Owen and Holly are having a perfect day on frozen Humboldt Lake passing the puck around with their father — until Holly shoots the puck past Owen and it falls down an ice-fishing hole. Accepting defeat, they think the game is over, until their father imparts some wisdom and solves their dilemma by teaching them an ageold technique of hockey lovers from the past.

On the surface, The Hockey Tree is a simple tale about winter and a great day of playing hockey; at its roots it is a moving appreciation of the joys and wonders of the great outdoors, completely Canadian in its depiction.