re: Why does Hockey translate so well in film

Goon is so great because it's a movie about chirping, and no sport holds up great trash talk to such a high degree as hockey, except maybe basketball. I mean, Goon is just overstuffed with outstanding lines of people busting each other's balls (as is Slap Shot).

But hockey also has that baseball Code of honor stuff, so it can circle back to the serious stuff pretty easily. It's a sport built for movie dialogue.