Review: 'Ice Warriors: USA Sled Hockey'

I am not at all a sports fan. While most Americans see the Olympics as the opportunity to root for their country and enjoy performances by some of the most talented athletes in the world, I see the Olympics as two weeks when I get to read a lot of books. I don't hate sports, I just don't generally feel connected to that world. So I'm as surprised as anyone to admit that my favorite hour of television from this week is centered around a group of hockey players preparing to go to the Sochi Paralympics.

"Ice Warriors: USA Sled Hockey" airs on PBS stations on Monday and it is everything you would want from a sports documentary. It's inspiring, it's entertaining and it opens up a world that few viewers will have experienced before watching the show.

Sled Hockey is a core sport in the upcoming Paralympics, which take place over the course of ten days in March 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Like the more familiar Olympics, the Paralympics offers up national rivalries, the familiar gold, silver and bronze medals and all the trappings of a first-tier international sports competition. The only difference is that all of the participants have physical disabilities, so many of the sports have been altered a bit to accommodate the athlete's challenges.

But any notion that these athletes are somehow less capable of playing hard will be wiped away after watching the first few minutes of "Ice Warriors." The documentary follows the USA sled hockey team, which is preparing to defend its gold medal win in the Vancouver games. The cameras began rolling last fall, as the team begins to assemble and prepare for the Four Nations Sledge Challenge, the last major international stop before Sochi. The team's roster has been cut from about 65 hopefuls to 18, with one more player left to be cut before Sochi.

Sled Hockey isn't a sport I had seen before, but it is a fast and brutal take on traditional hockey. Players sit on small metal sleds, with a pair of skates attached on the bottom edge. They maneuver with the help of two modified hockey sticks, which include two small spikes on the top end, which can be used to balance and maneuver on the ice. While it might sound clunky, the game is fast-paced and violent, with players reaching speeds on the ice as fast as 30 miles per hour. Watching players collide at that speed is painful and it's quickly clear that the level of athletic ability necessary to play this game matches or exceeds the skills needed to play in the NHL.

The USA team is assembled from a group of players that couldn't be more diverse. The roster includes two high school students, four players who lost limbs during military service, a couple of friends who were in an accident on the way to a school dance, as well as men who were born without limbs or suffered some childhood trauma that put them in a wheelchair. But despite their varied backgrounds, what they all have in common is a love of competition and a drive to win that is truly inspiring. As these men tell their stories and share their lives, you quickly forget their physical challenges and are drawn into their struggles to remain at the top of their game.

"Ice Warriors" tells an amazing story of a group of athletes who deserve to be celebrated. Not only did I enjoy the special, I found myself anticipating the Sochi Paralympics, which will be airing on NBC and NBCSN beginning on March 7. Considering the level of my sports impairment, that anticipation is a testament to the power of the show and of the members of the USA Sled Hockey team.