Top 5 Greatest Hockey Movies

29 Apr 2012

5. Mystery, Alaska

A highly entertaining movie with a pretty decent story line in which a small town in Alaska prepares to play the New York Rangers. Although this story is fictional, the way the town is portrayed as revolving completely around hockey reminds me of Odessa, Texas, in Friday Night Lights as it revolves around high school football. It has a great cast with Russell Crowe, Burt Reynolds and Hank Azaria, and does not get too caught up in a secondary love story. It’s a pure hockey story.

4. The Mighty Ducks

I did not grow up in a hockey town or a hockey family, so this movie really introduced me to the sport. It’s a classic underdog story about a terrible peewee hockey team that is taught by a washed-up ex-player (Emilio Estevez) who eventually leads them to greatness. As a little guy, I ate this movie up! It led me to learning more about the sport and playing roller-hockey in my driveway during the summer, pretending I was Wayne Gretzky. Good times!

3. The Rocket: The Legend of Maurice Richard

The Rocket is a great story that revolves around the career of Maurice ‘The Rocket’ Richard. The movie begins with Richard as a teenager and leads us to his career with the Montreal Canadiens. It’s regarded as a realistic account of events, and Richard reviewed some of the movie before his death. Although much of the dialogue is in French, the English subtitles are not as distracting as I thought they would be. A fine movie and story about one of the greats!

2. Slap Shot

Probably one of the movies I waited the longest to see. No matter where you go to see a hockey game, there will be at least one Chiefs jersey in the stands. I noticed this as a youngster whenever I went to a game with my dad and brother. When I was probably eight or nine, I eventually asked why I always saw a Chiefs jersey at a game and why I never heard of that team. My dad and brother then told me about the movie and said that I was not yet old enough to watch it. And that was the story until I was about 15. Once I finally saw it, I was not disappointed! The Hanson brothers provided great hits and laughs throughout the entire movie. A classic, and a must-see!

1. Miracle

About the 1980 USA men’s Olympic hockey teams, this movie tells the story of the greatest moment in USA hockey history and one of the most memorable moments in the history of the sport. It’s a classic underdog story, but the best part is, it’s true! Kurt Russell did a great job as legendary coach Herb Brooks in a great production. It’s a powerful story about teamwork, hockey, and history, and to my mind Miracle is the best hockey movie ever made.

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Keith Hoehne

Keith is a graduate of Carroll University where he majored in journalism. Along with writing for The Hockey Writers, Keith also works in sports radio out of Chicago and blogs about Big Ten Conference athletics. In addition to hockey, Keith is also a huge fan of football, basketball and baseball.