I really hope that Florian Xhekaj makes it to the NHL alongside his brother Arber, as we would have two of the toughest players in the entire league, putting every single other team on notice whenever they face the Montreal Canadiens.
Wait, rough and tumble brothers who wreck havoc on the ice and strike fear into the heart of everyone that plays the game. Does that sound familiar?
If I ask you to think of a hockey movie, a lot of people (especially the older crowd) will immediately think of Slap Shot, the 1977 cult classic about a small-town hockey team on the verge of going under. And ask to picture a character from said movie, and you will usually get three answers, that basically all count as one: Jeff Hanson, Steve Hanson and Jack Hanson. The Hanson brothers.
They were undoubtedly the highlight stand-out of the film, and they were goons. They weren't there to score goals, or really to shut down the opponents using their defensive prowess. It was just to physically dominate the other team's players and knock them down until they wouldn't want to get back up again.
But, ask that same question to younger hockey fans, and you are likely to hear the name Goon come up just as often. Goon, if you can believe it, is the story of a goon. Doug's a dim-witted but well-meaning bouncer, recruited to a hockey team to effectively bounce on the ice.
The film was a cult success, and even spawned a sequel years later. Even mostly-golf-but-a-little-hockey movie Happy Gilmore, Happy is essentially a goon with a rocket of a slapper. He says himself that during a game he tried to attack someone by taking off his skate and stabbing him with it. Typical goon behaviour.
And if you needed anything more, the ongoing spinoff Canadian series Shoresy follows the titular hockey player, playing in Sudbury and using his goon ways to save a struggling team, very similar to the aforementioned Slap Shot.
Does it count as a pattern if there are no outliers? If you make a movie about fictional hockey players, you make a story about goons. Sure you get the odd biopic, like The Rocket about the life of Maurice Richard, but the vast majority of hockey stories are about goons.
And why is that? Its because goons are freaking fun! They are cocky by design, imposing and impressive, often hilarious with quick minds and razor sharp tongues, and are simply the baddest people on skates.
At least in films. In real life, its a slightly different story.