Keanu Reeves had hockey experience upon being cast, having been MVP and nicknamed "The Wall" for his goal-tending capabilities at De La Salle's college team in Toronto, Ontario. Patrick Swayze had been trained as a figure skater, but never played hockey, and Rob Lowe had to be taught to ice skate before filming began.
Eric Nesterenko (Blane Youngblood, Dean's (Rob Lowe's) father) was a former professional hockey player, who had spent most of his career playing for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Loosely based on the ice hockey experiences of Writer and Director Peter Markle. When Markle filmed the ice hockey scenes, he worked while on ice skates.
All of the teams depicted, as well as the uniforms are fictional, except one. The Hamilton Mustang's first opponent were The Toronto Marlboros, who were, at the time, a team in the Ontario Hockey League.
Another actor was cast to play Rob Lowe's father in the film. However, when the actor dropped out of the film, Peter Markle suggested Eric Nesterenko, the former Chicago Blackhawks center who was consulting on the film to replace him since he knew what it took to play the game.