Youngblood (1986) on Netflix
A farmhand in rural New York, Dean Youngblood goes to Canada for a tryout with the Hamilton Mustangs. He has skill but lacks toughness, and Carl Racki is quick to test it.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb6.2/1016,038 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes44%
Trailer
Plot summary
Dean Youngblood, a 17-year-old farmhand in rural New York, wants to play in the National Hockey League. His father disapproves, so Dean's brother Kelly persuades him to relent, and Dean travels to Canada for a tryout with the Hamilton Mustangs. He shows offensive skill on the ice but lacks physical toughness, and Carl Racki, another player competing for a place, fights him over the roster spot, a rivalry that earns Dean the nickname Pretty Boy. Mustangs head coach Murray Chadwick picks Dean for the team anyway, and Dean grows close to Jessie, the coach's daughter. Derek Sutton, a teammate, is Dean's team mentor.
Cast
- Peter Faussettas Huey Hewitt
- Walker Booneas Assistant Coach
- George J. Finnas Racki (as George Finn)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Youngblood (1986)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Keanu Reeves was cast as the team's goalie because he had actually played that position at his Toronto high school, where he earned the nickname "The Wall."
- The film's cinematographer strapped on skates and a helmet and built a custom rig so he could shoot the hockey action while moving on the ice himself.
- This was Keanu Reeves's first-ever feature film role, years before he became a leading man in Hollywood action films.
- Two of the film's uncredited hockey players, Steve Thomas and Peter Zezel, were, in real life, active NHL professionals appearing on screen alongside genuine junior and college-level players recruited for realism.
- Its lead actor, Rob Lowe, did not know how to skate before filming and, along with co-star Patrick Swayze, relied on stunt doubles for many of the on-ice sequences despite his character being a star player.
- A remake by director Charles Officer stalled for years after he died during pre-production, before Hubert Davis took over and filmed a scene during the intermission of a real Barrie Colts game at Sadlon Arena in Barrie, Ontario.
