A new documentary titled “Dominik Hasek: Always the Goalie,” presented by Dave & Adam’s, has been released and is now available on Sabres.com and the team’s YouTube channel. The film explores the life and career of Dominik Hasek, one of hockey’s most notable goaltenders.
The project began 18 months ago when the Buffalo Sabres video production team traveled to Prague during the NHL’s European Player Media Tour in summer 2024. Michelle Girardi Zumwalt, supervising producer for the Sabres, was part of a three-person crew that visited Czechia twice to meet with Hasek and collect material for the film.
Zumwalt explained how initial plans focused on Hasek’s early years but eventually expanded into a comprehensive feature. “We went into it thinking this is going to be Dom’s origin story, but over the past 18 months, it ballooned into a comprehensive, 95-minute story about his entire life,” she said.
The documentary includes interviews with people from Hasek’s hometown of Pardubice, Czechoslovakia—then under Soviet rule—and explores why he chose not to defect to North America, unlike his friend Frank Musil. Musil, who is now a scout for the Sabres and appears prominently in the film, provides insight into the challenges faced by athletes under communism.
“Frank’s story is really critical. I was surprised when I interviewed him how emotional he still is about defecting and not being able to tell his parents he was going to defect. He went to Yugoslavia with his girlfriend, who he also couldn’t tell he was defecting, and then left the country without a word. I was surprised all these years later he was still struggling and said, ‘It’s difficult for me to talk about,’” Zumwalt said.
She added that Musil became an important counterpart in telling Hasek’s story: “Frank became the heart of the film with the fact that he chose a different path than Dom, and luckily, it turned out that he was able to go back and see his family again. It was an unplanned surprise that his story ended up being so poignant and meaningful and a good foil to Dom’s story.”
Archival footage from Czech TV stations as well as personal photos from Hasek were used extensively in production. Zumwalt credited Scott Balzer from her team as instrumental in finding rare clips: “Scott Balzer is basically a Sabres archivist himself and he won’t rest until he finds the clip that you’re looking for.”
Zumwalt described what stood out during their time filming in Pardubice: “How happy their childhood was, how wonderful it seemed to be and the closeness of the relationships… It made you understand why Dom maybe didn’t want to defect and why he was happy where he was.”
Former teammate Otakar Janecky remarked on Hasek’s connection with those around him: “It’s our Dom.” Zumwalt noted how important returning home remained for Hasek after his NHL career: “He says throughout the film, ‘This is a hockey town.’ He’s so appreciative of the way he grew up and able to be himself.”
Reflecting on what viewers might learn from watching “Dominik Hasek: Always The Goalie,” Zumwalt said: “I hope that people just have a greater understanding of what those athletes faced – especially in the ’70s and ’80s – who just wanted to be the best at their craft… I think there’s still a lack of understanding of what living under communism really was on a day-to-day level where sometimes there were wonderful things for kids, but it ultimately did constrict people’s freedom and we shouldn’t take that for granted.”
