Cody Lightning
Production is underway in Edmonton for Smudge the Blades, a new hockey dramedy featuring Ed Helms, and Paulina Alexis. The film centers on the Treaty 6 Blades, an under-18 Indigenous reservation hockey team navigating their final season in a competitive northern Alberta league.
Directed and written by Cody Lightning, who also portrays Zamboni driver-turned-coach Willie Gladue, the movie delves into the intense subculture of reservation hockey in Canada. “Rez hockey in Canada is bigger than high school football in Texas,” Lightning remarked, emphasizing the sport’s significance in Indigenous communities.
The cast includes Jana Schmieding and a lineup of young Indigenous actors from Junior Hockey & the Oil Kings. Production began in April 2025, with a release aimed at the 2026 film festival circuit.
Director, Cody Lighting, spoke with 89.3 the Raven and shared how the idea of the movie came to be.
Lighting talked on how he had a lot more freedom and luck creating Smudge the Blades compared to his previous film, hey Victor.
Lightning shares a story about the toughest day they had for filming the movie due to extreme weather, but also mentions how it worked out in their favour.
Here, Lightning shares what this movie is about and why it’s gonna be worth watching.
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