Movies

10 Great Hockey Movies For The Whole Family To Watch On A Cold Night

Grab your skates!

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It may surprise you to learn that you don’t have to actually enjoy playing hockey to love a movie about hockey. In fact, you don’t really have to know anything about how the sport is played or even understand the rules of the game. They’re just trying to get a puck into the other team’s net, that’s it. But the thing about hockey movies is they always end up being about way more than the actual game. The best hockey movies tend to be about friendship, teamwork, usually some sort of underdog element that has you rooting for them to win at a game you might not have even realized you cared about until now.

Unlike movies about sports like football or baseball, there’s a sort of scrappiness to these hockey movies that tend to make them incredibly watchable. For some reason they always give off a small town vibe even when the sport is being played in a massive arena, in some cases even in front of a global audience. Maybe it’s because the sport originated in Canada, which can feel like a bit of a small town country.

Whatever the reason, hockey movies are a fun choice for family movie night, especially once the weather turns colder. And these are 10 of the best.

The Mighty Ducks

Disney+

A lawyer gets caught drinking and driving and his punishment is being told to coach a kids’ hockey team as part of his community service. There’s an unlikely premise for a kids’ movie that somehow managed to work for pretty much everyone. When most of us think of hockey movies, I suspect The Mighty Ducks is one of the first to come to mind. Emilio Estevez plays Minneapolis attorney Gordon Bombay, who finds himself coaching a ragtag band of misfits played by future stars like Joshua Jackson and Vincent LaRusso. It’s a surprisingly feel-good movie that holds up, corny ‘90s jokes notwithstanding.

Watch The Mighty Ducks, rated PG, on Disney+.

Miracle

Disney+

The 2004 Disney movie Miracle is based on a true story and brimming with a whole bunch of flag-waving patriotism. Miracle follows real-life college hockey coach Herb Brooks (played by Kurt Russell) as he is hired on to bring the U.S. men’s hockey team to the 1980 Olympics. While the Soviet team is favored to take home the gold medal in hockey that year, Brooks hopes to take his own group of college All-Stars to the world stage. Which gets even more difficult after they suffer an embarrassing set back. Parents who were alive during the height of the Cold War will find Miracle a fun watch, while kids will end up rooting for America to win. As ever.

Watch Miracle, rated PG, on Disney+.

Mystery, Alaska

Disney+

Back in 1999, Russell Crowe starred in a little-known hockey movie called Mystery, Alaska. The film follows a bunch of weekend warrior-type hockey players who have been invited to play hockey against the New York Rangers because of a publicity stunt. This one is definitely for the older kids; directed by Jay Roach, there’s a whole lot of swearing and a bit of nudity so you might even want to watch ahead to be on the safe side. But it’s also sweet and funny, with lots of interesting side characters and an ever-pleasing story about a remote town finding themselves on the world stage by doing the thing they love best — playing hockey outside.

Watch Mystery, Alaska, rated R, on Disney+.

Breakaway

If you’re into Canadian humor on hits like Schitt’s Creek and Workin’ Moms, 2011’s Breakaway might be the perfect crossover for you. Rajveer Singh, played by Vinay Virmani, has dropped out of college and is attempting to find his place in the world. Singh decides to go against his father’s wishes and try out for a local hockey team, and despite being the best player on the ice, he’s turned down. Which is when he decides to create his own team coached by local hockey rink owner, Dan Winters (played by Rob Lowe). Breakaway is about finding your own path despite what your family might expect from you, about refusing to give up even in the face of prejudice. And, of course, about hockey.

Watch Breakaway, rated PG-13, on Tubi.

Jack Frost

Amazon Prime

So hear me out here. Yes, at first blush it might seem as though the 1998 movie Jack Frost is about a musician dad who is reincarnated as a snowman (played by Michael Keaton who somehow managed to keep his pork pie hat affixed to his new snow head). But it’s also about hockey. Because the child (Joseph Cross) of said reincarnated snowman is all about playing hockey. When he’s not getting hanging out with his snow dad, of course. In fact, one of the pivotal scenes of the movie sees Jack trying to get in to watch his son play hockey as a snowman. That’s parental commitment.

Watch Jack Frost, rated PG, on Amazon Prime Video.

Pond Hockey

Amazon Prime Video

If you and your family want to delve a little deeper into the shifting landscape of hockey, look no further than the 2008 documentary Pond Hockey. Director Tommy Haines interviewed hockey legends like Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby about their own relationship with the game that became their lives, but the documentary is really about the heart of hockey. Playing on a frozen pond in the first ever U.S. Pond Hockey Championships. The documentary follows two of 100 teams, The Federal League Allstars and Sofa King Lazy, on their way to the big time. And it’s incredibly charming.

Watch Pond Hockey on Vimeo.

Score: A Hockey Musical

Netflix

A hockey musical set to the sounds of Olivia Newton-John? Who knew? Whoever came up with the genius premise of Score: A Hockey Musical in 2010 certainly seemed to know what they were doing. Not only does Newton-John perform songs for the movie, she also plays 17-year-old hockey prodigy Farley Gordon’s mom Hope. Farley starts his life off sheltered and home-schooled, but when he is spotted as a serious hockey talent and drafted to the NHL, life changes for everyone around him. Some more big name hockey stars appear in this delightful film including, again, Wayne Gretzky. Who I’m starting to suspect might be looking to become an actor or something.

Watch Score: A Hockey Musical, rated PG, on Amazon Prime Video.

Tooth Fairy

Tooth Fairy is perhaps the second most well-known family hockey movie on the list. Dwayne Johnson plays hockey player Derek Thompson, a tough guy on the ice who has knocked out so many of his opponents’ teeth he earns the nickname “The Tooth Fairy.” After Derek wrecks a young fan’s dream, he is somehow turned into the real tooth fairy with the magical wand and everything. To be fair, Tooth Fairy sees Derek spending way more time as the actual tooth fairy than playing hockey, but it does give us the tagline “You can’t handle the tooth” so that’s something, right?

Watch Tooth Fairy, rated G, on YouTube.

The Rocket: Maurice Richard Movie

The Rocket: Maurice Richard Movie is a biopic about one of the most famous hockey players in Canada and beyond. Maurice Richard grew up in Quebec in the early years of the National Hockey League. When he went on to play for the Montreal Canadiens, he became a legend. So much so that when he was taken out of a season of hockey for punching a referee (things were extra violent back then) the entire city rioted to have him reinstated. The movie is a bit of a history lesson and a slow burn with English subtitles to boot, but this is what real hockey once looked like at its core. One of the best, just like Richard himself.

Watch The Rocket: Maurice Richard , rated PG, on YouTube.

The Cutting Edge

Perhaps the only hockey movie to double as a bit of a romantic comedy, The Cutting Edge has all of the elements you’re looking for. Kate Moseley (Moira Kelly) is a snobby figure skating star who fails to win gold at the 1988 Olympics after suffering a fall. If she hopes to return and vindicate herself, her coach believes she needs to find a figure skating partner. Enter arrogant former Olympic hockey player Doug Dorsey (D.B. Sweeney). They reluctantly team up, sparks fly, and of course it’s everything you want.

Watch The Cutting Edge, rated PG, on Amazon Prime.

It’s always a bit of a bummer when the weather turns colder, so why not look on the bright side? Now you have 10 great hockey movies to watch with your family. Silver lining. Which should be the name of a hockey movie.

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