'There were some dark times': documentary details hockey legend's life

One of Windsor's most successful hockey players won't ever make the Hall of Fame.

While legendary on the ice, Bob Probertwas widely considered one of the toughest and brutal players of all time.

ButProbert'sstyle of play hasinspired a documentary showcasing his life both on and off the ice.

The movie, called Tough Guy: The Bob Probert Story, is about to be released.

Producer and director Geordie Day said they were "excited about Bob telling his story in his own words."

"The pieces finally just came together," said Day about the documentary. The movie has been in the works since Probert's autobiography came out in 2010.

Probert's wife Dani said she wasn't ready to think about the documentary a few years ago.

"I knew [the audio] was there," Dani told Windsor Morning's Tony Doucette. "I just wasn't ready to hear it."

Even after thinking she was ready, Dani had to shut off the video the first time she watched it.

"The first line in the documentary is Bob's voice," said Dani. "As the documentary went on it was comforting," but the first shock of hearing her late husband's voice took a minute to get over.

The movie uses taped interviews of Probert with autobiography author Kirstie McLellan Day, as well as interviews from the 1990s.

"So many players had so much love for Bob," said Day. "It wasn't hard to get guys to open up."

Probert was famous for dropping his gloves on the ice and his off-ice life included opioid addiction, a charge for cocaine possession at the Detroit-Windsor tunnel, and regular brushes with the law.

"I think there are moments that aren't a happy story and there are moments that are," said Day. "The focus has a lot to do with overcoming a lot of challenges in his life."

Dani said there was nothing she didn't already know in the documentary.

"Hearing his voice describing the details for the troubles that he'd been through seeing the behind the scenes and hearing it from him," she said made her emotional.

Dani says the theme of the movie is hope.

"There were some dark times," said Dani, describing Probert as a "man's man."

"He was a guy who took full responsibility for his problems, he never was one to blame anyone else."

A local screening of the documentary is scheduled for Dec. 13, 2018 at the Olde Walkerville Theatre.