Scatchard fuses hockey and film into documentary

There's no debating that Dave Scatchard played a tough brand of hockey during his 13-year NHL career. Not with 1,040 penalty minutes and 49 fights in 659 NHL games - including 347 games with the Islanders. Scatchard could hit in the corners, right on the mouth, and on the scoreboard - as he totaled 269 points in his career. When the game hit back and sidelined him for two years with post concussion syndrome, Scatchard persevered, managing to make his way back through the fog, through the minors again, and into the NHL once more with the Nashville Predators in 2009.

Scatchard's hockey resume tells the story of scrappy two-way forward who defended his teammates, but there's more to the man than just the game. There was a creative side to Scatch always under the surface. Islanders teammate Mark Parrish remembers seeing Scatchard work on his music on the team bus, and he had a passion for film as well. While recovering from his fourth concussion, he went out and bought himself an expensive camera and spent time filming things that interested him, learning about camera angles, lighting, framing, etc. He said it felt like "painting with live action." He formed a production company and had started working on a few projects, but his desire to play hockey was still too strong to ignore, so he put down the camera to attempt one more comeback. Unfortunately, a fifth concussion in the AHL ended his playing career for good. It took a lot of work, but when his symptoms finally began to recede, Scatchard knew what he wanted to do next.

Having had the experience of making it to the NHL not once, but twice; the veteran decided he wanted to help others, especially kids, reach their potential - both as athletes and in life. He began working as a life coach, and soon afterwards realized he could combine what he knew firsthand about overcoming obstacles and inspiring others with his interest in film and reach more people. So he picked up his camera again and began filming Hockey Star Secrets.
Scatchard knew his own story of making it to the NHL from the tiny town of Hinton, Alberta was a good one. (Here's a tidbit: He was so focused on doing all he could to make it to the NHL that at the age of 10 he asked his parents for ankle weights for Christmas and then proceeded to wear them everywhere. Not just to practice and to school, but even sleeping in them!) After fighting so hard to make it back to the league again, Scatchard became curious about other players' origin stories. He said, "We all see the finished product, the NHL star, but no one really know what it took for that player to get there - and that's what I like to hear about."
So he began slowly, by calling his friends and former teammates and asking them to tell their stories. He hired a small crew to run the camera, the lighting and the sound so he could concentrate on asking the right questions and getting the players comfortable talking about their personal lives. He said the hardest part so far has been getting over his own reticence to ask the players for their time. But that's only because he remembers all too well how valuable their time off is - an 82-game season with so much travel leaves precious little time to be with their families, pursue other interests, or even just to relax. Despite that, the players have been great, he said - very generous with their time.
Now that word has leaked out around the league, players have been excited about the project and letting Scatch know they'd be happy to help. That's mostly because they believe in what he's doing - giving back. When you come from a small town and make it all the way to the big leagues, there are hurdles at every step. The players know that sharing their own stories and struggles helps both inform young people about what it takes to reach their goals or fulfill their potential, as well as inspires them to believe in themselves.

But another reason players have volunteered their time is because Scatchard's interviews are special. Scatchard is not a journalist, but rather a fellow traveler through the NHL journey, and so it seems the players feel more comfortable letting their guard down and revealing things - sometimes even things they've never talked about in public before.
His favorite part of the project has been seeing the look in players' eyes as they relive certain key moments, replaying the video in their mind's eye. Moments ranging all the way from not making the team as a pee wee to holding the Stanley Cup for the first time - not to mention all the hard work and sacrifices that came in between. It's an emotional flood for them, Scatchard said, and something they often find resonates long after the interview is over. Contributing their stories has turned out to be a very positive experience for the players - getting a chance to conjure up old memories and share a piece of themselves in order to help others.
All the positive reviews from players have helped Scatchard cast a wider net and consequently, he's started catching bigger fish - superstars John Tavares, Jeremey Roenick, Grant Fuhr and Roberto Luongo - just to name a few. And his interviews are wide-ranging as well. Brad May talks about how he managed to stay mostly healthy - despite playing in the corners for much of his 20 year career; while Scott Niedermayer, who has won nearly every hockey trophy there is, reveals some of his secrets for winning. Niedermayer, a four-time Stanley Cup champ and an Olympic gold medalist, is basically a walking billboard for Al Davis' famous philosophy; "Just Win Baby!"

Scatchard's instincts as an interviewer are spot on - it is inspirational to hear the players talk about their early struggles. It's also a bit of a fan fantasy to learn what their favorite players were like as kids, what they struggled with, and how they got to become who we know them as today. As part of his search for hockey star stories, Scatchard brought his camera to the Islanders alumni weekend in October. He sat down for over an hour with Hockey Hall of Famer Clark Gillies and got the Islanders legend to reminisce about his own path to the NHL. The stories poured out of Gillies, from the first time he ever laced up a pair of skates, through his first game in the minors (which featured three fights) to eventually being drafted fourth overall by the Islanders.
As Scatchard has continued to film, his thoughts on what form the project should take has changed. Originally conceived as a documentary, it now feels more like a potential series - with each episode delving deep into how a particular player dealt with adversity or found his way into the league. If Scatchard's other interviews are half as interesting, revealing, and emotional as his talk with Gillies, you're not going to want to miss them. You can sneak a peak now at
hockeystarsecrets.com
. And stay tuned for more details on how, when and where Hockey Star Secrets will be released in full.