New Year, New Hockey Books

There is a whole slew of new hockey books hitting the market on January 1st, 2011.

Hockey Trailblazers

Scholastic brings us Hockey Trailblazers by Nicole Mortillaro. The book looks at the stories of 5 hockey stars who over came great obstacles to make it big in the world in hockey. Readers will learn about: - Willie O’Ree, who challenged racial barriers as the first black player in the NHL. - George Armstrong, the first aboriginal player to make it big in the NHL, played 11 seasons as the Captain of the Maple Leafs, and proved his talent many times over. - Bobby Clarke was the first player with diabetes to play in the NHL. Knowing his place in hockey history now, it is laughable to think he was dismissed as "too fragile" to play the game. - Manon Rhéaume, the first woman to play pro hockey. - Larry Kwong, the first Chinese-Canadian in the league. The best part about this book? It is listed at only $7!

Sidney Crosby

There are a couple of books on Sidney Crosby coming in January, both aimed at the youth market.

Sidney Crosby: Hockey Champion by Sarah Tieck and Sidney Crosby: Hockey's Golden Boy by Dave McMahon.

McMahon also takes a similar look at Crosby's nemesis with Alex Ovechkin: NHL Superstar.


NHL History And Heroes

Also available on January 1st is a series of books that are intended for the school library market, but through the wonderful world of online sales are also easily available to the general public.

The NHL History and Heroes offers looks at the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Boston Bruins.

These 48 page books, selling around 10 bucks, are aimed at younger readers.

VIP Passes

For $9 you can get the paperback version of VIP Pass to a Pro Hockey Game Day: From the Locker Room to the Press Box (and Everything in Between). Author Clay Latimer what happens behind the scenes during a National Hockey League game. The book is also available in library binding for about twice as much.