'Slap Shot' Star Dave Hanson Takes the Helm of RMU Island Sports Center

Dave Hanson said he gets it all the time. 

In fact, put a pair of dark-rimmed glasses on him and maybe even the blue-and-white Chiefs jersey he sported in the 1977 Paul Newman classic Slap Shot and he still looks a lot like his punch-throwing alter ego, Jack Hanson, a member of the film's dimwitted trio, the Hanson Brothers. 

"I still get recognized for the film," he said. "It's great."

Hanson, 57,  a different role -- executive director of Island Sports Center. 

Hanson, who played professional hockey from 1974 to 1984 with the Detroit Red Wings and the defunct Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars) organizations, will oversee operations at the university's sports center, which includes facilities for indoor golf, ice and roller hockey and ice skating. The Peters Township resident has worked at the center since 1998.

"People in Moon should know they have a gem in their backyard," Hanson said of the center on Neville Island. "It's one of the finest facilities in the country. We get compliments all the time."

Before joining RMU, Hanson managed the Gore Mountain Ski Area in upstate New York for 14 years. His roots are firmly in Western Pennsylvania: His wife is from Nanty Glo, near Johnstown in Cambria County, and he first came to the area more than 30 years ago to play for the Johnstown Jets, a defunct hockey team that served as the inspiration for Slap Shot's Charlestown Chiefs. Much of the movie was filmed in Johnstown.

Slap Shot's cult following keeps Hanson busy. The Hanson Brothers still get together from time to time, donning their signature glasses at charity appearances. To date, the group, which includes former pro hockey-playing brothers Jeff and Steve Carlson, has raised nearly $13 million for charity, according to Hanson.

Hanson was tapped for the film because casting directors couldn't find actors who could skate well enough to play the part alongside Newman.  

"Paul [Newman] was the most incredibly gracious and generous person," Hanson said. "He was clearly the star on the set, but  you would never know it." 

Hanson said he's gratified now by his job at the sports center, where he gets paid to promote the sport he loves. 

"The neatest thing is seeing a little tot come in here and play hockey for the first time," he said. 

Hanson got his start playing hockey while growing up in St. Paul, MN. His father took him down to the neighborhood pond and told him to amuse himself for a couple of hours. It turned into a lifelong passion for the sport. 

"Ultimately, as with anyone who plays, you want to reach the professional level," he said. "It's an indescribable feeling to have the opportunity to play a kid's game in a grown man's body." 

When it came time to teach his son Christian the game, he did exactly what his father did for him: Laced him up in skates and took him to the neighborhood rink. 

"I put a helmet on him and took him to a little local rink down the mountain from where we lived in upstate New York," he said. "Poor kid, he looked like Bambi out there on the ice." 

Years later, when Hanson watched Christian, now a 20-year-old center for the Toronto Maple Leafs, score a goal against New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur, it was a full-circle moment. 

"It's more special than when you play," he said of watching his son. "It's the biggest thrill to see him play." 

And if he has his way, there could be yet another Hanson taking to the ice. 

"I have a 17-month-old granddaughter," Hanson said, smiling. "My goal is to have her on skates by Easter."