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georgekohlmann
Reviews
The Rookies (1989)
Hebler and Dyson = Sutton and Youngblood...an easy 10 Rating
In 1989, this movie was released as a made for TV movie...and since then has been harder to find than Ty Cobb's baseball card. It's the original story of the boy named Cory Dyson who leaves the small town behind to chase his hockey dreams. Like Youngblood, he finds both a nemesis and a friend in Pat Hebler, a 5'4 defenseman who had previously had a cup of coffee with the Detroit Red Wings. Hebler wants back into the NHL, and the St. Louis Blues have interest, but does he have what it takes to overcome the wrap-around of Cory Dyson? Don't lose sleep over it...
C.B.C.'s Magic Hour: Rookies (1989)
Like Youngblood? You'll love Rookies!
My friend Bubba and I used to talk about this rarely seen film in the outfield at baseball practice all the time. This was early internet, pre- "you can find everything online" era. I simply cannot believe it can be viewed on Amazon Prime for free now. Just awesome- it's been 25 years since I've seen it. Back in the day when it was released, around 1990, you had to catch it on T.V., but you were never going to find it in any VHS rental store. Vintage similar to the likes of Rad and Gleaming the Cube, Rookies is frickin' awesome. If you were a hockey player in the late 80's/early 90's, you'll love this movie. The face masks are simply unbelievable, visors that have a "wierd angle" to them, out and diagonal? I wish I could find one of these for men's league. The story tells of a young Canadian with dreams of going pro, so he leaves his small town behind (remind you of any other mint hockey moviet? eh hem- YOUNGBLOOD). Cory Hebler meets foe-turned-friend, a 5'4 defenseman named Pat Hebler, who had a stint with the Red Wings before being sent back down to the minors. He is the leader of the team (the Derek Sutton of "Rookies") both on the rink and at the bar. As many of us remember, in the 80's/early 90's there were soundtracks, and then there were "movie scores." Rookies has a good "score." Also, when Hebler meets the daughter of the team manager, she says, "can I take you for a ride?" and proceeds to drive him 100 mph in her Camaro to a love theme- phenomenal. The great part of this movie is that Dyson's big move is the wrap-around. This movie overall is just fantastic and you can watch with your friends and talk about for years to come. Hebler is trying to make the St. Louis Blues at the end of the movie, and you'll have to watch to see what happens. We never do find out what happens to Dyson, but it sets up a sequel that if isn't made, I'm going to make myself one day. Bubs, this review is for you, I hope you read it some day. -Kohl