Golden Boys: The Top 50 Manitoba Hockey Players Of All Time

I do have to preface this commentary with the fact that the author of this book, Ty Dilello, and I have become good friends. And he was far too nice to me with his mentions of me in his new book, Golden Boys: The Top 50 Manitoba Hockey Players of All Time.

Young Dilello is a rising young star on the hockey literature scene. When I learned he was undertaking this historical effort, I was excited to see how he tackled it. After all, hockey in Winnipeg and Manitoba goes back a long, long ways. We all know about guys like Jonathan Toews and Ed Belfour And there's no shortage of information on the superstars like Bobby Clarke and Terry Sawchuk, regardless of what era they're from. But how will he get a take on Bones Raleigh or Dan Bain?

The answer is through impressive, unending research. Dilello scoured every source imaginable, be it the written record or, where possible, talking to the player or their families.  He even scoured through military documents. The result is a true understanding that is passed on to the reader in the book.

The other thing that is passed on is the author's passion for the project. Some hockey books can seem tired or forced. Dilello's enthusiasm for the research comes through time and again as you flip the pages of this book.

The book's format is obvious. The top 50 players in Manitoba history are ranked. I won't give away the rankings other than to say that they are both accurate and sure to create debate and dialogue at the same time.

It's a good book regardless if you're from Manitoba or not. You will learn lots about all of the players involved as well about hockey in general.

The book also has this wonderful trailer on Vimeo:

Golden Boys (Trailer) from Ty Dilello on Vimeo.