Enforcers Week On Film: Flashing Back to Les Chiefs

Enforcers Week continues all week long at The Hockey News, and Adam Proteau has a mini-series recalling some of the most memorable hockey tough-guy films. Today, we rewind to the 2004 documentary, Les Chiefs.

Film Name: Les Chiefs

Cast: Brady Austin, Mike Bajurny, Mike Henderson, Cory Holland

Critical/Viewer Reception: 99-percent audience approval on Rotten Tomatoes

Plot Summary: A team of minor-pro players do their best to excel in one of hockey’s toughest leagues. They’re adored by fans, but the path to a job at the top levels of the game is more or less nonexistent for them. This is a snapshot of life in small rinks, with big expectations.

Sometimes, we forget there are many hockey players who never get anywhere close to the NHL level but battle as best as they can to establish themselves as an on-ice force. Les Chiefs showcases these types of players. A number of them in the film live in their home arena, as their modest salaries keep them in humble surroundings. You won’t recognize many players in the film, but there have been some notable names who had NHL careers prior to playing in the LNAH, including legendary enforcer Donald Brashear (who played for the Quebec Radio X franchise in the 2004-05 NHL lockout season, amassing a whopping 260 penalty minutes in 47 games), Stephane Richer and Bobby Dollas. Ultimately, the LNAH’s players are much closer to playing for the love of the game than their NHL counterparts, and any above-average player who participated in the lower minor-league level will recognize themselves and their hockey dreams in Les Chiefs.

THN recognized the high quality of the film in a 2011 ranking of the best hockey movies of all-time, and although it’s not easy to find for rentals or purchases, Les Chiefs can be found online. It’s well worth seeking out, as it’s almost a time capsule of a bygone era where blood flowed regularly for the enjoyment of fans and players themselves.

Any hockey fan who has seen the iconic Slap Shot film will appreciate what Les Chiefs has to offer from a real-life viewpoint. There’s humor, drama and intrigue galore here, and it all holds up very well nearly 20 years after the movie was released. The hopes of not-quite-elite athletes will make viewers root for everyone involved with the film, and future generations can watch it and still find it compelling as a movie about life in the lower levels of the professional game. It would make for a Disney-like happy ending if the players we see here somehow made their way up to the NHL, but – spoiler alert – that’s not the reality on display here.

In a way, that makes the players in Les Chiefs more relatable. They’re all lifelong hockey fans who’ve decided to sacrifice their physical health as they pursue their athletic goals. By the end of the film, you’ll have a much deeper appreciation for the thousands of current and former players who gave the game their best shot and learned to live with the sometimes-painful, sometimes-disappointing results that followed. 

This is no fairy tale. Rather, it’s a glimpse at the brutal toll taken on players who put their well-being on the line for the entertainment of fans.

THN.com was one of the first media outlets to call attention to this must-see hockey documentary, which was made in 2004 for the bargain-basement cost of $20,000. Focusing on the rough, semi-pro, Quebec-based Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH) and the Laval, Que. based Laval Chiefs, the film follows the team’s group of players both on and off the ice as they deal with the physical and mental ramifications of a robust, ultra-physical style of play. 

You don’t have to be a fan of fighting in hockey to appreciate the human side of this element of the sport. You just have to have empathy for your fellow human beings, and you’ll come away from watching this movie with much more empathy for players who fight and, in the process, try to make out a living from it.