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Slap Shot isn't a masterpiece of poetry in motion, and far from any kind of Oscar pretensions. It is however one of my biggest guilty pleasures. I know the movie is a cult-favorite all over North America, but it's a different kind of special for French Canadians like me. It is one of the only American movies translated in our own dialect, complete with cursing and local expressions. The translation is so potty-mouthed and offensive, watching it has become a yearly party-event in campus all across the province.

And since most actors in it, mainly the Chiefs, were and still are unknowns, I thought it would be fun to profile them all as a team.

Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman)
The blue-eyed heartbreaker was the biggest name in the film, and still is. He went on to win two Oscars, for 'The Color Of Money' and 'Road To Perdition', and nominated an impressive nine times. He's less active these days, but always a blast to watch every time. No need to go on about him, everyone knows who he is.

Ned Braden (Michael Ontkean)
Like his character, Mike is a skilled hockey player who won a university scholarship, and played all of three seasons (1966 to 1969) for the University Of New Hampshire team. Small guest parts in TV shows like 'The Partridge Family' slowly lead to roles and TV movies and small feature films, until his breakout chance with 'Slapshot' in '77.

With the movie's poor critical and financial results, nothing big really came out of it, even though he had grown respected as an actor. TV and arthouse work continued for the better part of the 80s, at the end of which cult status knocked on his door again, and big time. Rogue director David Lynch cast him as a small town Sheriff in the pilot for a strange new TV show called 'Twin Peaks'. The ensuing series had critics raving and audiences talking a lot! But as it only lasted one season, superstardom again eluded the actor. He resumed his gigs in TV movies and indy productions, up to this day. One more chance at the spotlight is currently knocking at his door, as a recurrent character on Fox's hit soap 'North Shore'.

Yvan Drouin ( Yvan Ponton)
59-year-old Yvan is actually an accomplished sports man whose skills and experience are often called upon in the media, like covering most Tennis Grand Slam tournaments for TSN (The Sports Network). He was also recruited as referee for Montreal's National Improv League (LNI), where he stayed from 1977 to 2002 (they welcomed him in their Hall Of Fame in 2003).

His work as a performing artist is also quite recognized and acclaimed in Canada. Although the character Drouin is a bit of a dimwit, the comedian mostly appeared in parts that transpired leadership and command like police inspectors, and other productions that involve Hockey. First as head coach Jacques Mercier in the landmark series 'Lance & Compte'(1986), and then as gay lawyer Jean-Charles in the hugely popular 'The Boys' film series (the fourth one is due out this fall).

When he's not acting on stage or film, he's hosting. Before Slapshot, he was part of a few kids shows, and now hosts a 'Weakest Link' type game show. He was then and is still today an important figure in Quebec's artistic community.

'Killer' Carlson (Jerry Houser)
Not that Dave looked like a dork, but Jerry's career mostly called for his voice talent, and not his image.
He debuted his screen-life with a bang in 1972, first in the award-winning drama 'Summer of 42' based on the life of author Herman Raucher, then alongside Jeff Bridges for popular western 'Bad Company'. After a try at TV with Paul Sorvino in 'We'll Get By', came the part of Dave Carlson. Could've gone either way, but it wasn't the big break Jerry hoped for.

And so Jerry quickly found a new calling, voicing cartoon characters. The Smurfs, Transformers, GI Joe and even The Flintstones benefited from his talent, not to mention Disney's 'Aladdin' animated feature. In person, he mostly appeared in TV movies and a few art house films, but nothing to make history. Now 52, his high-pitched voice continues to generate voicing work, last heard in 2003's direct-to-video "Charlotte's Web 2".

Billy Charlebois ( Guido Tenesi)
Baby-faced Billy doesn't speak a word in the movie, but does a lot of womanising! Guido, you may have guessed, is not an actor at all, but a pro Hockey player. He was a fifth-round draft pick for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1973, and spent the following 7 years in minor leagues as a defenseman. He played out the remainder of his career for a pro team in Italy, where his blond 'do earned him the nickname 'Swede'.

Latest news of his whereabouts came in 2002. The 52-year-old is said to be living in Toronto, where he runs his own pool cleaning business. Slap Shot was on his only acting job.

Captain Johnny Upton ( Allan F. Nicholls)
Allan himself might not have been an accomplished player, he nevertheless has it in his genes. He is the grandson of legendary goalie Riley Hern, who won the stanley cup with the Montreal Wanderers in 1908, 1909 and 1911.
Like the rest of the team, Allan had a few roles here and there during the 80s. He was more recognised and acclaimed as a screenwriter, nominated for two BAFTAs in the late 80s. He continued his contribution as producer, writer and assistant-director both on TV and films. His career is somewhat tied with Robert Altman and Tim Robbins, collaborating often times with both men on films like 'The Player', 'Bob Roberts' and 'Prêt-A-Porter'.

His private life, however, is kept very private.

Goalie Denis Lemieux ( Yvon Barrette)
Yvon was quite an activist during the 70s, appearing in a string of politically and socially charged movies between 1974 and 1977. In 1978, his focus shifted to the stage, directing a small play aimed for villages and rural crowds. Initially booked for a 30-nights road tour, the political play ended up with 200 shows, a fact that Barrette is quite proud of.

During the road tour, a lot of sight seeing had him fall love with a little wood mill, which he invested in. After a quick cross-Atlantic sailboat trip, following his theatre gig, he came back to work at the mill. On his own admission, he leads a small life, and likes it just like that, unable to sustain the big city beat. Now a granddad, he still works at the mill with his son.
He did one more movie appearance in 2001, his first since 1977. Rogue director Pierre Falardeau insisted on his involvement for 'February 15th, 1839', about the execution of the Canadian patriot rebels. He was fond of it and other movies he made, but says 'Slap Shot' haunts him…

The Hanson Brothers
Probably the most iconic and charismatic presence in the movie, these guys are the epitome of hard-hitting hockey, and most probably their own personal inspiration for their 'power play' sequences. Jeff and Steve Carlson are real-life brothers who played for the NAHL. Their third brother, Jack, had to drop out of the film when called up by the Jets' parent team, the Minnesota Fighting Saints, for their playoff needs. Dave 'killer' Hanson, an acclaimed High School and College athlete, was called upon to take over the role of Jack. He played pro hockey for 10 years, occasionally rising up to the majors with the Red Wings and Whalers.

Jeff and Steve never appeared on film after, except in 'Slap Shot 2', for which all three guys won a Best Supporting Actor nod at the DVD Premiere Awards in 2003. Dave appeared in a bunch of BBC TV series between 1977 and 1984, like 'Squadron' and ' Secret Army'. Some say he followed his sports career with humanitarian work, manly in Thailand. What is known for sure is that he now lives in Pittsburgh, where he manages the Island Sports Center, and coaches some local AAA teams.

Morris ' Moe' Wanchuk ( Brad Sullivan)
It was fun for me to see the guy who played pervert Moe end up years later, in 1997, playing a conformist priest in controversial TV series 'Nothing Sacred'.
Brad started his career in the early 70s, with small parts in movies and TV productions. A quick stint in the award-winning 'The Sting' alongside Paul Newman might be responsible for his involvement with the Chiefs.
He continued throughout the 80s to work in TV movies and feature films, mostly small to medium parts in a wide variety of projects, from 'Tin Men' to 'The Abyss'. The mid-90s were a watershed time for him. Audiences might have recognised him as a regular in 1995 and 1998 on long-standing series 'NYPD Blue'. And in 1997 among the aforementioned 'Nothing Sacred'. My favorite of his roles is in Michael Moore's 1995 flop 'Canadian Bacon', as a CIA desk clerk who sees the metric system for an evil Canadian ploy to disrupt life in North America.

The Korean War vet, now 73, retired in 2000 and resides in Upper-West-Side New York.

Schemin' Joe McGrath (Strother Martin)
Okay, so his name isn't 'Schemin', but it downright should've been. Let's hope NHL commissioner Gary Bettman never saw this movie, otherwise you might get an eye-load of Ty Domi on the catwalk…

A swimming instructor for the Navy during WWII, Strother started his Hollywood career with bits parts on film and TV in the early 50s. A chance encounter with movie legend Sam Peckinpah led to a life-long collaboration, and a plethora of Westerns for Martin. The watershed role however came in 1967, alongside Paul Newman in 'Cool Hand Luke'. Strother's line 'What we have here is a failure to commu nicate' became an instant classic, and propelled him to the A-list and more memorable roles. I, for one, remember him mostly as a crew boss in 'Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid' as well as a bounty hunter in 'The Wild Bunch'.

He passed away prematurely from a heart attack in1980, at the age of 61.

And the bad guy…

Ogie Ogilthorpe (Ned Dowd)
When scribe Nancy Dowd wrote the script, it was acknowledged that the Johnstown Jets of the North American Hockey League inspired her. And since her brother Ned played for the team in '74, he was a natural choice for a stunt coordinator and player. Hence the fearsome 'Ogie' was borne.

The gig was the first of only a few screen roles for Ned. He did, however, get the knack behind cameras. A few parts in the early 80s, in 'Popeye' and '48hrs' among others, quickly lead him to climb the production ladder, from Assistant Director, to Head to Production, to producer and now Executive Producer.
Among his resume are 'Powder', 'Wonder Boys', 'Reign Of Fire' and the recent 'King Arthur'. He is now 54.

(Thanks to Slap Shot Tribute for the access to their source material)

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