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Between its incredibly fast pace, its hard-hitting action, and its many historic moments over the past century, the game of hockey lends itself to the big screen quite well.
From comedies and insightful documentaries to thrilling Hollywood blockbusters, we used Metacritic, along with other review sites, to rank the most memorable basketball films.
Credit: Walt Disney Pictures
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Adam Sandler stars in this 1996 comedy about a failing hockey player named Happy who discovers his real talents are on the golf course. With his grandmother about to lose her home to foreclosure, Happy enters a golf tournament in hopes of winning enough money to buy it for her.
Metacritic score: 31
Credit: MCA Universal Home Video
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A fun-loving chimpanzee named Jack is the subject of an experiment to see if apes can learn sign language. When the doctor leading the experiment suddenly passes away, Jack is mistakenly sent to a family in Canada, which discovers his ability to play hockey.
Metacritic score: 43
Credit: Keystone Pictures
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The fictional hockey-crazed town of Mystery, Alaska sees their local group of weekend warriors facing the NHL's New York Rangers in an exhibition game.
Stars includes Russell Crowe and Burt Reynolds.
Metacritic score: 49
Credit: Hollywood Pictures
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Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in a thriller set to the backdrop of an NHL Stanley Cup game. Van Damme plays a firefighter whose daughter is captured by group of terrorists threatening to blow up the arena. As is typically the case in a Van Damme movie, it's up to him to save the day.
IMDb score: 56
Credit: MCA Universal Home Video
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The second installment in The Mighty Ducks trilogy sees former Ducks coach Gordon Bombay suffer a knee injury that ends his dream of making the NHL. Bombay accepts an offer to coach the U.S. hockey team in the Junior Goodwill Games, and after a series of struggles leads a team full of former Mighty Ducks to glory.
IMDb score: 59
Credit: Walt Disney Pictures
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On his journey to the pros, Dean Youngblood's teammate and friend is brutally injured in a game, driving him to give up his dream and return to the family farm. Youngblood's family didn't accept him quitting, and pushed the young star to return to the team and follow his dream.
Stars include Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves.
IMDb score: 60
Credit: MGM
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In his attempt to shine a light on the unspoken code of the NHL, Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney interviews some of the toughest players the league has ever known and includes plenty of fist-flying in-game footage to go along with it.
Metacritic score: 61
Credit: Locomotion Pictures
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Labelled an outcast by his family of physicians, a bouncer -- played by Sean William Scott -- overcomes long odds to lead a local team of underperforming misfits to semi-pro hockey glory, beating the crap out of everything that stands in his way.
Metacritic score: 64
Credit: Magnolia Pictures
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A successful attorney -- played by Emilio Estevez -- is ordered by a judge to coach a peewee hockey team after getting busted for a DUI. The movie was also the inspiration for the naming of the NHL's Anaheim Ducks when the team was founded in 1993.
IMDb score: 64
Credit: Walt Disney Pictures
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At the height of the Cold War, the U.S. Olympic Men's hockey team, led by coach Herb Brooks, overcame all odds at the 1980 Olympic Games to take down perennial powerhouse Russia .
Stars include Kurt Russell.
Metacritic score: 68
Credit: Walt Disney Pictures
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Based on the book by the same name, Waking Up Wally: The Walter Gretzky Story is a touching film that recounts the stroke, memory loss and subsequent recovery of Wayne Gretzky's father, Walter.
IMDb score: 68
Credit: Monarch Home Video
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This 1995 TV film is based on the true story of the Detroit Red Wings' Ted Lindsay, an NHL All-Star who, along with Doug Harvey of the Montreal Canadiens, leads a small group of players in a battle against monopolistic NHL owners of the 1950s.
IMDb score: 73
Credit: FilmRise
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This 2008 documentary by director Tommy Haines examines the evolution of hockey and the changing cultures surrounding the sport.
Pond Hockey features interviews from NHL stars Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby, as well as players from the first-ever U.S. Pond Hockey Championships.
IMDb score: 79
Credit: Northland Films
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This 2006 documentary-style miniseries covers the famed 1972 Summit Series that pitted Canada against the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.
Despite underestimating the Soviets early on, Canada came back to defeat them in a dramatic eighth game in hostile USSR territory to emerge victorious
IMDb score: 79
Credit: Dream Street Pictures
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Starring the late Paul Newman, this 1977 classic comedy depicts a minor league hockey team that resorts to constant fighting and violent play to gain popularity in a declining factory town.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 81
Credit: MCA Universal Home Video
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Few teams in history have dominated their sport over as long a period of time as the Cold War-era Russian national hockey team.
Through the eyes of its players, this 2014 documentary tells the story of what it was like both on and off the ice as the team rose and fell alongside the USSR.
Metacritic score: 83
Credit: Sony Pictures Classics
