The Hobey Baker Story: The King of Hockey -1987
The history and story of the Hobey Baker Award, which is presented each year to college hockey's most outstanding player. This combination bio-pic and docu-drama highlighted the journey of the 1987 awardee, Tony Hrkac.
At the time, the Hobey Baker Award was sponsored by the Decathlon Athletic Club in Bloomington, Minnesota.
This award winning film project was distributed and syndicated nationally. It was produced on location in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Bloomington, Minnesota and Detroit, Michigan by Rolco Sports & Entertainment.
-
Brian KohneDirector
-
Raymond RolakWriter
-
Kathleen PetersonProducer
-
Raymond RolakKey CastNarrator
-
Tony HrkacKey CastAward Winner
-
John ZieglerKey CastNHL President
-
Michael ReghiKey CastTalent
-
Project Type:Documentary, Feature
-
Runtime:60 minutes
-
Completion Date:April 16, 1987
-
Country of Origin:United States
-
Country of Filming:United States
-
Language:English
-
Shooting Format:3/4 video
-
Aspect Ratio:16:9
-
Film Color:Color
-
First-time Filmmaker:No
-
Student Project:No
-
1987 Detroit Press Foundation Awards - Best Sports VideoDetroit Press Club - Detroit, MI
1987
Sports Emmy Nomination -
North Star Sports Network
-
PASS Sports Network
-
SportsVision Sports Network (National)
-
New England Sports Network
-
Madison Square Garden NetworkNew York
The WCHA Player of the Year in 1987, Tony Hrkac helped North Dakota to the WCHA regular season and playoff titles in 1986-87. He further highlighted the season and was named NCAA Tournament MVP in 1987 as the Fighting Sioux claimed the national championship, beating Michigan State 5-3 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
The product of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Hrkac set an NCAA record for most points in a season with 116 in 1986-87 on 46 goals and 70 assists in 48 games – a record that still stands. He set the WCHA season mark for assists with 70 in 1986-87, scoring 64 goals and adding 106 assists for 170 career points in 84 games with the Fighting Sioux. Selected by the St. Louis Blues in the second round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, Hrkac spent 20 years playing pro hockey, retiring in 2005 from the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. Fourteen of his years as a pro were in the NHL with St. Louis (4 years, 2 stints), Quebec Nordiques (2 years), San Jose, Chicago, Dallas, Edmonton, NY Islanders, Anaheim (2 years) and Atlanta (2 years). After retiring, Hrkac coached at Concordia University in Wisconsin, but returned to professional play with Houston of the AHL for 12 games in 2008-09 and 17 games in 2009-10.
Narrated by Raymond Rolak, "The Hobey Baker Story: The King of Hockey" tells the history of the award and the 1987 journey that Tony Hrkac took to win the coveted honor.
This award winning docu-drama and bio-pic showcased never before scenes and interviews of collegiate hockey history.