In the locker room, tears flowed. For the final time, high school classmates hugged one another. Tommy Haines, a documentary photographer, was struck by the rawness and emotion of the players in this land where hockey is considered a way of life.
“It was horrible. Haines admitted that he felt for them and said that his crew had to put their cameras down in order to console the players. “We didn’t want these kids to be glorified as gladiators, or expose the stupid things they may have done as teenagers. We wanted them to be real people. Make them human beings that the audience will root for.”
Haines is the director and producer of “Hockeyland,” which focuses on the Minnesota high school football teams in the 2019-20 seasons. The film tells the story about the hockey traditions of “Minnesota’s unforgiving North Country” and how they deal with losses and wins.
“Hockeyland”, which opened at No. The documentary was the No. 1 documentary in America last weekend and played on 64 screens in Minnesota. The Northlands Films production, which runs for 108 minutes, will be shown on 75 additional screens during the weekend of September 16.
“Minnesota hockey has a huge following. Haines said that it is similar to Texas football. “These guys are like local celebrities in these towns where hockey has become a way of life.”
Haines directed “Pond Hockey,” a documentary that was released in 2008. Haines was attracted to this culture as he was born from it. He put on his first pair in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, when he was five years old.
Inspired by documentaries such “Hoop dreams” and “Friday Night Lights,” he was drawn to shows that capture the passion of communities about a particular sport. He was aware of it in Minnesota with hockey but had never seen it displayed on television. He was interested to see how players have changed since his time in the culture.
He stated, “We weren’t sure how they were growing up.” “But they were still going to hunt, shoveling rooftops, and digging their cars from ditches. Although I don’t know how much longer this will continue, it was still happening. The tie that binds these communities together is hockey.
He was focused on two schools for the 2019-20 season: Hermantown and Hermantown. Hermantown is a perennial champion that produced NHL prospects like Blake Biondi. Montreal Canadiens A draft pick is featured in the film. Eveleth, an iconic hockey program from Minnesota that won a string Minnesota state titles while also producing players for the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey teams of the 1980 and 1960 gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic hockey teams.
“Everybody knows Eveleth. It’s the place where state hockey began. Haines explained that they have the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame here. But it’s trending much like rural America. The population is falling. Mining jobs are declining. We wanted to capture Eveleth’s final season before the Golden Bears vanished.
Eveleth’s high school hockey team was in a race against the clock. 15 of their 20 players were scheduled to graduate. However, “Hockeyland” is a different story. Eveleth Gilbert Senior High School would not be around for much longer.
The school agreed to merge with Virginia High School in order to create Rock Ridge High School. It is expected to open in fall 2023. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, consolidation of their hockey programmes was delayed. Eveleth and Virginia remained separate teams for one more season in 2020-21. Eveleth’s remarkable legacy as a Minnesota hockey player was ended when the Rock Ridge Wolverines boys hockey team debuted in 2021-22.
Haines wrote “Hockeyland” about Eveleth’s last chance for playoff success. In it, Haines described how Eveleth and the community reacted after the merger.
“I don’t know whether they were pissed. He said that they felt they couldn’t compete with other schools. “They need the community to compete. Some people were annoyed, but it was clear that the writing was on paper.”
Haines’ original idea was to make a film about Eveleth, before the disappearance of that movie. Haines saw Eveleth fight Hermantown in an exploratory shoot. He met players and the coaching staff. Haines asked for the documentary’s focus to be on the hockey star on the rise, and the one with the greatest days. This became one of the most compelling narratives in the film, down to the moment Eveleth’s ice-resurfacing machine fails the day before the big game and leaves the team unable practice.
Haines admitted that there are obvious differences between teams. However, he didn’t want his attention to be all-encompassing. “I wanted the commonalities to be explored between each town, such as the passion that both coaches and players share for their programs.
Biondi is one of the players featured in the film. He was an NHL prospect and had initial concerns about his participation.
Biondi, a former high school star, is now playing for the University of Minnesota–Duluth. He was No. He was drafted No.109 by the Canadiens in 2020. As a senior in Hermantown, he averaged 3.04 points per match and was awarded the 2020 Minnesota Minute Men Mr. Hockey Award. This honor was previously held by the likes Ryan McDonagh, Nick Leddy And Nick Bjugstad.
Biondi replied, “It is just up in my bedroom.” “I don’t know if this is the right thing to say. I don’t want someone breaking into my home.”
Nothing says “Minnesota Hockey!” more than treating your Mr. Hockey Award with the utmost respect.
Although he had seen ESPN’s 30 For 30 series on hockey and other documentaries about players from the 1980s that he was familiar with, the 20-year old center wasn’t “super acquainted” with the format. The possibility of “Hockeyland” was something he heard about a few years back, when he met with a preliminary interview. He wasn’t certain if the project would ever be realized.
“I didn’t know what I was thinking when I arrived. He said that it was his senior year and he was focusing on trying win the state championship and individual goals. “But then, all of the sudden you’re miced up at rink. You’re then going to go hang out with your friends and they’re checking in on you to see where you are. It was crazy. After a few months, they were gone.
His hesitation in the project was more about the way his team and town would be presented than him.
“As community, we wanted to ensure it was done correctly. He stated that we didn’t want Hermantown hockey to be perceived negatively. We were concerned at first, but after we met Tommy, it was no big deal. He did an amazing job with the movie.
Biondi stated that he was aware of the filming process.
“Playing for Hermantown, that’s something you have to learn early on, and it’s something you do at a young stage. He said that eyes are always watching you. As a senior, I know that these cameras are always watching me. It wasn’t the first time. I realized it was important to pay attention to how I act and what others do.
Biondi is used in the documentary as a symbol of the high school hockey mania in Minnesota. One scene features him arriving at a youth hockey match and being treated by the players like an NHL star, complete with autographs and photographs.
Biondi stated, “It’s kinda a good thing and a bad thing.” “Hermantown hockey idolized. I wanted to be like the men who came before me. [Winnipeg Jets defenseman] Neal Pionk Others. Everyone wants to be the next big thing. Sometimes you might idolize the next big thing a little too much.
Haines is also focused on other players as well as the coaches of the teams. He is there to support them at the rink as well as in their homes. “Hockeyland” is just as much about the people than it is about hockey.
It’s about the players getting away from the rink and having philosophical conversations as the snow crunches under their tires.
It’s about the parents in their wood-paneled living spaces explaining how they have spent so much time raising hockey players. Lori Dowd was the mother of Indio Dowd and Aydyn Dowd, both Hermantown hockey players. Lori, who was diagnosed with cancer, is honored at the end of the film.
It’s Pat Andrews looking at an old VHS tape from his high school days, scoring a goal that won the championship for Hermantown, which he would eventually coach.
Surprisingly it’s not all about the hair.
Minnesota high school hockey is synonymous with the salad on the heads of Minnesota players. pregame introduction videos from the state championships The viral video of helmetless hockey players goes viral. The film shows hockey players losing their battles with hair loss, but it’s not an issue that is of much conversation.
“I think they would have covered it more, if we talked about it more. Haines stated that they didn’t mention the topic much.
Because, as memorable as some of these hockey coifs might be, they are just part of the hockey culture these families keep. Biondi said that while it might seem strange or unusual to outsiders, it’s simply another aspect of “Hockeyland”.
Biondi explained that it starts with dads who, after dark, flood the outdoor rinks at three in the morning. Then, they go to work by 8 a.m. It’s the youth programs. It’s the middle school kids who go to the rink till it gets dark. After that, you order pizza and then you go skating all night.
“That’s hockey in here. It has produced many good players. It doesn’t seem likely to change in the near future.