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Francis: Iconic hockey movie celebrates 40 years

If Al Pacino could skate, Reg Dunlop might have been more like a Godfather than a father figure to the young misfits on the Charletown Chiefs.

Forty years this month after Slap Shot punched its way onto the silver screen with a comedic, counter-culture take on minor pro hockey, an enlightening documentary called Slap Shot at 40 has been unveiled by the NHL Network.

It reveals that one Oscar winner might easily have been replaced by another had ol’ Scarface grown up on skates.

“Even before (Academy Award-winning) George Roy Hill was brought in as the director of the film they had cast Al Pacino to play Reggie Dunlop,” revealed Dave Hanson, one of the movie’s beloved Hanson brothers, whom the documentary revolves around.