Soul on Ice: Past, Present and Future

Soul on Ice: Past, Present and Future reframes hockey history by spotlighting Black players whose stories rarely made the headlines. Rather than a chronological biography, the film stitches together memories, interviews and archival clips to show how these athletes shaped the game and pushed against exclusion. Viewers hear from veteran players and modern stars about the barriers they met, the styles they brought to the ice, and the personal costs and rewards of playing in a sport that often treated them as outsiders. The documentary aims to fill gaps in the record, tracing influences and moments that reveal a richer, more diverse hockey legacy without giving away any surprise revelations.

Directed and created by Damon Kwame Mason, the 2017 independent documentary gathers interviews with figures from across hockey, combining contemporary testimony with archival footage and commentary to build its case for a rewritten history of the sport.

Although not a mainstream blockbuster, the film has been used in community screenings and educational settings to spark conversation about who gets remembered in sports history, and it has helped bring attention to overlooked players and their on-ice contributions.

Critical coverage was fairly limited, but those who’ve seen it praise the focus on identity, inclusion and perseverance. The movie foregrounds themes of racial exclusion, cultural expression within a rigid sport, and the idea that style and soul have shaped hockey’s evolution, using personal stories to connect past struggles with ongoing debates about diversity.

Box office and wide release figures are not widely reported, which is common for small documentaries. The film’s distribution leaned toward festivals, community venues and targeted screenings rather than a broad theatrical run, aiming to reach audiences who are invested in sports history and social justice conversations.