Reel Beach: Hockey stories from Slap Shot, to Youngblood to Law & Order

By BERNIE FLETCHER

The Stanley Cup playoffs are here and fans are wondering if the Toronto Maple Leafs are “tough” enough to face the big, bad Boston Bruins.

There has been a lot of controversy over violence in our national sport. Movies like Slap Shot (1977), Youngblood (1986) and Goon (2009) portrayed the darker side of hockey.

A new episode of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent airing this Thursday, May 2, at 8 p.m. on CITY-TV deals with the thorny issue of hazing in junior hockey. A player is found fatally beaten on the ice. The detectives look for answers from a team called “The Scarborough City Scorpions”.

One teen player claims hazing incidents are part of the game: “This was the only way we were going to toughen up the rookies.”

Is violence really part of hockey culture?

The effects of head trauma (CTE) have been in the news recently with the early deaths of hockey “enforcers”. A recent Toronto Star editorial outlined the “Tragic cost of hockey brawls”.

Created by Dick Wolf, the iconic Law & Order franchise has been a howling success as one of the longest-running shows on television.

Each episode promises stories inspired by real-life criminal investigations “ripped from the headlines”, but has a disclaimer stating that these events and characters are fictional. A crack-smoking mayor caught on video? Hmm, sounds familiar! “Dun, dun.”

Such diverse Toronto landmarks as Nathan Phillips Square, Union Station, City Hall, the Islands, Cherry Beach and Gerrard India Bazaar have been featured in the show.

The camera doesn’t avoid the CN Tower the way Hollywood films often disguise our city as New York or Chicago.

On Nov. 6 of last year Law & Order crews were filming near Woodbine Beach, but that episode may not have aired yet.

If you are wondering about Detective Graff’s accent, Aden Young was born in Toronto in 1971, but moved with his family to Australia in 1981. His father, Chip Young, was a CBC producer who wrote Honky the Christmas Goose and convinced the late, great Johnny Bower to record the song in 1965. A better goalie than a singer, Bower helped the Leafs win four Stanley Cups. Ah, the good old days!

While Slap Shot lampooned hockey violence, Youngblood reflected the fighting mentality of that era.

Leafs owner Conn Smythe claimed, “If you can’t beat ‘em in the alley, you can’t beat ‘em on the ice.”

Rob Lowe stars in Youngblood as a skilled American player trying to make it in a Canadian junior league, but not knowing how to fight. Brawls break out and Youngblood has to learn how to fist fight. The film portrays violence as a necessary part of the game.

Youngblood filmed at Ted Reeve Arena and Scarborough Arena on Birchmount Road. NHL players such as Peter Zezel, Steve Thomas and Eric Nesterenko had cameo roles.

The late Peter Zezel was a true son of Scarborough, a direct descendant of pioneers David and Mary Thomson. He grew up on Lakeside Avenue in the Birch Cliff area and his family ran Alpine Cleaners on Queen Street East near Lee Avenue.

Peter Zezel was a true gentleman on and off the ice and so well-liked in the community that “Zezel Way” was named in Scarborough after his death in 2009 from a rare blood disorder. Zezel scored a winning overtime goal for the Leafs in the 1994 playoffs.

Ted Nicoloff plays the assistant coach in Youngblood. I knew Ted as a teacher and was saddened to hear of his passing in 2021.

Ted grew up on Lawlor Avenue and played on Adam Beck’s championship school baseball team in 1955. Ted acted in film and television under the name Walker Boone.

The hearts of Leafs fans may be broken again this time, but there’s always next year, right?

Go Leafs Go!