Canuck Captains by Jason Farris

While much of British Columbia is oohing and awing over the beautiful new book Canucks At 40, there is another hockey book out there that will interest Vancouver Canucks fans.

Presented by Budget Brake and Muffler and sold exclusively at London Drugs stores in BC  (also get copies at Canuck Captains.com), author Jason Farris is back along with Jim Robson celebrating Canuck Captains. $4 of each book sale is donated to Canuck Place.

Orland Kurtenbach, Stan Smyl, Trevor Linden, Markus Naslund, Roberto Luongo, they are all here. Even Mark Messier - boo!!! hiss!!!

Decorated with action photography, memorabilia, and the game notes of Jim Robson and John Shorthouse, the book is wonderfully presented (although the text is hard to read on a couple of pages). The beautiful layout will come as no surprise to those who are familiar with Jason Farris' previous titles, Hail Cesare (about Cesare Maniago) and Hockey Play By Play: Around The  NHL With Jim Robson.

Farris calls the Canuck Captains book a supplement to Hockey Play by Play, as this is a chance to reveal more out of Robson's amazing vault of notes and memorabilia. Robson's artifacts really steal the show in both books.

That being said, the book really could have used a different cover image. Supplementary book yes, but an all new, eye catching cover could have really made this book stand out.

Inside the book the author takes a look at one special game for each of Vancouver's 10 captains. Along with adjoining commentary from Canucks players and managers and Robson and Shorthouse, this makes for an interesting read.

The unfortunate thing about this book is that is all there is to it. The book is thin and by the time you get through it, you wish there was more than 32 pages. The book could easily have been doubled by including career biographies of each captain. An extended look back at the tenure of each captain and his lasting legacy would also be nice touches. More text also means more opportunities to display the memories visually displayed throughout the book that really steal the show.

That being said, the glossy book is well priced at $14.99, with $4 going to charity. Bulking it up would only increase the production costs, and without a major publisher or distributor behind the book, too thick of a book would quickly raise the price too high.

This is a good book, a must look for all Canucks fans. Ideally it needs to be beefed up, but makes for a good Christmas gift for the Canucks fan on your shopping list. Be sure to look for it the next time you are in London Drugs, or order it online at CanuckCaptains.com.