Hockey – Quotes

My parents are from

My parents are from the former Soviet Union, from Ukraine, and I grew up wanting to be a professional hockey player. Gabe Polsky

What I found interesting about Slava Fetisov was that he went through three different generations of Soviet hockey. In the late 70’s, he experienced the Miracle on Ice, and then in the 80’s became with his teammates the Russian Five, the most dominant team in the history of hockey, and then helped bring down the … Read more

I don’t want to

I don’t want to get into being too hockey centered, but I just felt like the late 70’s and 80’s into the 90’s was the right time period to tell the story. Gabe Polsky

If people see North

If people see North American hockey and they see violence and brutality and it’s not so interesting, that sends a message too about your culture. Gabe Polsky

Growing up, I didn’t

Growing up, I didn’t know very much about my heritage and the Soviet Union and things of that nature. But when I saw the Soviet Union play hockey for the first time, to me, it was profound. Gabe Polsky

I guess the prime

I guess the prime example is in North America there’s a thing where if there’s no opportunity to move forward with the puck, then a [hockey] player is told to dump the puck into the other zone. Just give up the puck and dump it in. Give it to the other team. And to the … Read more

When I looked into

When I looked into the story of Soviet hockey and its players, I realized that it has nothing to do with hockey. It was a larger story using hockey as a window into the story of the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian people, with friendships and betrayals, paranoia and oppression, and … Read more

In the U.S., coaches

In the U.S., coaches could be the father next door. They had no formal training. They’re like old hockey players. They don’t go to school and study. Gabe Polsky

A lot of what

A lot of what I know as a filmmaker is because of hockey. That’s teamwork, and being able to collaborate with people, and be creative with them, and get the most out of everybody. Everyone’s got different talents, and you’ve got to bring out the best of everybody, and use your strengths and work together, … Read more

One ironic thing is

One ironic thing is that although (the Soviet Union) was one of the most oppressive systems, with no respect for the individual, it somehow produced the freest hockey on the planet. These guys, when they got on the ice, it was like watching jazz. They could do anything. I find that a paradox. It’s interesting … Read more