by Jon Hussey
A quarter of a century has passed since “Slap
Shot” hit the silver screen with all the
subtlety of a player’s face being plastered
into the Plexiglas.
The world has changed a lot in that time,
both on and off the ice. Disco came and went,
the Cold War thawed and the New York Rangers
finally won a Stanley Cup. And through it
all, “Slap Shot” has endured longer than
most teams have stuck around NHL cities.
The manic satire debuted in 1977, grossing
$28 million while grossing out a small faction
of the public who was appalled by the graphic
violence and locker-room language.
Yet through it all, the film has stood the
test of time to become as much a part of
the hockey landscape as sock tape and Super
Tacks. Three generations of hockey players
have suffered from a borrowed sense of humor,
regurgitating classic line after line from
the Hanson brothers, Ned Braden and coach
Reggie Dunlop.
Nothing bridges the generation gap for hockey
players of all ages quite like “Slap Shot.”
A father and son may disagree on everything
from hip-hop to hockey dynasties, but for
two hours they can share a common bond that
comes with watching the greatest hockey movie
ever made.
What is it about a movie that mixes slapstick
comedy with Hollywood-conjured violence that
has such a hold over the hockey community?
In the words of sportswriter Dickie Dunn,
who covered the Chiefs, the movie works because
it “captures the spirit of the thing.”
“We really didn’t have any concept of what
it was about,” said Dave Hanson, who played
Jack Hanson (#16) in the movie. “We just
saw it as something fun to do over the summer.
Even after the movie was released, we were
amazed at the popularity of it.”
The film’s enduring charm comes from a number
of strengths. It starts with a great script
that was written by Nancy Dowd, the sister
of minor-league hockey player Ned Dowd, who
played the infamous Ogie Ogilthorpe in the
film. She modeled the Charlestown Chiefs
after the Johnstown (Pa.) Jets of the North
American Hockey League. In the mid-70s, her
brother, along with Dave Hanson and Jeff
and Steve Carlson (the “other” Hanson brothers),
played for the brawling Jets.
It also helped that veteran Hollywood director
George Roy Hill insisted on casting real
hockey players for key parts in the film.
“George is a very astute director,” said
Michael Ontkean, who played Ned Braden, who
refused to “goon it up.”
“He deliberately wanted real hockey players
in the movie. He wanted to make sure nobody
could tell who the actors were and who the
professional hockey players were.”
Ontkean was the perfect mix of both. From
a young age, the Canadian was involved in
acting, performing in his father’s repertory
theater. He also grew up playing hockey in
Montreal and would later find hockey in the
United States as a four-year member for the
University of New Hampshire.
In his junior year, Ontkean led the NCAA
in goals with 30 tallies in 29 games.
Add to the mix the star power of Paul Newman,
who played Reg Dunlop, an aging player-coach
looking to hang on for one more season with
a third-rate minor league team in a dying
mill town.
Hill had directed Newman in “Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid” and “The Sting.” He
knew that casting the handsome actor in the
lead role would help bring audiences out
to see the movie.
It takes more than a hunk and a handful of
catchy one-liners to make a movie a cult
classic. Like any good team, “Slap Shot”
had the right chemistry that struck a chord
with all athletes. There was a realism there
that drew in viewers, from the casual fan
to the seasoned player.
“Everybody who has played a sport has traveled
on the bus,” added Virginia, Minn.’s Jeff
Carlson, who played Jeff Hanson (#18). “They
have played in these small towns. They can
relate to it.”
But how can today’s hockey player still identify
with Newman in checkered bell-bottoms and
a full-length leather coat, which in hockey
circles is still referred to as a “Reg Dunlop.”
“‘Slap Shot’ is still popular because it
shows the old brand of hockey which is missing
from today’s game,” said Matt Carpenter,
a 25-year-old hockey player from Boston.
“Today if you sneeze on a guy you get a 10-minute
misconduct. ‘Slap Shot’ shows the old-time
hockey player, and the toughness it takes
to play the best sport in the world.”
It is undeniable; people want to see tough
hockey. But the movie took the brutality
of hockey to a comic extreme.
“Looking at George’s directing style, he
rendered the violence in a very cartoonish
way,” said Ontkean during a telephone interview
from Hawaii. “There is a joy and freedom
to it that is liberating.”
Like many players who grew up in the Iron
Range section of northern Minnesota, the
Carlson brothers were familiar with a tough
brand of hockey.
“That was the style back in the ’70s,” said
Steve Carlson, who played Steve Hanson (#17).
“That’s just the way the game was played.
We had some vicious battles.”
The Hanson brothers, with their long hair
and Coke-bottle glasses, have become cult
heroes off of that joy and freedom, continuing
to make appearances at rinks and arenas around
the country.
The popularity of “Slap Shot” has, in the
opinion of some, become a problem for the
game of hockey. Today, hockey is being marketed
as the fastest game on ice where wide-open
play and finesse players are highlighted.
Still, the popularity of “Slap Shot” continues
to grow.
“There were people who said it was a disgrace
to hockey,” said Dave Hanson. “You have to
remember it’s a satire. Lighten up and have
a sense of humor.”
Young hockey players today, who never got
the chance to see the “Broad Street Bullies”
and the “Big Bad Bruins,” see, to a comic
extreme, what hockey used to be like. The
game has changed dramatically, and while
many players look back at the toughness of
hockey in the ’70s with fondness, some feel
differently.
“That was the reality of hockey in those
days,” affirmed Steve Dowling, who was a
referee in the NHL from 1972-78 and starred
as a referee in “Slap Shot” and “The Mighty
Ducks” series. “[That kind of hockey] set
a tone that drove hockey down for a number
of years.”
After 25 years, it has become clear that
no matter what type of hockey you enjoy watching
– if you play hockey, you are a fan of “Slap
Shot.”
“It is probably one of my Top-10 favorite
movies,” said 44-year-old hockey dad Paul
Giel, Jr. of Minnetonka, Minn.
“When my oldest son Joe was in high school,
all the kids on the team loved the movie
so much that the goalie would give the Paul
Newman pre-game speech before every game.”
As the game of hockey changes, and hockey
players change with it, “Slap Shot” is that
bit of hockey history and hilarity hockey
players can hold on to.
“I never thought after 25 years,” said Jeff
Carlson, “that [‘Slap Shot’] would still
be rocking and rolling.” |
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