"It was kind of like when you're a kid and you had those Choose Your Own Adventure books. We were going to be the ones who depicted how the story goes," the 22-year-old Westlake said between practices at the national sledge hockey team's training camp in New Brunswick Thursday afternoon. "That got me excited. It gave me another reason to go to the gym. If it was going to be documented, I wanted to make sure it was going to be a happy ending."

The end result of more than 150 hours of footage, gathered from the time the team opened training camp to the final thrilling seconds of the world championships in Massachusetts, is the film documentary Sledhead: Canada's Sledge Hockey Team, which airs tomorrow (Saturday) at 7 p.m. on CTV.

In addition to following the team's journey as it attempts to defend the gold medal it won at the Paralympic Games in Turin, Italy, the documentary highlights several of the team's players, including Westlake. His parents tell of the difficult decision they made to have their son's feet amputated when Greg was born with his feet twisted backward. Westlake and his teammates tell of the challenges they face, from the practical -- negotiating their way through a German airport with no wheelchair accessibility -- to Westlake's more philosophical dilemma.

"I lay awake at night and think about things like, I've been out on four dates with this girl and she still has no clue that I don't have feet," he says to the camera. "I should really tell her."

Like everyone else, Westlake and his teammates will be seeing the documentary for the first time Saturday. There will also be a longer version that is being shopped to film festivals by producer/director David McIlvride and producer Alison Love. That will delve a little deeper into the varied personalities that make up the team than the 44-minute CTV version does.

While the world championships are the thread that ties it all together, the film also captures the speed and physical nature of the game. Westlake said the latter is an element of game that people struggle to understand.

"I come back from tournaments with cuts on my sides from people stabbing me (with the picks on the end of their sticks) and I'm all beat up and people say 'I thought you were playing sledge hockey.'"

Using low-angle shots and cameras and microphones mounted on players' sleds, the viewer gets an appreciation for the violent collisions that occur when two players bent on coming up with the puck along the boards ram into one another at full speed.

It also portrays just how seriously the players take the game. This is no leisure activity. It's not friendly competition. They are Canada's best players in their sport, willing to do whatever it takes to win.

"You can take the silver medal and flush it down the toilet," goalie Paul Rosen says before the gold-medal game. "I don't play for the silver. The entire year has been great, but if we lose this game it means nothing."

A business student at the University of Waterloo, Westlake takes an all-business approach to sledge hockey.

"I view this as a job," he said. "We eat, sleep and breathe hockey."

While Westlake has scored a goal that, had he been standing rather than sitting on a sled, would have found its way into the annals of Canadian hockey history along with Paul Henderson, Mario Lemieux and Darryl Sittler, he doesn't begrudge not being as well known.

"We have a strong following depending on the demographic. I was down in Sarnia and Chatham doing a camp for disabled kids. They knew who I was and were asking for my autograph," Westlake said. "I know that I scored that goal. I find that small taste is enough for me. I feel pretty lucky already."

As for the documentary giving the sledge hockey team a national audience, Westlake doesn't expect that it will mean capacity crowds for their next game -- only 650 people saw the world championship final. He said the exposure certainly can't hurt, though.

"It's a good resource for finding the game and getting into the game," he said. "If someone sees it and realizes they are capable of playing, it can really change lives."