans. Fighting has always existed to some extent in hockey, and enforcers used to have much larger roles on teams to keep the star players safe. They didn’t even have to be particularly good at hockey — they just needed to pack a mean punch. So, that’s where Doug (Seann William Scott) comes in during the movie “Goon.”
The overlooked misfit in a dead-end bouncer job gets involved in a fight as a spectator during a minor league hockey game, beating the h-e-double hockey sticks out of a guy throwing around homophobic language. Given that this movie is for the boys, it’s refreshing to see a hockey film tackle the blatant homophobia that runs rampant in the sport.
There’s a reason they call NHL pipeline leagues (the AHL and ECHL) ‘the jungle.’ It’s brutal out there. NHL fights have nothing on the scrums in the minors, which tend to be less regulated and altogether chaotic. Doug kind of sucks at hockey if we’re being real, but his ability to easily take down any player makes him a formidable teammate as he rises through the ranks of two hockey teams in this vulgar underdog story.
If you’re looking for a hockey comedy that you don’t need to take seriously, “Goon” is the first draft pick. It’s wild and raunchy with some major frat vibes, but it also satirizes hockey culture in a way that makes audiences feel like a part of the joke rather than the butt of it.
Watch on Peacock
'Slap Shot'
You can’t convince me that “Slap Shot” isn’t a love letter to the most chaotic game in NHL history. If you’ve seen the movie and know your hockey lore, you can probably tell where I’m going with this. The infamous 1972 fight during a Flyers and Bruins game sounds like the lead-up to a bad joke: What happens when a coach, players, and fans brawl in the stands of an NHL game? The men in blue serve up some serious black and blue.
NHL fans have long since earned a bit of an intense reputation, and the ‘70s were no different. During the Jan. 6 game, a Flyers fan dumped his overpriced beer on the then-Blues coach Al Arbour. Player Bob Plager wasn’t about to stand for the disrespect and had it out with the fan until the rest of the team got involved in the off-the-ice scrum.
If Arbour thought the beer shower was bad, it was nothing compared to getting clubbed on the head by a cop. Eventually, the teams were able to finish the game with a Blues victory — but the team wracked up a few dozen stitches and faced arrests post-game until the charges were dropped. “Slap Shot” has a ton of seemingly related Easter eggs with Blues merch and the fact that the Hanson brothers very well may have been inspired by the Bruins’ own brother trio: Barclay, Bob, and Billy Plager.
The great thing about “Slap Shot” is that there’s humor for everyone. But the inside jokes shared between the writers and people fluent in hockey culture are plentiful. For example, the intro serves as somewhat of a comedic dictionary for hockey lingo and penalties. And while newbies aren’t in on jokes like the notion that hockey players feel “shame” being alone in a penalty box, what’s informative for rookies is hilarious for pros. (Seriously, go look up the best penalty box compilations. These guys are too busy trying to fight the refs or each other to feel anything within the realm of shame.) Then there are moments like fans heckling their own players during home games — a concept Leafs fans know a lot about (I’m sorry, I love you).
Like the rest of ‘70s hockey movies, “Slap Shot” is a hockey time capsule of the evolution of NHL equipment and regulations. We get some live organ playing, which is a nice throwback for anyone who isn’t lucky enough to follow SoCal teams (the Kings and the Ducks still have live organists, and it really makes the games feel special). I randomly ran into the Kings’ organist Dieter Ruehle at a Kings/Rangers game at MSG and he’s super cool in case anyone was wondering.
The film’s impact on hockey culture was still going strong almost two decades later, as the trio resumed their roles as the Hanson brothers for a 1996 Bud Ice commercial.
'Ice Guardians'
One of the most controversial aspects of the NHL is fighting. Everything about hockey is heightened from other sports — the speed, the constant excitement, only an hour of play (sans OT and shootouts), and, of course, the scrums. Hockey as a whole, and the NHL in particular, has gone through major shifts throughout the decades, particularly when it comes to rules about player safety and fighting.
Even people who’ve never watched a game of hockey in their life have usually heard of The Great One (Wayne Gretzky) or Bobby Orr — especially if you’re a fan of “The Office.” Actor Steve Carell actually plays hockey, so it’s not surprising that his character Michael Scott quotes Gretzky’s most famous quote: “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” Anyone who screams, “Shoot the puck” at their own team can attest to that.
Hockey enforcers have had a long-standing tradition of protecting said hockey stars from becoming victims of dirty hits and targeted aggression. Especially when the rules of the game were more lax, many NHL stars may have had their careers cut short if they didn’t have enforcers to back them up and keep them from getting targeted during games. Yet the enforcer role is dying, and the 2016 documentary “Ice Guardians” tells the history of the role.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m a huge proponent of keeping fighting in hockey. But despite efforts to curb dirty hits and unsportsmanlike conduct, the Player Safety Commission is frankly failing to do its job. Just in the past few years, I’ve watched play after dirty play by repeat offenders who barely get a slapshot on the wrist for intentionally carrying out dangerous plays that could not only end someone’s career but irreparably injure them for life.
I’m almost always enraged by the “penalties” given to guys who seemingly have no respect for the game or their opponents. I was in a blind fury after Matthew Tkachuk jammed his stick inside my favorite player Jonathan Quick’s goalie helmet to jab him in the eye. He could have blinded him. And what was his penance? A measly two-game suspension after it was ruled intentional. I mean, really?
Meanwhile, former King Brandom Lemieux got a five-game suspension for biting another player. Granted, it was beyond tacky and childish, but please explain to me how petty unsportsmanlike conduct is worse than jabbing your stick in a goalie’s face. But that’s not even the worst of it. Elite Ice Hockey League player Adam Johnson tragically died after getting slashed in the neck after a dirty play by Matt Petgrave — a player notorious for playing dirty. Instead of doling out adequate suspensions and fines for that kind of behavior, players have no reason to stop. And now someone lost their life over it.
I wanted to have an informed opinion on the play back in 2023 when it happened, so I forced myself to watch the horrific moment and nearly threw up. I, like many other hockey fans, concluded that it was, in fact, the result of a dirty play — so much so that Petgrave was arrested on manslaughter charges.
Recently, Rangers player Matt Rempe got an eight-game suspension for a dirty hit, proving how inconsistent these rulings are. In many cases, it seems like star players receive more lenient rulings for these kinds of plays. In 2021, repeat offender Tom Wilson carried out violent hits against Artemi Panarin (Wilson ripped his helmet off and brutally slammed him to the ice) after repeatedly punching Pavel Buchnevich in the back of the head. Not only did Panarin miss out on the rest of the season, but slamming his unprotected head on the ice could have easily snapped his neck.
So, what was Wilson’s punishment? No suspension. He was fined a pathetic $5,000 (pocket change to an NHLer). And you know what the Rangers had to pay after rightly criticizing the absurdly lax ruling? A whopping $250,000 for sticking up for a player whose injuries could have resulted in a player’s death at the hands of a repeat offender. To boot, the team’s general manager and president got the axe for the admiral statement. I remember being so proud of the Rangers for the bold criticism, but the NHL’s response proves that the league silences any criticism against these kinds of rulings and other league-wide issues, which seems to be more important to the Powers That Be than creating change.
Sufficed to say, “Ice Guardians” is a phenomenal watch that should be required viewing for any hockey fan. Not only does it go into the demise of enforcers and the league’s fighting evolution, but you hear from actual players like Dave Semenko, Dave Shultz, Brian McGratten, Brett Hull, and Bob Ray, who’ve dealt with some of the fighting injustices and triumphs in the league and comment on what needs to change moving forward.
The documentary tackles both sides of the argument — those who want an end to fighting and former players who believe enforcers should still have a place in the game. Regardless of your take on that argument, one thing is clear: The Player Safety Commission needs a complete overhaul with marked improvements on consistency and long-term penalties/significant fines to lessen the impact caused by dirty players now that there aren’t a whole lot of enforcers left to keep things in check. Brett Harvey directed the documentary.
Watch free on the Roku Channel
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