The Hockey 100 by The Athletic

 One of the most influential hockey books for me personally was Stan Fischler's Hockey's 100: A Personal Ranking of the Best Players In Hockey History.  It was published by Beaufort Books

It was a groundbreaking book. Published in 1984, it was one of the first to try to rank the top 100 hockey players in hockey history. 

I got my copy for Christmas that year. I remember it well. Ten year old me wanted that book so badly, but the front cover and the first number of pages started falling out of the binding. I was so devasted that I wouldn't look at the book for the fear of ruining it more. I remember crying at the dinner table over it.

I still have the book, with the loose pages in their correct order. I read it many times and credit the book as a big part of my still standing love of hockey history. I also have Fischler's updated book, Hockey's All New Hockey's 100 from 1990. The pages are all in tact, by the way, thanks to the new publisher - McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

I digress. 

Fast forward to 2026. In late spring it was announced that the fine hockey journalists at The Athletic were finally releasing the hockey version of The Athletic's popular 100 series. The Hockey 100. I immediately pre-orderd the book and waited a long time for it be delivered to me now in early November.

The book does not disappoint. I have long been a subscriber to The Athletic for their industry leading hockey journalism. Many of the writers join Sean McIndoe and Dan Robson's lead in creating the definitive ranking of the top 200 players of the modern NHL - meaning 1967 forward. There is nor Maurice Richard or Gordie Howe in this book, which is fine since they are up front about it. 

In 1984 I was all about the actual ranking. Now I don't care. In fact I don't even know how they came up with the order.  I just want quality storytelling with the emphasis on historical context.

The one criticism of the book is it feels like a book of 100 different stories as opposed to a reasoned ranking complete with explanation why this player is ahead of that player etc. But that's okay. The storytelling is so good. And I enjoy just being able to pick up the book and read a few pages at a time.

The Hockey 100 by the staff of The Athletic does not disappoint.

Amazon's delivery service, be it out of their warehouse or the local guys who came to the door, did disappoint. Somehow my copy of the book arrived with a damaged jacket. 

It seems I have no luck with books about the top 100 players in hockey history.

Women's Hockey Fanbook: All Access by Erin Silver

Women's Hockey Fanbook: All Access is a children's non-fiction scrapbook. Authored by Erin Silver, the book was published by Scholastic Canada in 2025.

The book is almost more of a thin magazine at 32 pages. It is definitely aimed at youth, ages 6 to 12 or so. Of course it is. Almost everything by Scholastic is. 

And, aside from the over use of exclamation marks, that is fantastic. This book is an excellent introduction to women's hockey at the true grassroots level. That's why I like it so much. Plus it it is visually appealing and even a die hard hockey fan will likely learn something about the women's game despite the brief biographies and stories featured throughout the book.

The book covers the inaugural PWHL season as well as expansion. The author also explores the long and interesting history of previous women's hockey leagues and legends that lead us to the PWHL's creation today. And there are brief profiles of current stars and historical figures.

There is also an interactive element to the book in the form of trivia, quizzes and photography.

It would have been nice to have a little more in depth player features and more of them. They left out a lot of top names. But that is predictable knowing the Scholastic formula for a book like this. 

Scholastic also offers a couple of women's featured players in their Amazing Hockey Stories series by author Lorna Schultz Nicholson. Both Natalie Spooner and Hayley Wickenheiser get more in depth 64 page books that your kids will enjoy as well.