This Looks Crazy

Having been around the hockey world for a while, my interest in the game started when I was young. I was all about learning about leagues and teams and players, and I could never quite figure out how a Russian team of players found their way into the IHL during the 1993-94 season. It turned out that one of the best netminders to ever don a Winnipeg Jets jersey suited up for the Russian Penguins that season as Nikolai Khabibulin was their netminder, and my curiosity in this oddball team in the IHL grew. However, the Jets left for the warmer climate of Phoenix, Arizona, I was moving into a new chapter of my life, and this curiosity waned. Looking back, I wish it hadn't.

I received an email from The 2050 Group regarding a new film that Universal Pictures is releasing on August 4 on digital platforms and via video-on-demand. Written, directed, and produced by Gabe Polsky, a new documentary all about how an NHL team joined forces with one of the most dominant Russian hockey teams to try and redefine hockey on both continents. What Polsky found and shows in this new film seems to be pure chaos in speaking with the people who were directly involved in this venture!

Here is the trailer for Red Penguins. Honestly, this looks entertaining!
I don't know about you, but any time someone mentions hockey in the same sentence as "gangsters, strippers, and live bears serving beer," you're probably in for a rather crazy experience. From the Red Penguins trailer above, it seems that everyone who was involved in this relationship between the Penguins and the Central Red Army team experienced their own ballet of emotion and feelings when it came to how this entire collaboration played out.

I'll let you know right now that I'm booked on August 4 so I can watch this film. As I said, my curiosity as a kid about this team always had me wondering about them, and I'm hopeful Gabe Polsky's look at the Russian Penguins and this joint venture by the Penguins and CSKA Moscow in Red Penguins will answer a few questions while being as wildly entertaining as the trailer is.

Expect a movie review on this site once I've had the chance to see it!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!