Matt Boldy, a forward for the United States, was already playing travel hockey when he fell in love with the movie.
His parents drove him to practices and games and the minivan had a DVD player for the back seats. There was a rotation of three movies. “Miracle” was one. The other two? Boldy struggled to recall.
“Every time we were in the [minivan], we were watching that movie,” he said, a smile spreading across his face. “It’s one of those movies where you can quote the whole movie start to finish.
“The story is inspiring. It’s an influential movie for young American players.”
Brock Nelson, who at 33 is one of the gray beards on the American team, knows a bit more about the legend of 1980.
His uncle, Dave Christian, played for the 1980 team. His grandfather, Bill Christian played for the 1960 Olympic team, which won America’s first Olympic gold in ice hockey.
As a boy, Brock remembers wearing his uncle’s medal once. He regularly listened raptly to stories from his uncle about the Lake Placid tournament.
The movie brought those memories to life, made them tangible for Nelson, helped his uncle illustrate some of the finer points of his experience.
Dave Christian was played by Steve Kovalcik.
“His character looks pretty good representing him in the movie,” Nelson said.
Now, could there be a sequel to be made?
If the United States finds a way to win Thursday at the 4 Nations, the victorious players will join the pantheon of lionized American hockey players.
“I think this group that we have in our room have an opportunity to do that and inspire the next generation of players and I think they recognize that,” Sullivan said.
