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There will always be a little place in my heart reserved for great hockey films. Slap Shot, Miracle and Mystery, Alaska all have firm positions among my favorite films of all-time. I am also a well documented lover of great independent flicks that sneak right past Average Joe American and end up finding their true audience on DVD. Canadian Charles Biname’s The Rocket: The Legend of Rocket Richard could very well be the next entry into both of these categories, as it profiles the rise of one of the greatest hockey player’s of all time, Maurice “The Rocket” Richard.

The film follows the French-Canadian born legend as he rose to prominence in the 1940′s and 50′s amidst a time of discrimination toward French-Canadian players. See baseball, even hockey had some mid-1900′s discrimination. Roy Dupuis stars as Richard, the factory worker who became a star, putting the NHL on the map all over the world.

The Rocket was the winner of 9 Canadian Academy Awards. It was picked up by Palm Pictures (the same Co. who brought us Sex and Lucia) for distribution in the United States. No details are available yet for a U.S. release date, but a DVD release is planned for later in the year. Take a look at the trailer below, courtesy of our friends over at IGN.