Aylmer local nominated for Canadian Screen Awards 

Sophie Demers

Mick Gzowski, local writer and director, has been nominated in the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards for his work on Ice-Breaker: The ‘72 Summit Series. For this project, Gzowski served as a researcher in the team of people who worked on the documentary.   

The documentary is about the 1972 Summit Series,  a series of eight hockey games between Canada and Russia. Despite a rocky start, the Canadians ended up winning the series and Canada’s win during the final game in Russia remains one of the greatest moments in Canadian sports history.

The film was nominated for the Barbara Sears Award for Best Visual Research. The film team nominated includes Robbie Hart, Ania Smolenskaia, Sean Stoyles, Anastasia Trofimova, Connie Littlefield and, of course, Mick Gzowski. The documentary was produced by White Pine Pictures, a Toronto production company. 

As well as being a fan of the sport, Gzowski has a unique professional history working in professional hockey. “I got in touch with the team when they were looking for someone to help them with hockey knowledge. In the early 90s, I produced five years' worth of sports shows for CBC television in Vancouver and a few years ago I made two seasons of a web documentary series for the Ottawa Senators called All Roads Lead Home. They were little 5- to 7-minute documentaries with about six episodes per season,” said Gzowski. 

Much of his role in the film's creation revolved around working with Director Robbie Hart, who would give him a list of things he needed for the film, such as information or contacts. The local writer worked to connect various people involved in hockey at the time of the summit series to participate in the documentary. 

One of these contacts, who ended up being an important part of the film, was Brian Conacher, a former Canadian professional hockey player, coach, executive, and later a broadcaster during the 1972 Summit Series. 

“One major goal was to showcase diversity, which is difficult when the subject is the ‘72 summit series. There were not many women or people of colour involved in the organization at that time,” said Gzowski. “I suggested we get people who remember the series as fans who were also involved in hockey. Connecting with these people was one of the highlights of this project.” 

He was able to connect with Hayley Wickenheiser, a former ice hockey player, resident physician and assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Gzowski was also able to connect with Gino Odjick, a beloved hockey player from Maniwaki. Unfortunately, Odjick passed away shortly after and Wickenheiser was unable to participate due to scheduling issues. 

“This is the first time being nominated for a Canadian Screen Award, and it’s a huge honour, " said Gzowski. “I was able to attend an event in Montreal for the Quebec nominees and pick up my nomination. It was great to be surrounded by the top Quebec filmmaking talent.”

Gzowski lives in Aylmer with his family and continues to work on various documentary projects. 

Photo caption: Mick Gzowski and his wife, Mary Houle posing with the Canadian Screen Award nomination at a Montreal event for Quebec nominees. 

Photo credit: Mick Gzowski