The documentary features some familiar faces, including retired NHL players Lanny McDonald and Darcy Tucker, and Spooner, who traveled to Churchill, Manitoba to play on an outdoor rink the community built after the only indoor rink broke down.
"They put up boards, brought in this big almost, like, tractor trailer that people would us to go up and see the polar bears on," Spooner said. "They turned it into a change room. It was so raw, but it felt so Canadian to be out on that ice."
The film, produced by The Mark Agency in association with Sportsnet, the NHL and Hot Docs, captures the routines and rituals of the game, from getting kids up at dawn to practice or play to postgame hot chocolates.
"You're going to see many different stories in this documentary that are steeped in traditions and people who are working their rear ends off for their kids to enjoy the great game of hockey," said Tucker, who scored 476 points (215 goals, 261 assists) in 947 games for the Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche. "You'll have to bring out your popcorn, but you'll have to bring out a few tissues along the way as well. I know my wife, every time she gets a snippet of what's going in the documentary, she has a tear in her eye."
The film also features stories of courageousness and overcoming adversity. Quinn Kinsella, a member of Ontario's Flamborough Sabres youth hockey team, plays despite having cystic fibrosis, a genetic life-threatening disorder that damages the lungs and digestive system.