Ice Guardians

Brett Harvey's documentary Ice Guardians (released in 2016) is about very interesting subject. I am an ice hockey fan and enforcers are one interesting part of the NHL matches. I have noticed that fights have decreased in recent years. This documentary told some reasons for that.

Many former NHL players who were enforcers told about being enforcer and the evolution of the role in the history of the NHL. Former players and most fans who were interviewed hoped that the role of enforcer wouldn't disappear completely. Couple of interviewed said that the health of enforcers is a priority.

The documentary isn't completely objective and could be little shorter. On the other hand some interviews are emotional for example Dave Semenko's thoughts about winning the Stanley Cup when he played in Edmonton. Better than average documentary. 7/10

Really a solid look into fighting in hockey, the role of the enforcer and concussion related injuries in hockey in particular but in sport in general also. Some of these guys just deserved the acknowledgment for what they brought to the game for the last 30 or 40 years. Great interviews with some great former hockey players and insight into how they saw the game, the direction it is headed and what are the things that need addressing going forward.

This seemed to be propelled along with the adrenaline of the fights featured in the documentary. It gave a really great overview of the enforcer role and the place of hockey fights in the sport; right from their origins to their present day decline.

I'm someone who only recently developed a love for the sport during my time living in Canada. One of the first things I found appealing and unique to hockey were the fights. How the entire game would stop as the fighters took center stage was something I found incredibly fascinating and entertaining!

'Ice Guardians' definitely gave me the hockey-fight-fix I'd been craving lately. As a documentary, I preferred "The Last Gladiators" though, which also features the role of hockey enforcer, perhaps from a more classic era. This one seemed to have a big focus on "modern day" enforcers/fighters, with not every 'segment' being as appealing as the other. The different segments seemed a little disjointed at times, interrupting the flow the film. It was also a bit overlong.

Parts of the documentary I found the most interesting were the unspoken "etiquette" of the fights ("Hey, if I don't fight you, I might get dropped for the next game." "Sure, okay, I'll help you out.") and the players' emotions when seriously hurting opponents. The concussion element was also intriguing, with 95% of hockey concussions coming from play and not fights themselves. It's that statistic that will stay with me and hopefully prove that hockey fights are here to stay!

Tries to be fair and balanced for the most part, although those that don't like fighting or enforcers are portrayed as out of touch and elitist, this is more about showing all facets of the characters that play and talking about their role. Solid movie if you're a hockey can, not sure if it would make one out of a non-fan though.

Great hearing and seeing actual players in the video clips and interviews speaking for themselves instead of some biased, deceptive media talking head. Excellent depiction of an enforcer in hockey and the NHL. The hot issues, enforcers, fighting, concussions..., were discussed fairly by all sides. Well done!