Picture this: Your dad featured prominently in a famous movie, but you have no idea.

That’s the experience of former NHL centreman Christian Hanson, whose father Dave was one of the Hanson Brothers in Slap Shot, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

In a new piece for The Players’ Tribune, Hanson describes what it was like when he found out his dad played a major role in the legendary film.

As a kid, Hanson had heard of Slap Shot, but didn’t quite understand its significance. Then, on a bus ride home from a weekend hockey trip when he was 12 years old, someone had the idea to put the movie on. It was then that he found out his dad was something of a movie star.

Hanson’s reaction: “Is … is that … my dad?“

His dad was a former NHLer and the GM of the Capital District Islanders, the New York Islanders’ farm team. And, as Hanson describes him, he “was—and still is—one of the most soft-spoken people you will ever meet. He’s almost the polar opposite of his character in Slap Shot.”

In the same piece, Hanson also describes his experience as a draft-eligible player.



“The first year I was eligible for the draft was in 2005, after my second season with the Tri-City Storm in Kearney. I was projected to go in the fourth or fifth round. The NHL Network reached out to me a few weeks before the draft asking if they could do a special on me and Sidney Crosby—to sort of show the juxtaposition between the projected No. 1 pick and a mid-round pick like me. My parents threw a draft party.”

— The Players’ Tribune



There was one problem, though: Hanson wasn’t drafted. The TV spot aired anyway—in fact, it aired every Thursday night for two months. “I’d be sitting in the freshman athlete study hall at Notre Dame on a Thursday night and texts from friends would start rolling in at around 6:30,” Hanson recalls.

Hanson eventually signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and spent seven years bouncing across various leagues. Now, he works in insurance, with a focus on athletes.

His message for kids today? “I truly hope you make it to the NHL and play 15 years. If you do, please call me—I’ll make sure you have proper insurance coverage. But, for the ones who don’t, cherish your time on the ice.”