Hockey Book Reviews.com

Trent Frayne Passes Away

2012-02-11T16:35:00.000-05:00

Legendary Canadian sports writer Trent Frayne has passed away. The 93 year old was once referred to as “likely Canada’s greatest sportswriter ever" by none other than Pierre Burton.

Frayne began his journalism career in his hometown of Brandon Manitoba when he was just 15 years old. Soon he moved to Toronto where he spent a life time writing reports and columns for the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun and The Globe And Mail. He also did plenty of freelance work, landing pieces in Sports Illustrated and Saturday Evening Post.

Frayne wrote more than a dozen books on sports, including Tales of an Athletic Supporter (his personal memoires), The Mad Men of Hockey, and Great Canadian Sports Stories (with Peter Gzowski).

The Hockey News: Young Guns 2

2012-02-07T22:28:00.000-05:00

I got the latest book from The Hockey News in the mail last week. The Hockey News Young Guns 2 was released in early January 2012, although I am curious as to why they did not release it earlier as it would have been an excellent Christmas choice for fans of all ages.. It is the sequel to Hockey's Young Guns released in 2007

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

When it comes to books released by The Hockey News I find they are either well done or forgettable, with no middle ground. I am far more inclined to include Young Guns 2 in the well done category.

Co authors Ryan Kennedy and Ryan Dixon provide solid writing as they explore how 25 of the NHL's rising super stars reached stardom. They unearth some amazing stories of the various backgrounds of some of these amazing athletes. Like howe Carey Price's father flew he son to games and practices, or how Erik Karlsson learned the values that lead him through life from a lumberjack, or how Logan Couture hated skating and hockey the first time he tried learning how to skate.

It is stories like that allow us to peek into their world and give us a better appreciation of the sacrifices these players and their families made to accomplish their dream of playing in the National Hockey League.

Other players profiled include Jonathan Toews, Steven Stamkos, Drew Doughty, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, PK Subban, Claude Giroux, Milan Lucic and John Tavares.

The book also rushes to include a "Future Young Guns" section which headlines Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Tyler Seguin and Gabriel Landeskog. Considering the late release date these profiles seem underwritten, rarely talking about what these youngsters have accomplished early in this season.

It is the story telling that makes the book, but The Hockey News also invested wisely into a high quality presentation, which is something they sometimes skimp on. This books is full of brilliant colour photography lining its 185 glossy pages.

Patriot Hearts: Inside The Olympics That Changed A Country

2012-02-06T22:54:00.000-05:00

At long last I have read John Furlong's Olympic memoirs. The Vancouver Olympic Committee headman has - with the help of the gifted Gary Mason - penned his autobiography - Patriot Hearts: Inside the Olympics that Changed a Country.

Though the book opens with the game's crowning moment - the men's hockey gold medal game - the book is not really a hockey book. Still, it is a great read for anyone looking to relive the 2010 Olympics, as well as learn how it all came to be.

It is a pretty amazing behind-the-scenes look at "the Olympics that changed a nation." Furlong is an amazing visionary and an amazing leader. Right from the start he led his Olympic Committee team not with the purpose of putting on a show, but with the grander goal of nation building. Despite many challenges, they accomplished their goal magnificently.

This book obviously appeals to Olympic sports fans and proud Canadians. But you almost could include this book in the business section of your favorite book store. The book is an inspirational guide on such topics as leadership, motivation and problem solving. How Furlong managed arguably the biggest project ever undertaken in Canadian history is something MBA students will be studying for years to come, I'm sure.

That is the biggest thing I took from this book, but I enjoy such studies. I really enjoyed the trips down memory lane, but it is Furlong's vision and leadership skills that wow me.

Buy The Book - Amazon.ca - Chapters.ca - Amazon.com

Here's more from the publisher, Douglas and McIntyre:

A riveting behind-the-scenes account of the transformative Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games -- an extraordinary story of visionary leadership, love of country and the ability to dream boldly.

When John Furlong emigrated from Ireland in 1974, the customs officer greeted him with "Welcome to Canada. Make us better" -- an imperative that has defined Furlong's life ever since. A passionate, accomplished athlete with a track record of community service, Furlong was a volunteer for Vancouver's 2010 Olympic bid movement when it began in 1996 and then spent the next 14 years living and breathing the Olympics. Furlong and his organizing team, including 25,000 volunteers and many partners, orchestrated a remarkable Winter Games. Patriot Hearts is the story of how they did it.

Working with Globe and Mail columnist Gary Mason, Furlong recounts the lead-up to the Games and describes how he handled seemingly insurmountable setbacks -- such as the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, a global recession and the washed-out snow at Cypress Bowl -- to achieve a runaway success and, ultimately, a pivotal moment of nationhood.

Patriot Hearts will be published on February 12, 2011, the anniversary of the 2010 Olympic opening ceremonies. Furlong will donate part of his book royalties to the Own the Podium program.

Ken Dryden Talks The Game

2012-01-30T17:50:00.000-05:00

CBC presents

Ken Dryden and The Game

A Canada Reads event with Homerun’s Sue Smith

Thursday, February 2 at 7 PM

At Indigo Bookstore (1500, avenue McGill College)

CBC Radio presents an evening with former Montreal Canadiens’ goalie, Ken Dryden. Join us for an onstage conversation with the hockey legend as host Sue Smith speaks to him about The Game, both then and now.

Widely acknowledged as the best hockey book ever written, The Game is a reflective and thought-provoking look at a life in hockey. Intelligent and insightful, former Montreal Canadiens goalie and former President of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ken Dryden captures the essence of the sport and what it means to all hockey fans. He gives us vivid and affectionate portraits of the characters — Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard, and coach Scotty Bowman among them — that made the Canadiens of the 1970s one of the greatest hockey teams in history. But beyond that, Dryden reflects on life on the road, in the spotlight, and on the ice, offering up a rare inside look at the game of hockey and an incredible personal memoir.

Also joining us will be Lisa-Marie Breton, Captain of the Montreal Stars (CWHL), andDr. Gordon Bloom, Associate Professor of Sport Psychology at McGill University. Both will engage in a discussion with Ken and Sue about The Game, as well as offer their views on the current state of injuries and concussions in the sport.

The discussion will be recorded and segments will air on Homerun on CBC Radio One (88.5 FM in Montreal).

The Game is one of the five books currently in the running for the prestigious Canada Reads prize. The live debates air on CBC Radio One the week of February 6, 2012. For more information on Canada Reads, visit www.cbc.ca/canadareads.

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/305621696150764/

The Code: A Novel By Gare Joyce

2012-01-25T23:33:00.000-05:00

Gare Joyce's first novel is the first hockey book release of 2012. Code, The, which comes under the pen name G.B. Joyce is a 352 page novel from Penguin Books.

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters.

Here's the synopsis:

For fans of Elmore Leonard and Robert B. Parker, meet hockey scout turned private detective Brad Shade, from “one of the best sports writers on the continent.

Brad Shade has been just about everywhere hockey is played. He has ridden the buses in the minors, shared dressing rooms with the legends of the game, closed bars with guys destined for the Hall of Fame, and dropped the gloves with journeymen like himself who’ll never get near it.

And even though he’s retired after fourteen years of bouncing around the league with more losses than wins and his net worth eroding, he’s still living out of a suitcase and still taking numbers.

That’s his day job—scout for LA, where someone in management owes him a favour from his playing days.

But when the brutally murdered body of coaching legend Red Hanratty turns up in the parking lot after an old-timers charity game (Shade goes scoreless, again), Shade’s job of scouting the local phenom starts to overlap with investigating the killing of the kid’s grizzled old coach.

When the killer goes after Shade’s girlfriend, he finds out that guys don’t stay in the league because they’re good—they stick around because they’re smart enough to know what needs to get done, and just ornery enough to actually do it.

From small-town rinks to the draft tables in the big league, G.B. Joyce introduces us to a character Canadians already love—the fourth-liner with a self-deprecating sense of humour and an oversized will to win—and weaves a story out of strands of resentment, greed, and fear that span generations and build to a surprising, thrilling conclusion.

The Whiskey Robber Set To Ride Again

2012-01-24T18:20:00.002-05:00

The goalie known as The Whiskey Robber is set to be freed from Hungarian prison.

Attila Ambrus, a former goalie who from 1994 to 1999 supplemented his meager income in the Hungarian professional ice hockey league by robbing banks, is set to be released from a jail in Satoraljujhely, Hungary on January 31.

Known in his heisting heyday as the “Whiskey Robber”, Ambrus achieved folk-hero status by pulling off a string of 27 straight robberies of banks, travel agencies and post offices before he was caught on January 15, 1999.

Ambrus, now 44, obtained his famous moniker because he was seen drinking a shot of whiskey at a pub near the site of each prospective caper. His sealed his fame by giving flowers to female tellers, sending bottles of wine to the police and by not harming anybody during his escapades.

You may recognize the nickname from the widely popular book Ballad of the Whiskey Robber written by Julian Rubinstein. Johnny Depp and Warner Brothers bought the movie rights several years ago but nothing has come of that, yet.

Kid Dynamite: The Gerry James Story

2012-01-23T22:01:00.000-05:00

Gerry James, aka Kid Dynamite, was not only the youngest player ever to play in the CFL at 17, but he was one of the toughest athletes of his time.

While playing with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1954, James was the very first recipient of the CFL’s Schenley Most Outstanding Canadian Award. He won the award a second time in 1957. James led the league in scoring in 1957 and held the record for most rushing touchdowns in one season for forty-three years.

He was on four Grey Cup winning teams. Along with his father, he holds the honour of being a member of the CFL Hall of Fame and the Manitoba Hall of Fame.

Not only did James achieve greatness in football, but after winning a Memorial Cup with the Toronto Marlboros in 1955, he went on to play hockey for the Toronto Maple Leafs for four seasons. James is the only person to play in a Grey Cup and a Stanley Cup final in the same season.

In the 1970s, after coaching in Davos, Switzerland, he embarked on a twenty year career as one of the most successful coaches in Canadian junior hockey history.

All in all, this story of Canada's Bo Jackson is a fascinating tale. Ron Smith does a good job of telling it. If you're looking to learn more about one of Canada's forgotten sporting heroes, Kid Dynamite is for you.

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters

The China Wall: The Timeless Legend of Johnny Bower

2012-01-23T21:55:00.000-05:00

Johnny Bower, born as John Kishkan, in essence had two outstanding hockey careers: One "riding the bus" in the minor pro leagues for 13 years, and a second enjoying 11 full NHL seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bower and author Bob Duff tell the amazing story (and many more!) in the book The China Wall: The Timeless Legend of Johnny Bower

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

But before his hockey career had begun, Johnny almost lost his life and/or freedom in Europe due to World War II.

At 15 he lied about his age in order to fight for his country. Johnny was supposed to be a part of the 1942 invasion of Normandy at the port of Dieppe. The 6000 man mission was simply disastrous as about 3400 men lost their lives or were seriously wounded and most of the rest were taken prisoner.

"I'd been all set to go but a day or two before the raid, nine fellas in my company, including myself, got so sick with a respiratory infection, they had to take use of the boat and put us in hospital - we could hardly breathe, " remembered Bower, an 18 year old infantryman at the time. "I guess if I'd gone, I probably would have lost my life. Most of my friends did."

After dodging bullets on the battlefields of Europe, dodging frozen hockey pucks as a long time goaltender must have been a piece of cake for Johnny. That being said it was amazing he was ever able to pursue hockey even at a recreational level. Johnny developed an acute form of arthritis in his hands, a condition which led to his discharge from the army.

"I used to think I'd never be able to hold a goal stick again."

Later on he said "When I was with the Leafs, I'd finish a game, and my stick hand would be locked right up like a claw. Some nights, it was so stiff and sore, it'd take me an hour just to get it open and working."

Despite the battles with arthritis, Johnny became one of the swiftest and most graceful goaltenders ever to play the game, although it took him a long time to crack an NHL lineup.

Johnny bounced around the minors for a long 13 years. He was named the American Hockey League's best goaltender and the league's most valuable player on three occasions. He also played one season with Vancouver in the Western League, and was named top goalie.

Bower had a stint with the New York Rangers, but did not stick in the National Hockey League until 1959 when he became a 35 year old "rookie" with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It's truly amazing that one of the greatest goalies the game has ever seen took so long to get established, but he was worth the wait for Maple Leaf fans. Of course, back in these "Original Six" days there were no backup goalies and therefore only 6 jobs in the NHL for a prospective net keeper. It wasn't a matter of Johnny not being good enough more than just a lack of an opportunity.

The opportunity to join the Leafs presented itself when Punch Imlach gained power in Toronto. Under Imlach's vision and Bower's goaltending, the Maple Leafs would capture four Stanley Cup championships. He shared the Vezina trophy in 1965 and played in five all star games. He had an amazing 2.52 goals-against average in 552 games, 251 of which were victories.

The Leafs had struggled through much of the 1950s, but upon Bower's arrival the team's outlook improved dramatically. In his first season he guided the Leafs to the Stanley Cup finals, but were ousted by an incredible and seemingly unbeatable Montreal team.

In 1961 he turned his most sensational regular season - posting a league leading 33 wins and 2.50 goals against average. But the Leafs suffered a major setback and made a quick exit from the playoffs.

Bower wouldn't let the setback ruin this team's destiny, and backstopped the Leafs to three successive Stanley Cup championships in 1962, 1963 and 1964. The mask-less wonder who was known for dangerously diving head first into the feet of a skater in order to perfect the poke-check had cemented himself as the toast of Toronto.

To aid in the making of the legend was the television program Hockey Night In Canada. After the first few years Hockey Night firmly established itself as on television and Bower's rise to greatness was literally witnessed by an admiring nation.

The "China Wall" played with the Leafs through 1969. In the years following the "three-peat," the aging Bower found himself splitting the goaltending duties with the great Terry Sawchuk, and then another minor league veteran in Bruce Gamble. Bower counts the opportunity to play with Sawchuk among his career highlights. Even though he was a 40 year old veteran of 20 professional seasons and one of the all time greats himself, Bower found he was learning so much about goaltending while playing and practicing with arguably the greatest goaltender of all time, even if Sawchuk himself was in his twilight also.

Bower and Sawchuk backstopped the Leafs to one last hurrah in the surprise 1967 Stanley Cup championship. That year the Leafs and Montreal Canadiens faced off as the Canada celebrated 100 years of nationhood. The Leafs weren't supposed to win - they were a team of old warriors but they were supposed to be too old to knock off this Canadiens team. Yet somehow, as if it was there destiny, this team of overachievers enjoyed one last championship. It proved to be the last championship, and probably because of that is held in such high regard by Leaf fans of the modern era.

"I never dreamed at my age that I'd even be playing for Toronto so winning the Stanley Cup was just unbelievable," says Bower.

"A lot of guys on that team were way over 30, and a lot of them had never had their name engraved on the Stanley Cup.

"They gave the best effort they possibly could. We played with a lot of injuries, too. Nobody said anything about it at the time. If we had to play one more game against Montreal, we would have lost because of all the injuries we had."

Bower finally retired in 1969 and was rightfully inducted into Hockey's Hall of Fame in 1976. One of the most visible figures from the Leafs much-loved 1967 Stanley Cup championship team, he remains one of the most popular Toronto Maple Leaf in history.

Pucks On The 'Net: The eBook

2012-01-04T19:30:00.000-05:00

Coming in October 2011: GreatestHockeyLegends.com presents Pucks on the 'Net, an e-book by Joe Pelletier. Foreword by Kirstie McLellan Day

This is Joe Pelletier's third book release. He has previously released The World Cup of Hockey (co-authored with Patrick Houda) and The Legends of Team Canada. This is his first e-book release.

Kirstie McLellan Day is Canada's best selling hockey author. She has released Theo Fleury's autobiography Playing With Fire, and Bob Probert's autobiography Tough Guy. In 2011 she is releasing Ron MacLean's autobiography, Cornered.

Praise for Pucks On The 'Net:

Amongst hockey historians Joe Pelletier takes a back seat to no one. His unparalleled ability to unearth a bountiful of great stories has helped illuminate the continuing story of our country's national obsession - the great sport of hockey. Speaking for his countless followers, I can testify that this book is not only as entertaining as it is informative, but is also as enlightening as it educational. In other words, it is the best of the best of Joe Pelletier - researcher, historian, writer and one of the most unique voices in the world of hockey literature.

Todd Denault – author of Jacques Plante: The Man Who Changed The Face of Hockey and The Greatest Game

2011 Hockey Books

2011-12-10T15:43:00.001-05:00

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100 Things: Chicago Blackhawks
100 Things: Pittsburgh Penguins
The Art of Scouting by Shane Malloy
A Thrilling Ride by Paul Chapman
Back In The Bigs by The Winnipeg Free Press
Behind The Moves by Jason Farris
Black and Gold by Steve Babineau, Rob Simpson
Cornered by Ron MacLean with Kirstie McLellan Day
Defining Moments by Mike Leonetti
The Devil and Bobby Hull by Gare Joyce
Double Overtime by Stephen Cole
East Coast NHLers by Paul White
Extraordinary Canadians: Maurice Richard by Charles Foran
Fighting The Good Fight by Adam Proteau
Forgotten Heroes: Winnipeg's Hockey History by Richard Brignall
Gamble In Goal: Bruce Gamble Story
Georges Laraque: NHL's Unlikeliest Tough Guy
Grilling by Salming by Borje Salming
Hockey Playbook by Michael A. Smith
Hockey's Greatest Stars by Chris McDonell
Hockey's Most Amazing Records by THN
Hockey's Original Six by Mike Leonetti
HHOF MVP Trophies and Winners
HHOF Treasures
How Hockey Explains Canada by Paul Henderson
IIHF 2012 Hockey Guide and Record Book
I Hate Hockey by Francois Barcelo
Kid Dynamite: The Gerry James Story
Killer B's by Boston Globe
The Legendary Whitby Dunlops by Ken Lehman
The Lives of Conn Smythe by Kelly McParland
The Lost Dream: The Mike Danton Story
Masques by Richard Labbe
My Country is Hockey by Brian Kennedy
My First NHL Goal by Mike Brophy
NHL Guide And Record Book 2012
NHL Records Forever
Over The Line by Al Strachan
Patriot Hearts by John Furlong
Pucks On The 'Net by Joe Pelletier
Rayzor's Edge by Rob Ray
Reflections 2011 by NHL
The Salt Lake Loonie by Brett and Jesse Matlock
Sid vs. Ovi by Andrew Podnieks
Sports Illustrated: Hockey Talk
Stan Mikita: Forever A Blackhawk
Star Spangled Hockey by Kevin Allen
Stellicktricity by Gord Stellick
Summit Series '72 by Richard Brignall
Tales From The New Jersey Devils Locker Room by Chico Resch
Thirty Years of the Game at it's Best by Gare Joyce
This Sweater Is For You by Sheldon Cohen
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader: Shoots and Scores
Wayne Gretzky's Ghost by Roy MacGregor
We Won The Cup by Boston Herald
Why The Leafs Still Suck by Al Strachan
The Year of the Bruins by Andrew Podnieks

Kids Books:

Amazing Stories: Maurice Richard by Chris Robinson
Finger Hockey: No Poke Checking
Hockey Firsts: Volume 1
Hockey Firsts: Volume 2
Hockey Superstars 2011-12 by Paul Romanuk
Hockey Superstars: All Time Greats by Paul Romanuk
Hockey Trailblazers by Nicole Mortillaro
Hockey Trivia For Kids 3 by Eric Zweig
Line Change by W.C. Mack
The Magnificent Mario by Mike Leonetti
The Muskegon Lumberjacks: Life As A Hockey Puck!
My Country Is Hockey by Brian Kennedy
Overtime by David Skuy
Pond Hockey: Kita Learns To Skate
The Puck Hog by Christie Casciano
Puckster's First Hockey Game by Lorna Schultz Nicholson
Puckster's First Hockey Sweater by Lorna Schultz Nicholson
Queens of the Ice by Carly Adams

100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know And Do Before They Die

2011-12-10T15:41:00.000-05:00

The latest entry in the Triumph Books "100 Things" series is 100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know And Do Before They Die.

It is written by Tab Bamford, the owner and managing editor of CommittedIndians.com and columnist at The FourthPeriod. None other than Jeremy Roenick contributes the foreword.

These "100 Things" books tend to be pretty formulaic. They offer a lot of franchise history which is always a great thing. There are a lot of contemporary fans who have no idea about the glorious history of the Chicago Blackhawks and that is a shame. That is why I recommend this book as a Christmas gift for the Chicago hockey fan on your Christmas shopping list.

Buy The Book: Amazon.com - Chapters - Amazon.ca

Here's much more information about the book courtesy of the Triumph Books press release:

The storied Chicago Blackhawks professional hockey franchise has long been full of pride and passionate fans, and the Hawks have provided decades of incredible memories for its legion of loyal followers. The tradition of congregating at the United Center on a cold Chicago evening is the perfect night for any Hawks fan, and author Tab Bamford captures this tradition and others in the new book, 100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die.

100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die was written for all of those serious NHL fans in the Windy City who want to enhance their Blackhawks hockey IQ. It reveals special stories and experiences from fans and memorable moments about past and present players and coaches. Sports journalist and author Tab Bamford shares what's really important and he touches on some of the most famous games, players and traditions in Hawks history including:

The incredible and stirring national anthem rendition by Jim Cornelison
After a 49-year drought, the Hawks remarkable run to the 2010 Stanley Cup
The dominant 1961 squad that brought a championship to Chicago
How Rocky Wirtz, John McDonough and crew dramatically turned around the franchise
The old Chicago Stadium and the transition to the new United Center

Hardcore Chicago hockey fans will thoroughly enjoy reading about all of these incredible facts, people, and stories that have created such a legacy for the Hawks over the decades. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Bobby Hull, Denis Savard, Stan Mikita, Tony Esposito and many more influential players, coaches and front office personnel are featured throughout 100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die.

So whether you are heading to the Madhouse on Madison, taking in a road game with the well-traveled Hawks Nation or watching Coach Quenneville run the show on Comcast Sportsnet this season, you know you are part of something special as a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks. If you want to call yourself a true Chicago hockey aficionado, increase your knowledge of the franchise, and experience the full extent of Blackhawks hockey, then 100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die is a must read.

About the Author:
Tab Bamford is the owner and managing editor of CommittedIndians.com, serves as a columnist at The FourthPeriod and contributes a featured sports blog at ChicagoNow.com. He was proud to be credentialed media during the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, but can usually be found in Section 302 at the United Center. He has professionally covered the NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB and PGA, and lives in the Chicago suburbs with his wife and two sons.

My Country Is Hockey

2011-12-10T15:10:00.000-05:00

I got My Country Is Hockey really late in the 2011 calendar year, which is unfortunate because it is a fantastic book. Had I received it earlier it definitely would have garnered serious consideration for 2011 Hockey Book of the Year.

I earlier lamented how fellow 2011 hockey book "How Hockey Explains Canada" really explained nothing at all. If you are looking for explanations, buy this book instead.

Just how did the Canadian self-image become so linked to hockey in the first place? Brian Kennedy examines this question and other as he grapples with what being a Canadian really means. Discover:

Why violence is so deeply engrained in hockey culture, and how those roots can be traced back to a single, seminal moment in Canadian history

The origins of the game to see which community can rightfully claim to be the birthplace of hockey

The deep imprint hockey has made on our culture, from national institutions such as Hockey Night in Canada to the symbolism of the Stanley Cup

How Canada’s values and fighting spirit have been shaped by the toughness and teamwork on the rink.

“An intelligent and reflective look at hockey's place in the fabric of Canadian society... [My Country is Hockey] might be the best read of the current season's hockey offerings.”
-Eric Duhatschek, Globe and Mail sports columnist

My Country is Hockey is an interesting self examination of Canada and Canadians, examining the game's history and myths that have interacted to create an interesting self image.

An intellectual but by no means a heavy academic read, this is the kind of book that I personally need more time with. I need more time to process what this book is saying so that I can decide what I agree or disagree with. But that is the best part about this book. It asks questions, offers hypothesises and, best of all, makes you think about your game, your country and yourself.

Buy The Book - Chapters - Amazon.com

About the Author

Brian Kennedy was born and raised on the outdoor rinks in Montréal, and although he now lives in California, he remains a true Canadian. Brian holds a PhD in English and teaches at Pasadena City College, but his freelance sports writing is his real calling. He covers the Anaheim Ducks and the LA Kings, and his insider access combined with his scholastic background makes Brian Kennedy one of the world’s few true “hockey academics.”

Toronto Maple Leafs Christmas Gift Ideas

2011-12-08T11:36:00.000-05:00

2011 Hockey Book of the Year

2011-12-03T18:15:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to author Gare Joyce and the fine folks at publisher Wiley. HockeyBookReviews.com has named their book The Devil and Bobby Hull as the 2011 Hockey Book of the Year!

2011 proved to be a tough year to choose a winner as there was no real runaway leader. Runner up was Jason Farris' Behind The Moves. Others that were seriously considered were The Lives of Conn Smythe by Kelly McParland, The Lost Dream: The Mike Danton Story by Steve Simmons, Wayne Gretzky's Ghost by Roy MacGregor, Cornered by Ron MacLean with Kirstie McLellan Day, Extraordinary Canadians: Maurice Richard by Charles Foran and Hockey Hall of Fame Book of Treasures.

I gave The Devil and Bobby Hull because it was the one new book that I just could not put down. The content was rich and well researched. Gare Joyce's characterization of Hull was fascinating. The book was also entertaining with stories of the NHL's Original Six and the wacky WHA.

Previous winners of the prestigious HockeyBookReviews.com Book of the Year award include:

2008 - Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems by Randy Maggs
2009 - Playing With Fire by Theo Fleury with Kirstie McLellan Day
2010 - The Day I (Almost) Killed Two Gretzkys by James Duthie

Here's more on the 2011 Hockey Book of the Year!

The Devil and Bobby Hull

As the epic battles between Rocket Richard and Gordie Howe reached their zenith in the 1950s, another superstar arrived in the same stratosphere. Bobby Hull - hockey's Golden Jet - was every bit as good as his counterpart #9s. In fact, he was kind of a hybrid of the two. He had Howe's size and strength, and Richard's flare for the dramatic.

He may have been the greatest player of his era, the 1960s, carrying the torch from Howe and Richard until Bobby Orr came along. Hull was pro sports first million dollar man, and he had the million dollar smile to go with it. Not unlike Wayne Gretzky after him, his personality was contagiously appealing, almost as important as his athletic prowess. He transcended the game to almost Hollywood proportions

But, for a variety of reasons, Hull's lasting legacy does not measure up with the likes of Howe or Richard or Orr or Jean Beliveau. Instead he is painted as a more dastardly character. His key role in jumping to the WHA ruffled many feathers, leaving him estranged for decades with the Chicago Blackhawks, the team he is most associated with and won the Stanley Cup with. The Wirtz family, owners of the team, held a deep grudge and did what ever they could to keep Bobby out. Of course the narcissistic Bobby also has himself to blame in his tainted legacy, thanks to a very messy and very public divorce (Tiger Woods could relate) that swirled with domestic violence.

Gare Joyce offers a look at one of hockey's greatest players in The Devil and Bobby Hull: How Hockey's Original Million-Dollar Man Became the Game's Lost Legend. As Joyce says, "the world of hockey glory was his to lose. And he did."

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca- Chapters - Amazon.com

Read the full HockeyBookReviews.com review.

Support GreatestHockeyLegends.com and HockeyBookReviews.com by making your online orders via our affiliate links. Also check out my new ebook - Pucks On The 'Net - for just $4

Hockey Book of the Day: Wayne Gretzky's Ghost

2011-12-02T16:48:00.000-05:00

Stan Mikita: Forever A Blackhawk

2011-11-28T21:38:00.004-05:00

In 2010 I was very pleased with the autobiography/coffee table style Bobby Hull book The Golden Jet.

In similar format author Bob Verdi and publisher Triumph Books are back with Stan Mikita in 2011 with Forever a Blackhawk. It is every bit as good, and, unfortunately, equally under the radar. This is a fantastic book worthy of your consideration.

The as-told-to autobiography reads a little-too simply, but Mikita`s story carries the book. Like how as a kid in the former Czechoslovakia German troops occupied his home during World War II. Or once he moved to Canada, he loved to play the game but had no early connection with the NHL. When Rocket Richard, Boom Boom Geoffrion and Doug Harvey showed up at his school to sign autographs, he had never heard of them! Then of course there is all the stories of Bobby Hull and the Scooter Line and the Chicago Blackhawks.

It is a fascinating read for any fan of Stan Mikita and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Buy The Book - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

The name Stan Mikita is synonymous with greatness when it comes to hockey in Chicago and throughout the NHL. As one of the most charismatic and electrifying athletes of his or any era, Mikita thrilled fans with his unique combination of speed, skill and toughness. Along the way, he became known as one of the finest centers in hockey history and is still widely regarded to be the best at his position of the 1960s.

Mikita now has his electrifying career highlighted in the new book Forever a Blackhawk, where he traces his life and career from his days as a youngster in Czechoslovakia and then Canada to his current role as a Blackhawks ambassador. Throughout the book, beautiful photos reflect on Mikita's greatest moments and achievements, including:

His days as a youth in Czechoslovakia to being adopted by his aunt and uncle in Canada
Earning hockey's ultimate prize in 1961: Lord Stanley's Cup and a championship ring
Leading the league in goals in the 1961 playoffs
Using his innovative curved stick to win face-offs and set a league record in scoring
Being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983
His current role as ambassador of good will to the Chicago Blackhawks

Featuring hundreds of rare, full-color photos from his personal archive and accompanying text from legendary Chicago sports columnist and Blackhawks team historian Bob Verdi, Forever a Blackhawk gives Mikita's millions of fans a never-before-seen glimpse into the life of this hockey icon. Bringing the pictures to life is an exclusive commemorative DVD, which includes highlights, interviews, and behind-the-scenes clips from the Blackhawks' video library.

A must-have keepsake for Blackhawks fans of all ages, Forever a Blackhawk is a rare opportunity to celebrate the life of one of the greatest hockey players in Chicago's history. It is truly a must have for old time fans of the Chicago Blackhawks.

IIHF 2012 Guide And Record Book

2011-11-28T21:14:00.000-05:00

Most of you are very familiar with the annual National Hockey League Guide and Record Book. Well now us international hockey fans will have to make more room on their bookshelf as the IIHF has gotten into the same game. Out in late 2011 is IIHF 2012 Guide and Record Book

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At 640 pages this colossal Guide includes information on every top level event, every IIHF member nation, and, indeed, every player to appear in even a single game since international hockey first took hold in 1920. In all, more than 12,000 players are included, as well as every coach, every referee, every linesman and every stat imaginable.

The 2012 IIHF Guide and Record Book is the official and only complete source of information for international hockey. It covers all top-level events from the Olympics to World Championships to junior events, from men's hockey to women's hockey, from 1920 to the past and present seasons.

At 640 pages, it contains the scores and standings for every international game and event ever contested, the statistics for every player, coach, and on-ice official in IIHF competition history, and the results and histories of every nation that has ever participated in an IIHF event. Full of information on every aspect of the international game, this is the one and only source fans will need if they are interested in the World Junior Championship, Team Canada, or any other aspect of the international game.

With a special section on the World Junior Championships taking place in Alberta this Christmas, this is the most important book hockey fans will need this season.

Georges Laraque: The Story of the NHL's Unlikeliest Tough Guy

2011-11-28T18:50:00.001-05:00

Georges Laraque, noted hockey tough guy but also noted for his variety of interests outside of the hockey rink, has made the biggest splash in terms of making headlines with his new autobiography. In Georges Laraque: The Story of the NHL's Unlikeliest Tough Guy, Big Georges rocked the hockey world with allegations of rampant drug use. He also took a few jabs at some coaches, most notably Wayne Gretzky.

He also goes on to talk about all sorts of subjects - from racism to politics, from humanitarian efforts to vegan diets.

"The goal of the book is not even to talk about hockey, it's to talk about other stuff," Laraque has been on record saying. “I didn’t even want to talk about hockey in the book, but the publisher said I should because that’s what I did for a living. I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to help people to become more open-minded. That’s why I talk about politics, about religion, about gay rights, about animal rights, all that stuff.”

All in all I enjoyed this book. It was a simple read (no, it was not written in crayon as a couple of would be funnymen asked me) which made it flow by easily. I feel big Georges was very honest in his commentary, though I would be curious to hear the other side of the story when it comes to a couple of his more controversial departures.

I came away from reading this book with more respect for Georges Laraque, both as a hockey player and as a person. Regarding his various off-ice interests, he never preaches about any of it, other than just to live your life to the fullest and to your own principles.

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Here's more from the publisher, Penguin:

Think you know NHL tough guy Georges Laraque? Think again.

Known as a player who was unfailingly respectful and gentlemanly even when he was going toe-to-toe with the toughest guys in the toughest league in the world, today Laraque takes that courageous sense of what is fair into fights that are much more important than the outcome of a hockey game.
The son of Haitian immigrants, Laraque campaigns for World Vision to help with Haitian relief.

A committed believer in animal rights (and probably the toughest vegan in the world), Laraque is a spokesperson for PETA.

A conscientious environmentalist, Laraque stepped up to be the deputy leader of the the Green Party.

In this intimate, often surprising biography, Laraque tells the story of a hockey player's life that is unlike any other, from a childhood facing racism in Quebec's minor hockey system, to the thrill of the Stanley Cup Finals as an Edmonton Oiler, and sharing a dressing room with Sidney Crosby—and from dropping the gloves on the ice to refusing to back back down from much more serious fights off the ice.

Honest, startling, and brave, this is a portrait of a hockey player unlike any you've seen before.

How Hockey Explains Canada by Jim Prime and Paul Henderson

2011-11-26T20:29:00.000-05:00

Canada's great hockey hero Paul Henderson (with the help of Jim Prime and, supplying the foreword, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper) have come out with the new book How Hockey Explains Canada

Henderson and Prime set out to find out what exactly it is about Canada and Canadians that inspires such unbridled passion for this simple game of ice, puck and stick. They attempt to answer that and many other questions by inquiring with players, announcers, writers, coaches, and fans from coast-to-coast-to-coast. They take their findings and interweave it throughout all of Canadian history, tackling topics such as confederation, Quebec, Western Alienation, even the Feminist movement and Don Cherry!

Now that sounds like some pretty heavy reading, but this book is far from some university level text book for a Canadian Studies course. It is a fun read, often poking fun at either hockey or it's associated topic.

While it is good that this book is far from some dry academic offering, it does fall short of truly explaining just how hockey explains Canada. I found the text to be lacking anything terribly profound. There is no recurring theme discovered. Most of the time the authors explore how hockey and other aspects of Canadian life are greatly intertwined, but fail to truly explain why hockey has such an impact on Canadians.

Instead it is a collection of good writing presented nicely with color photos filling the glossy pages. There is plenty here to learn and to enjoy both in terms of the game and of the country. And there's nothing wrong with that.

But with a title like "How Hockey Explains Canada" there are some pretty high expectations. It opens up conversation, but it falls short of truly concluding how hockey explains all these aspects of Canadian life.

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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper writes the foreword. Randy Bowell of PostMedia News has more:

The idea of Harper contributing to a book titled How Hockey Explains Canada — co-authored by Henderson and Nova Scotia sportswriter Jim Prime — is not surprising. Harper is a well-known fan of the Canada's national winter game, a member of the Society for International Hockey Research and the intended author of his own book on hockey history — presumably on hold while he heads the country's government — covering the professionalization of the sport in the early 1900s.

But the way the prime minister opens up in the book's lengthy foreword, casually detailing his personal connections to hockey and his views on the sport's evolution, is truly unexpected.

"My father's first cousin was married to Leafs defenceman Carl Brewer, so my parents knew most of the Toronto players of the great 1960s teams," Harper writes. "I didn't play ice hockey until I was 10, and I still can't skate well. I did play for three years, but I was pretty marginal."

Here's Boswell's full piece.

Amazing Stories: Maurice Richard

2011-11-24T18:14:00.000-05:00

One of the newest additions to the popular James Lorimer and Company Amazing Stories series is Maurice Richard: The Most Amazing Hockey Player Ever. It is written by Chris Robinson, who, among many projects, previously wrote Stole This From A Hockey Card about Doug Harvey.

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The Amazing Stories series, attractively priced at $9.95, is a set of true and Canadian stories from the past. These mass market paperbacks are aimed at younger readers, yet I do not find the writing to be too young to insult an older reader by any means.

In fact, this is a solid introduction to the great story of one of hockey's all time greats, regardless of age. While there are no shortage of literary offerings on Rocket Richard. And this one offers nothing new. But this book nicely covers the basics, and very possibly will encourage the reader to dig deeper and look at other books on the subject.

All in all, this is a solid stocking stuffer idea for the budding hockey history buff on your shopping list.

The Legendary Whitby Dunlops

2011-11-24T17:45:00.001-05:00

Christmas came early for me today as I received a true rarity in my mail box - a hockey book that I had no idea about previously.

I'm talking The Legendary Whitby Dunlops. Written and illustrated by Kenneth McKenzie Lehman and published by Quarry Heritage Books, the book is available nationally at Chapters.

Bob Attersley

This book's title is apt. The Legendary Whitby Dunlops rank high in Canadian hockey folklore as this unlikely group of amateur hockey stars won the Allan Cup and the 1958 world hockey championship in Oslo.

By the late 1950s the Soviets were on the verge of taking over the international hockey scene. For one all too brief moment, the Whitby Dunlops - senior hockey champions - caught the imagination of hockey fans across the country. As Canada's team they were dispatched to Oslo to restore our pride in our own game and to defeat those dastardly Russians.

Harry Sinden, future coach of the Boston Bruins and Team Canada at the 1972 Summit Series, Sid Smith (future Toronto Maple Leafs captain), Bob Attersley, Roy Edwards, Charlie Burns and Wren Blair were among the most notable members of the team that did manage to knock off the Soviets and capture gold

Ken Lehman's book, published by Quarry Heritage Books, includes portraits, illustrations, cartoons, photos and maps. He pieces together a thorough presentation by accessing the rich archives of the Whitby Public Library and the Hockey Hall of Fame, as well as through interviews with team members. For Lehman this truly is a work of passion. He grew up watching "the Dunnies" and has had a life long affair with them.

The book, which officially launches in December, is 224 pages long and includes 30 rare archival photos and 25 original sketches and cartoons by the author. It's a wonderful read. It is a mixture of historical text and great storytelling. The Dunnies, you see, were merry pranksters full of hockey hijinks. Many of these crazy stories are sprinkled throughout the book.

I suspect this book will fly below the radar on the national level. But any hockey history buff should find this a refreshing book worthy of his or her attention.

Interview With Kirstie McLellan Day

2011-11-22T00:34:00.001-05:00

Photo by Chris Bolin for Macleans Magazine

MacLean's magazine has an excellent interview with hockey's best selling author Kirstie McLellan Day.

Kirstie Day has written Bob Proert's autobiography Tough Guy. Theo Fleury's autobiography Playing With Fire and, new in 2011, Ron MacLean's autobiography, Cornered - all bestsellers in Canada. She also wrote the foreword for Joe Pelletier's new ebook Pucks On The 'Net.

In the MacLean's interview Kirstie talks about her relationship with Fleury and Probert, surviving an angry Bret Hart, and future plans including a Fleury movie and possible Wayne Gretzky book.

The Lives of Conn Smythe by Kelly McParland

2011-11-19T22:54:00.000-05:00

Kelly McParland, writer, editor and columnist at the National Post, has penned just a fantastic biography of Toronto Maple Leafs builder and Canadian hero Conn Smythe in his new book, The Lives of Conn Smythe: From the Battlefield to Maple Leaf Gardens: A Hockey Icon's Story.

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Smythe is of course known as the patriarch of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He led them to 11 Stanley Cups, and with a little better luck in the 1930s it would have been a lot more. Maybe Smythe used up his luck in that time period by, as legend tells it, using gambling money to build iconic Maple Leaf Gardens in the depths of the Great Depression.

Those stories have been well told. But McParland digs deeper, and looks at decorated war hero (he fought in both World Wars, including in WWII when he was in his 40s) and savvy businessman who did more for nation building than most of our politicians ever have. In short he is a fascinating Canadian hero who should be known for much more than his contributions to hockey.

Not only was he a proud Canadian, but a self-made one. He built himself from nothing into one of the most powerful men in the nation, not just in hockey.

He may have been popular, but he was also loud, outspoken and controversial, but always quotable. Think of him as a cross between Brian Burke and Don Cherry in his day. He was not afraid to speak his mind. He was a like-him or love-him type. He didn't care as long as he was generating interest.

McParlad also paints Smythe as a very contradictory man, hence the title. For everything he was, there was always another side. He demanded full loyalty, whether it be on the ice or on the battlefield, but he did not always return that loyalty. He held some people to the highest standards, but not others. He often made boisterous claims, which were later proven to be inaccurate.

All in all this is a fascinating, in depth, almost academic read where you learn something new with great regularity. You quickly realize that this is more than just a hockey book. It is a book about Canada, and it is a book about a great Canadian hero in more way than one.

You can read free book excerpts courtesy the National Post:

The House That Conn Smythe Built
Conn Smythe At War
The Lives of Conn Smythe

100 Things Penguins Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die

2011-11-17T17:56:00.001-05:00

Triumph Books have included a few hockey teams in their "100 Things . . ." series. In the past I've recommended them as stocking stuffers for fans of the team, but otherwise was kind of indifferent to the series.

So when they announced the Pittsburgh Penguins were included for 2011, I did not get too excited. But that all changed quickly as I realized they selected Rick Buker to write 100 Things Penguins Fans Should Know And Do Before They Die.

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Buker previously wrote the 700-page encyclopedic Total Penguins, an absolute must have for Penguins fans. There may be no one who better knows the Penguins history than Mr. Buker. So who better to fill up a book of 100 entertaining and educational stories? Heck, he could probably write a second volume!

Penguins history is relived one story at a time. Mario, Sid, Jagr, Ronnie Franchise, Badger Bob, and Sly Syl are all here. So are Demolition Durby, Frank Pietrangelo's save, Les Binkley and, look out Loretta, the incomparable Mike Lange.

Rick Buker has done it again. He has written another book that is simply a must-have for all Pittsburgh Penguins fans. It's a great read, whether you attempt it cover to cover or just picking it up for a couple of stories at a time.

Cornered by Ron MacLean and Kirstie McLellan Day

2011-11-15T23:30:00.000-05:00

Ron MacLean, the long time host of Hockey Night in Canada and Don Cherry's punny straight man, is finally coming out with an autobiography. Available in early October 2011, Cornered
will undoubtedly share great stories, insight and hilarity.

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Despite what Cherry has said a few times about him during Coach's Corner, Ron MacLean is no dummy. To help him write this book he enlisted the help of Kirstie McLellan Day - the best selling hockey author in the past few years. She has previously penned the blockbuster autobiographies of Theoren Fleury and Bob Probert.

The best part of this book will be how much of the real Ron MacLean is revealed. Not the on-camera persona but rather the human side, including his interests outside of hockey, the family man, and his insecurities and weaknesses. McLellan Day was the perfect choice as presenter.

Of course, MacLean has no shortage of great stories, most funny and, in typical Maclean style, punny. A great many of these feature Don Cherry and the real behind the scene battles behind his battles with the CBC and others. It was quite interesting learning how much he back "Grapes" off camera, threatening to walk out in solidarity on more than one occasion.

MacLean also talks about his relationship with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, commenting on their awkward and infamous annual Stanley Cup interviews. And of course MacLean uses the book, like his television air time, as a podium to air his own beliefs in hockey.

All in all, Ron MacLean's autobiography Cornered is a wonderful read a kid who dreamed big and improbably accomplished it. He is both a hockey legend and very much the guy next door.

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The Salt Lake Loonie

2011-11-14T13:11:00.001-05:00

Looking for a short, fun book that has more sports than just hockey in it?

Brothers Brett and Jesse Matlock offer a general sports book with plenty of hockey content in it called The Salt Lake Loonie: And Other Stories Every Sports Fan Should Know. Dwight Allot makes the book even more fun with his wonderful line drawing illustrations, while Team Canada's Hayley Wickenheiser writes the foreword.

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The stories are short and simple, making for a quick fun read. Hockey stories include:

The Good Old Hockey Game
The Life And Times of the Stanley Cup
Oh Canada! (1972 Summit Series)
"Howe" Fitting
The Rocket Richard Riot
The Montreal Forum
The Salt Lake Loonie.

As mentioned, there are many other sports covered in this book too. Here's a look at the table of contents: (click on the photos to enlarge)

Along side stories of Terry Fox and Wilt Chamberlain and the Boston Marathon is a history of streaking in sports. Odd yes, but it is that mixture that makes this book a fun read!

This is a fun, entertaining, little book. I would recommend it as a Christmas gift for the teenage sports fan or for the more casual sports fan.

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Thirty Years Of The Game At It's Best

2011-11-14T12:43:00.000-05:00

Penguin Books will be celebrating 30 years of Canada's "Program of Excellence" at the World Junior Hockey Championships with the release of Thirty Years of the Game at it's Best.

This book is a must have for fans of the world junior tournaments - which is pretty much all Canadians. The WJCs have become a Christmas time tradition in Canada, every bit as much stuffing stockings and singing carols.

While the World Juniors date back to the mid 1970s, Canada really started taking the tournament seriously in 1982 when they created the Program of Excellence. Ever since Canada has been a power house.

And the memories are ever lasting. Like the impromptu singing of O Canada by the players in 1982. Or John Slaney's big goal in 1991. Or Jonathan Toews shootout magic. Or Jordan Eberle's never ending heroics.

The upcoming tournament marks the 30th anniversary of the Program of Excellence. Penguin Books, Hockey Canada and editor Gare Joyce help us celebrate with Thirty Years of the Game at its Best

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Richly illustrated, Thirty Years of the Game at its Bestt takes readers on a year by-year retrospective, with each tournament’s story told from the perspectives of the players, coaches, or journalists who were there. Contributors include Mike Babcock, Brendan Bell, Murray Costello, Damien Cox, Sheldon Ferguson, Gare Joyce, Terry Koshan, Roy MacGregor, Steven Milton, Frank Orr, Donna Spencer, Jesse Wallin, Tim Wharnsby and Ed Willes.

The book is really an intriguing undertaking. It is not an encyclopedic history of the world juniors as much as an insider's look at some of our favorite hockey memories. There is definitely something in this book for every Team Canada fan.

Here's a couple quick snap shots inside the cover. Click on each image to make it larger.

Hockey's Most Amazing Records by The Hockey News

2011-11-14T12:20:00.000-05:00

The Hockey News' annual book release features Hockey's Most Amazing Records: +125 More Jaw-Dropping All-Time Feats in 2011.

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Now in the past I have often been critical of The Hockey News' book releases, saying too often they are hit and miss. So I did not have high expectations this time around either, but from the moment I cracked the spine on Hockey's Most Amazing Records I knew this was a winner.

I was brought back to my own youth, when I studied the tiny print in the uninspiring black and white NHL Guide and Record book every year. Hours upon hours I memorized those great moments in hockey history, and the amazing totals and accomplishments of the game's greatest players. I knew all the records, all the data. I know I was not the only one. Many fans tell me similar stories.

Now kids and fans of all ages can put aside the Guide And Record book for THN's Hockey's Most Amazing Records and learn the history of the game with glossy pages with color photos, bringing the accomplishment to life. More importantly each feat is complete with the story behind it. Sometimes the story is told through the voices of the players, coaches and personalities who made or witnessed historic events.

I could only wish I had such a fine resource when I was a kid. So needless to say, I am highly recommending Hockey's Most Amazing Records by The Hockey News and editor Edward Fraser. It is an excellent resource and therefore arguably the most important book in the hockey history category of 2011.

You do not have to be a keen student of the game either. It makes for a great pick-up book where you can quickly read through and then wow your buddies with your amazing knowledge during tonight's big game. Pass the book around and no doubt it will bring stir great stories and debates.

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Here's an sneak peek inside the book:

Wayne Gretzky's Ghost by Roy MacGregor

2011-11-13T10:14:00.000-05:00

Roy MacGregor has been called "the best hockey writer in the country," and we finally have a collection of his very best hockey writing, revised and updated, in Wayne Gretzky's Ghost: And Other Tales from a Lifetime in Hockey

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For nearly 40 years Roy MacGregor has brought hockey, our national sport, alive on the page. From tales of the game's greats (Guy Lafleur, Jean Beliveau, Marcel Dionne) to today's stars (Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Daniel and Henrik Sedin), his magazine and newspaper coverage has revealed so much about these and so many other personalities, in moments of promise, victory and defeat.

While many of these stories play out on the ice, some of the most compelling take place on the home front (Mario Lemieux's battle against cancer, the many tribulations of Bob Gainey), and MacGregor's prose shines especially when focused on the human side of a sport defined by superhuman feats of speed, aggression and power.

Wayne Gretzky's Ghost will be a personal book, and also a book of challenging ideas: that Wayne Gretzky, through no fault of his own, was the worst thing to happen to hockey; that CBC's Hockey Night in Canada has lost sight of what it is; that goaltending has become a position out of all proportion to what was intended.

And who could offer a better perspective on the game than a writer who, playing as a youngster, had to face an onrushing phenom from Parry Sound named Bobby Orr, or who spent a year ghostwriting a national newspaper column for the Great One himself? When it comes to hockey, Roy MacGregor has seen (and in some cases, done) it all.

Joe's Note: I read this book while riding the buses on a recent trip to Vancouver. It got so into it that the first day I missed my stop. Two very rainy days later I was much more attentive to my travels, but I was enjoying the story about Bob Gainey's challenges so much that I purposely stayed on the bus past my stop in order to finish reading the chapter. Once I got off the bus I immediately ducked into a Tim Horton's and finished reading the book!

Three of Canada's great treasures: hockey, Tim Hortons and Roy MacGregor.

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Christmas Shopping: 2011 Hockey Books

2011-11-13T10:02:00.000-05:00

Hockey Hall of Fame Treasures

2011-11-13T10:01:00.000-05:00

If you can not make it to the Hockey Hall of Fame very often, then bring the Hockey Hall of Fame to your living room with the beautiful coffee table book Hockey Hall of Fame Treasures

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In terms of imagery you will find no more stunning of a hockey book in 2011. Of course with all of hockey history at their disposal, Firefly Books and editor Steve Cameron had a lot to work with. They do not disappoint with a presentation that will leave wowed. This lavishly illustrated book is absolutely packed with beautiful color photography, displaying the most interesting, unique, famous and rare artifacts from the Hockey Hall of Fame's collection.

Hockey history has never looked so beautiful. While the imagery steals the show, the words of Adrienne Clarkson, Dave Bidini, James Duthie and Don Gillmor are mixed in and compliment them nicely.

The book retails for around $25, but should come with a warning for those outside of Toronto. As impressive as the photography is, this book will definitely leave you planning every hockey fan's essential trip - a trip to the Hockey Hall of Fame. You might want to prepare to add the costs of flights and hotels to your purchase!

Interview The Author: Adam Proteau of Fighting The Good Fight

2011-11-06T20:34:00.000-05:00

One of the more important hockey books of 2011 has to be Adam Proteau's anti-violence campaign in Fighting The Good Fight: Why On Ice Violence Is Killing The Good Fight. I recently had the chance to sit down and interview Proteau and talk about some very pertinent topics.

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1. Do hockey fights really sell tickets? Or do pro leagues condone aggressive physical play to allow weaker teams and players a chance to compete against truly superior stars, therefore staying in games and playoff races thus giving fans hope and reasons to buy tickets?

I think it's the latter. And the mushrooming of the enforcer role in particular around the time of NHL expansion says it all for me. Time and again, the league has shown itself to be a copycat entity, where teams look at what succeed – or at least, what is allowed to count as success – and attempt to copy it: think of the defense-first Dead Puck Era, for example. And around the time of expansion, the Philadelphia Flyers were permitted to maraud over other their competition with what now would be regarded as cartoonish violence – so what did all the other GMs do? Of course, most thought they needed an enforcer or two as well. And so, combined with the coast-to-coast indoctrination on Hockey Night In Canada's first intermission show, the current culture was deeply ingrained in a generation. But as we saw with the ultra-talented Montreal Canadiens - who beat the Flyers in a direct repudiation of that thuggish mentality not long after Philly won their only two Stanley Cups – that is not the only way the game can or should be played.

2. Hockey has always been a very physical game complete with fighting. How can we go about changing the culture to eliminate fighting?

I don't think fighting will ever be eliminated, any moreso than it has been totally eradicated from basketball, baseball or any pro sport. Guys will lose it on each other. But there's a base minimum of behavior standards required by a sport's administration, and for too long the NHL and North American hockey on the whole have been too arrogant and/or blinded by profit to even pretend to enforce one. For me, it has to start with the elimination of the designated puncher role. If you cannot play the game at its highest levels, but punch at or above your weight and can do so while balancing on skates, you're a relic of a bygone time who can either go train for mixed martial arts – or, and here's a thought, be a better player!

There's far more that can be done that I discuss in the book. Education of players as to the serious consequences of concussions and all physical risks (including playing without visors) is paramount, as are much tougher supplementary discipline rulings. Looks like the NHL is better in the latter regard, but not nearly where they ought to be.

3. One of the trends I hate most in hockey right now is when a player is attacked for throwing a clean hit. In such a case the said player usually has to fight to defend himself. Should he be punished with game expulsion, too? How do you handle that?

That's a good question. I think the instigator rule needs far more teeth than it has at present. If a player truly isn't interested in fighting, he should be skating the other way. But if he gets his hand up to protect himself when he's blindsided, I wouldn't suspend him at all. Certainly some grey area there.

But back to your first point – that constant scrumming and fighting is a big drag for me, too. I think there almost needs to be a time clock for the next faceoff, or a harder line on facewashing after clean hits. It's ridiculous.

4. Pests in hockey are not a trend, but they are a major reason for violence and increased aggression on the ice. Can we realistically change hockey's culture of fighting and violence without cracking down on pests?

No, but I've never understood the logic behind the "if you cut down on fights, stick work goes through the roof" argument. The answer is cracking down across the board – pests, dirty players, stick artists, etc. Everyone gets placed on notice. Funny how none of these things ever seem to matter in the playoffs, eh? Guys are as intense as ever and yet can control themselves in a way they can't in the regular season, when games count not nearly so much. A responsible league demands more from all its players.

5. Physicality in hockey is often clean, as in the form of bodychecking. But somewhere along the line bodychecking did not become so much about separating the opponent from the puck but about devastating the puck carrier. How did this evolve? Despite the mounting injuries, has anyone in hockey argued to return bodychecking to it's original intent?

I think it stems from the "Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em", sports TV highlight-reel-enabled promotion of it that doesn't focus any attention whatsoever on the physiological damage done to the victim (and in many cases, the victimizer as well). When Eric Lindros was being cut down almost methodically, he was called "soft" and "not smart enough to keep his head up" and Scott Stevens was lionized. But as we've seen with Sidney Crosby and others, the game moves too quickly now . Players would have to have heads on a 360 degree swivel to be as safe as they should be out there.

Kerry Fraser talked about bodychecking methods in my book. And I agree with him when he says the skill has to be re-taught such that players aren't exploding their bodies upward as they drive into their opponent. It's a subtle, but imporant difference.

6. Organizations like Hockey Canada have made instrumental strides in changing hockey's culture in regards to dangerous hits from behind. Can hockey's culture be changed by such grassroots levels without the NHL? Or does the NHL have to buy in for this to succeed?

It has to start with the NHL. There are no kids playing out there, no coaches, no referees, who haven't aspired to being in the NHL. The league sets the tone for the game in nearly every other regard, and for them to pretend they're not responsible in that regard is just blatantly wrong to me.

7. Bill Masterton died as a direct result of a NHL hockey accident, banging his head on the ice after a big hit. It took 29 years after that before every NHL player wore a helmet. Is there any realistic reason to believe the NHL will ever be enlightened?

I'm optimistic that, in the long run, the NHL will have been either shamed into changing for the better, or will finally wake up when the talent pool for the sport dries up significantly. I lean toward the "shaming" argument, meaning that I think either a lawsuit, death on the ice, or increased public pressure will push them along into modernity. But the conservative element will have to be dragging kicking and screaming every inch of the way. That's hockey.

8. Do you think we will see another NHL player die on the ice in our lifetime?

Unfortunately, yes. Most people in Southern Ontario will remember the name Don Sanderson for a very long time. And I've talked to enough hockey people who think the NHL has beaten the odds to this point. Now, it could come with a check into the boards from behind, or from a Pacioretty-like devastating check, or of course, from a punch to the head or a bare skull smacking the ice. But this game is too dangerous and sees its athletes as replaceable. My bottom line is that we need to respect these guys, their post-career lives and their families far more than we do now. Just because they make fantastic livings does not give us the right to watch them cut down for our "entertainment".

Be sure to check out Adam Proteau's Fighting The Good Fight: Why On Ice Violence Is Killing The Good Fight in a bookstore near you.

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca -Chapters - Amazon.com

Stellicktricity by Gord Stellick

2011-11-02T22:28:00.002-04:00

A quip here. A comment there. The things you pick up over a lifetime in and around the NHL that provides a unique perspective. That's what you'll get with Gord Stellick's, Stellicktricity.

From the youngest general manager in NHL history to veteran on-air hockey analyst—Gord Stellick has seen it all, and now tells it all in Stellicktricity: Stories, Highlights, and Other Hockey Juice from a Life Plugged into the Game.

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Few have been given the opportunity to be on both sides of the hockey rink—managing the Leafs and the Rangers and then regaling his legion of TV and radio fans with the colourful insider knowledge he's amassed—about blockbuster trades, NHL stars, and the talent that got away. But Gord Stellick has. In an almost forty-year career, he's one of the best known hockey personalities around. And Stellicktricity captures the man, his career as the ultimate hockey insider, and insights and anecdotes on the game he loves so much.

Not only is the book crammed with details on hockey greats like Gretzky, Orr, Sakic, and Crosby, his NHL bosses (like Harold Ballard and Punch Imlach), but it also contains an inimitable look at Stellick's colleagues in the media. Destined to become a favourite of hockey fans everywhere, Stellicktricity not only covers every corner of the game of hockey but offers the author's unique view of other sports across North America.

Did you know:

The Toronto Maple Leafs ownership was too cash-strapped to give management the approval to sign unrestricted free agent Wayne Gretzky in 1996.
The Boston Bruins badly coveted defenseman Keith Brown in the 1979 NHL Draft. When Chicago took Brown 7th, the Bruins were had to settle for another defenseman - Ray Bourque.
Right before the Leafs drafted Luke Richardson, a heated argument broke out at the Leafs draft table as one scout wanted to go off the board and draft Joe Sakic.

I did not know these tidbits either. And I learned them just by reading the first few pages of Gord Stellick's Stellicktricity.

Stellick is ubiquitous as a host, colour commentator, and analyst on hockey broadcasts and shows of all kinds in TV and radio

The book is loaded with Leafs content and brimming with anecdotes about legendary players, hockey management, and NHL characters (like Bob Goodenow and Wendel Clark)

By turns serious and funny, every page of Stellicktricity crackles with the wit and wisdom of a born raconteur—and the hard-headed, real world insights of a man who's lived and breathed the game of hockey for the better part of his life.

Fighting The Good Fight by Adam Proteau

2011-11-02T22:27:00.000-04:00

It seems hockey and violence have always gone hand in hand.

Take, for example, the very first recorded hockey game in history. On March 3rd, 1875, James Creighton and his hockey pals played the very first indoor hockey game at Montreal's McGill University. The game is universally important as it featured the first ever set of written rules, standardizing the game. The always evolving game of hockey as we know it today was "born."

The very next day people complained about the violence in the exhibition game. A Kingston, Ontario newspaper reporter for the British Whig Standard alleged "a disgraceful sight took place at Montreal in the Victoria Rink over a game of hockey. Shins and heads were battered, benches smashed, and the lady spectators fled in confusion." (Perhaps this was some sort of a sensational smear campaign, as the Montreal Gazette never said anything about a brawl.)

Ever since fighting and violence have long played a role in hockey history. Heck, those really old days make the Broad Street Bullies look like saints. Did you know at least twice in Canadian history players were up on murder charges? This dates back years before anyone had heard of a National Hockey League. Charges were all dismissed.

Compared to those wild times or even compared to the 1970s, hockey violence is a little more in check. Yet we still have Bill Masterton and Don Sanderson dying on the ice; Mike Milbury beating up a fan with a shoe; Todd Bertuzzi mugging Steve Moore; Marty McSorley slashing Donald Brashear in the head; head injuries causing long term side effects were only now beginning to fully understand; and a long list of superstar players in hospital or leaving the game altogether due to injuries.

All the while the NHL actually condones on-ice violence as a ticket draw (even if that leaves stars like Sidney Crosby in hospitals rather than hockey rinks), diehard hockey fan and expert Adam Proteau argues against hockey's status as a blood sport. In his new book Fighting the Good Fight: Why On-Ice Violence Is Killing Hockey, Proteau sheds light on the many perspectives of those in and around the game, with interviews of current and former NHL stars, coaches, general managers, and league executives, as well as medical experts.

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Proteau is the funny and thought provoking columnist for The Hockey News known for his anti-fighting stance. But in his youth he was quite different. He was the goon. He was over-sized, aggressive kid in his youth league. Fighting, violence and suspensions were once his game. He was even nearly suspended for life for a nasty stick swinging incident.

Somewhere along the line his perspective shifted. And now he goes toe-to-toe against the long established old guard of hockey, arguing that violence in hockey needs to be curtailed for business, medical and moral reasons. He has become the vehement anti-fighting voice in hockey.

He talks with medical experts on head injuries and concussions. He talks with players, coaches, managers and experts about head shots, aggressive bodychecking, injuries and discipline. But ultimately he wages his own war against the supposed value of fighting in hockey. Furthermore he expands his attack to the entire established hockey culture.

Hockey culture is where this battle must ultimately be won. Change the mindset at the grassroots level and eventually all this unnecessary non-sense will, one way or another, slowly leave the game. But can we wait that long? Can we afford to lose Sidney Crosby? Do we need another amateur player like Don Sanderson to die on the ice? Do we need another summer of NHL tough guys fatally dropping like flies?

With courageous leadership and concerted effort, we can fast-track this over-due movement. But the NHL needs to lead the charge and set the example. The grassroots movement, always in the shadows of the mighty NHL, can only go so far.

Proteau offers lots of specifics they can do immediately: educating players, coaches and managers as to the real long-term dangers of concussions; much harsher punishments to hyper-aggressive players; using forgiving equipment; and officiate the game by using the existing rules in the rule book - they've always had the rules to enforce cleaner play, but have chosen to allow far too much gray area. None of these changes seem all that drastic, do they?

Hockey is a dangerous game, ever more so due to the speed and size of players involved, and the continued laissez-faire approach to policing the game. Will this book change anything? No, not likely. But every book, every article, every criticism of violence in hockey slowly chips away at the culture that makes all this possible.

Vancouver Canucks Christmas Gift Ideas

2011-11-02T22:26:00.002-04:00

Edmonton Oilers Christmas Gift Ideas

2011-11-02T22:20:00.001-04:00

Calgary Flames Christmas Gift Ideas

2011-11-02T22:16:00.000-04:00

Boston Bruins Christmas Gift Ideas

2011-11-02T22:12:00.001-04:00

Winnipeg Jets Christmas Gift Ideas

2011-11-02T22:11:00.001-04:00

Christmas Shopping For Montreal Canadiens Fans

2011-11-02T21:58:00.000-04:00

Cornered Best Selling Book In Canada

2011-10-29T13:03:00.000-04:00

Guess what is the best selling Canadian non-fiction book? Not just best selling hockey book, but all books period.

According to The Globe And Mail Bestsellers List, it's Ron MacLean's new autobiography, Cornered. The book is co-written with Kirstie McLellan Day, who has previously topped the list with Theo Fleury and Bob Probert!

MacLean's book tops such books as Cold Hard Truth by Kevin O'Leary, The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha, The Vinyl Cafe Notebooks by Stuart McLean and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. (Somehow The Wealthy Barber Returns by David Chilton tops MacLean on one list, but not Canadian non-fiction)

Congratulations Ron and Kirstie!

Hockey Hall of Fame MVP Trophies and Winners

2011-10-26T19:24:00.000-04:00

Hockey Hall of Fame MVP Trophies and Winners tells the story of hockey's three most prestigious individual awards: the Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player of the NHL regular season), the Ted Lindsay Trophy (MVP of the NHL regular season as voted by the players) and the Conn Smythe Trophy (MVP of the NHL playoffs).

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The authors present the history and origins of each trophy, as well as a biography of those whom the trophies are named after. Authors Bob Duff and Kevin Shea profile every winner of each trophy and make their own selections for the winners of each award in the seasons preceding each trophy's existence. Solid photography compliments the book.

MVP Trophies and Winners recounts the most controversial selections and surprise winners. Readers will be able to relive the best seasons and performances hockey has ever seen as Duff and Shea profile the NHL's multiple MVP winners and the most seminal seasons ever recorded. This is perhaps the most fascinating undertaking in the book.

The authors are MVPs of their own world.

Bob Duff is a hockey historian and a member of the Society for International Hockey Research. He is the sports columnist for The Windsor Star and covers the NHL for MSNBC.com. He was previously a featured author in the Hockey Hall of Fame Book of Goalies and is the author of the Johnny Bower biography The China Wall.

Kevin Shea is a hockey historian and best-selling author. He is the editor of publications for the Hockey Hall of Fame and teaches hockey history at Seneca College in Toronto, Ontario. He is also a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs Historical Committee and the Society for International Hockey Research. His most recent book is Toronto Maple Leafs: Diary of a Dynasty, 1957--1967.

Interview With Translator: I Hate Hockey's Peter McCambridge

2011-10-25T23:08:00.000-04:00

I recently had a chance to sit down with Peter McCambridge, Francois Barcelo's translator for the new book I Hate Hockey.

In my book review I expressed some concerns about some of the plot lines in the book. McCambridge answers my questions about that, the main character's flaws and the challenges in translating a book.

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You can also purchase the original book in French - J'haïs le hockey

Aside from the fact that our narrator obviously hates hockey and that his son plays the game, how is this a hockey book?

I Hate Hockey might not be a “hockey book” in the sense that the narrator devotes whole chapters to the Summit Series, but it is most definitely a hockey novel. By that I mean that Canada’s game is a character in the book. The book wouldn’t be the same if it was called I Hate Soccer or I Hate Lacrosse. It just wouldn’t work. As it is, it is hockey that separates Antoine Vachon from his wife, his son, his boss and ultimately everyone around him. Hockey is the one sport that brings all Canadians together and instead our anti-hero finds himself with his back to the TV in a sports bar, asking for the sound to be turned down. Even a trip to the Bell Centre isn’t the bonding experience he had hoped for with his son. Any other sport wouldn’t have the same impact on the narrator’s life, the power to act as a wedge between him and the rest of society. (This aside from the fact that the entire plot is driven by what happens when our narrator is roped into coaching his son’s hockey team for the evening and that one of the six chapters is devoted to that particular game.)

The book has some pretty dark issues, such as racism, murder, underage sex and suicide. Why does the author explore these topics to build the narrator's character?

I wouldn’t want to answer for the author here and I’m not sure he’s making any comments on the sport in particular. What I would say is that the novel is a dark comedy. Unlikely though it may be, François Barcelo manages to find plenty of potential for comedy in these dark issues. If you like to laugh at characters as much as with them, if you like to enjoy a chuckle as you think “Oh my God, did he really just say that? Does he honestly think that? Did that really just happen?” then it’s packed full of laughs. I read and reread the novel a good half dozen times over the course of translating it, and I was still giggling away to myself by the end. Which isn’t to say the whole thing is just for laughs. The novel deals with some really serious issues, as you say, and ultimately the reader is left shaken and uncomfortable. Which isn’t a bad state to be left in by any novel, is it?

As for building the narrator’s character, maybe “building” is the wrong word. I don’t think he learns very much over the course of the novel at all. Which is, of course, the source of the tragedy. And the comedy.

Our narrator is quite a flawed character. Not a very likeable sort. Should we feel sorry that all these terrible events are happening to him?

Antoine Vachon is most definitely an anti-hero. In many ways he is the anti-hero much loved by (but by no means unique to) Quebec fiction. He is a racist, xenophobic, sexist pig—and all the funnier for it (it’s a dark comedy, remember?). And despite all his flaws we find ourselves rooting for him throughout the novel. We might be shocked at some of his behaviour, repelled even, but at the end of the day I find it a fun read following him on his hapless whodunit as he puts two and two together and more often than not comes up with anything but four.

Who should read this book?

The easy answer is: “Anybody who loves—or hates—hockey!” I would also add, “Anyone who’s looking for a great Christmas gift!” But the real answer is probably, “Anyone who likes a good read.” Unlike so many novelists these days, François Barcelo doesn’t let good writing get in the way of a good story. I Hate Hockey is a quick, pacy thriller with one twist in the plot after the next. In short, stuff happens. Most of it, outrageous.

What were the challenges for you in translating this book from French to English?

To be honest, the whole novel was a joy to translate. It took me a chapter to find the narrator’s “voice” and to come up with a balance of crudeness and swearing that I was comfortable with in English. There was one tricky pun I can think of, but other than that the whole experience was just great fun.

Do you think this book will be as big a hit in English Canada as it is in Quebec?

I think that, without a ton of luck on your side, it’s tricky for any book to be a hit without a big marketing machine behind it. But they also say that cream rises to the top, and I think this book deserves to (that’s why I choose to translate it, after all). It’s not going to change your life and it’s much more bitter than sweet, but it’s a damn good way to put in an evening—when there’s no hockey on TV, of course!

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters
You can also purchase the original book in French - J'haïs le hockey

Reflections 2011

2011-10-25T19:18:00.000-04:00

The NHL's annual photographic yearbook lives up to it's own high standards with Reflections 2011.

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All of the great moments of the magical 2010-11 season are captured forever in an amazing collection of stunning photographs. Feel the chill as you revisit the great outdoor games where both Pittsburgh's Heinz Field and Calgary's McMahon Stadium became, for a day each, the world's largest backyard rink. And the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup championship. Ad Corey Perry's breakout year. From the first drop of the puck to the hoisting of the Stanley Cup, it's all here.

The game is played such a blinding speed. With one blink you miss so many details. The camera catches these details, making this book extra special. I especially love the many facial expressions captured in so many of these 150+ thrilling hockey photos.

As always, one of the best parts about this book is a share of the proceeds from the sale of this book will donated to the joint NHL/NHLPA Hockey Fights Cancer initiative.

Black And Gold by Steve Babineau and Rob Simpson

2011-10-24T19:46:00.000-04:00

Remember this book from 2008?

Well, now that the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011, the book is being re-released. Surprise, Surprise! Now the book will look like this:

Obviously Bruins photographer Steve Babineau has added 32 pages of content, mostly new photos to the book, mostly of the 2011 championship and the 2010 Winter Classic from Fenway Park. Don Cherry jumps on board and writes an all new forward.

Black and Gold: Four Decades of the Boston Bruins in Photographs is a stunning collection of photographs of Steve Babineau, the Boston Bruins official team photographer since 1973. "Babs," as he affectionately is known, has seen a lot of hockey history through his lens in that time. Now, with writer Rob Simpson, Babineau shares his memories of one of hockey's most storied teams.

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Behind The Moves: NHL GMs Tell How Winners Are Built

2011-10-20T17:28:00.001-04:00

Every hockey fan has two dreams right from childhood.

One is obvious - to be the scoring star who scores the big goal to win the Stanley Cup. Who would not want to be Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux or Sidney Crosby?

The other is to be the team's general manager. Think about it - to be the man who is responsible for assembling a Stanley Cup champion! It is at the heart of every hockey card trade, hockey pool draft, and water cooler trade rumor debate we have ever engaged in.

Yet how many of us really know what it is like to be a NHL general manager? Most of their work is done behind the scenes, and it is only once his work is all said and done do we get to see his newest draft pick or analyze his big trade or free agent signing.

But now, thanks to a new masterpiece from author/publisher Jason Farris, we can all get a fascinating look into the lives of hockey's general managers. Even better, we all get an insider's look into many of the moves of various general managers past. We get direct insight into trades, signings and decisions that shaped franchises for years. Through an amazing collection of quotes by their peers, we get a look at many of the game's greatest general managers that is nothing short of fascinating.

Jason Farris spent 18 months and 60,000kms travelling the GM community, engaging GMs in conversations about their jobs. He invested incredible time (over 120 hours of interviews on tape!) building trusting and open relationships the greatest general managers in memory. He sat with Glen Sather at his retreat in the Canadian Rockies. He penetrated Lou Lamoriello's bunker. He befriended Brian Burke.

The result is Behind The Moves: NHL General Managers Tell How Winners Are Built. It is appropriately hailed as "the most important hockey book in over a decade" as it offers the most amazing view inside the normally secretive life of a hockey general manager. Everything here is completely unedited. Normally guarded and stoic, these managers magically opened up for Farris, and it was totally all on record. Farris shares all the best in this truly one of a kind book.

Buy The Book - NHLGMs.com

At its heart this book is a thick coffee table book. As with all Jason Farris books, the layout and presentation are top notch and rich with imagery and sidebar content. I've often felt a major publishing house should hire Farris to be in charge of the visuals inside hockey books. His books are always beautiful to look through, sometimes overshadowing the text itself. The various clips of hockey memorabilia, newspaper headlines and captivating photos catch the eye on every page.

The content packing the 252 pages is almost overwhelming. Statistical registers. Time lines and genealogy posters. Biographies of all 174 men who have been a GM. Former NHL president John Ziegler offers an essay on the NHL general management, while Detroit Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch and LA Kings CEO Tim Leiweke offer a final words on the men they have hired.

There are four main sections with in the book.

Farris first introduces us to the GM community. With the mind of a team owner he looks at how GMs are evaluated and hired. He also offers a dictionary of GM lingo and their unwritten rules.

He moves on to look at the modern GM, specifically looking at how the job has changed over the years in the expansion era. Readers definitely get a better understanding of the business and legal side of their job.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is when Farris looks at the challenges of a being a GM. Through countless quotes from hockey's greatest general managers, we get incredible insight as to what GMs have to deal with. That includes dealing with owners, coaches, players, agents and media; trades, free agents and drafts; managing the salary cap; building team chemistry; and achieving success in the playoffs. There are some lighter moments included here, as GMs show it is not just the players who are capable of a little hijinx and tomfoolery.

In the final section of the book is actually broken into multiple chapters. Farris looks at the best of the best, the so-called "GM Godfathers" and other GMs who were instrumental in hockey history. He also offers biographies of all 174 men who have held the title of a NHL general manager as well as the statistical registers. The bios are mostly comprised of quotes of their peers, which makes for a fascinating read.

All in all, this is an amazing book. The presentation quality is high, and the content is even better. The use of quotes from all his interviews are the heart of text. Though not always presented in conventional chronological order, the author masterfully paints a picture of each topic with the managers' own words. Every page offers a surprise.

The bottom line: Behind The Moves is the most impressive undertaking in hockey literature I have ever seen. You will learn a lot about your favorite team and why your GM made the moves he did. What fan would not want that?

So is there a down side to this book? Yes, and it may be a significant road block to many hockey book buyers.

Behind The Moves is not available in any store. It is sold directly by the author and his publishing company at the website www.NHLGMS.com. No big deal. But it costs a minimum $99.95 (Canadian or US). For $139.95 you can upgrade and get the professional edition/deluxe GM package which includes the Timeline of NHL GMs wall chart, the NHL GM Genealogy poster, the 40-page Statistical Register of NHL GMs, and an NHL GM League Information Card. You can choose from several limited editions which are autographed by various general managers.

Be it $100 or $140, that's a lot of coin for a hockey book. That represents the hockey book budget for many readers. You can pick up a half dozen books for the same amount of money.

Is it worth $100 or more? I can tell you that this book may be the most interesting book HockeyBookReviews.com has ever seen in the four years this site has existed. Behind The Moves: NHL General Managers Tell How Winners Built is a luxury item, yes, but this book really is an amazing undertaking and incredible final product. Don't take my word for it. Ask these guys:

“Nothing like this book has been done before. An invaluable addition to hockey history and hockey lore.”
– Frank Selke Jr., former NHL general manager and son of legendary Montreal Canadiens GM, Frank Selke

“Behind the Moves provides direct access to the greatest living hockey minds. It pulls back the velvet curtain on the GM community and lets readers access insiders’ information about successful NHL general managers.”
– Neil Smith, GM of the 1994 Stanley Cup Champion New York Rangers

Be sure to check out www.NHLgms.com to learn more and see exclusive looks inside the book.

Update: Read Brian Burke's book review

Behind the Moves is part encyclopedia, part history book, part manual for would-be managers. And it's your ticket to the general manager's office, where you'll find out all about the trades, the championships, the negotiations with agents, and the day-to-day dealing with owners and the media. You'll enjoy it, and you'll learn a lot, too. Full Review

The Magnificent Mario by Mike Leonetti

2011-10-20T17:20:00.000-04:00

Long time readers of this website know I am a huge fan of Mike Leonetti's long running hockey history themed children's books. 2011 sees the newest book to the series - The Magnificent Mario

Buy The Book - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

The book is also available in French

This time around the illustrations are provided by a fellow named Gary Chatterton. He takes the series of a books to an amazing new level with the life-like illustrations are simply amazing. If nothing else, just crack the spine of this book to admire the art work.

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Product Description: A young hockey player learns the value of playing one's best — no matter what the circumstances — from real-life hockey hero Mario Lemieux!

Tyler is already a big Mario Lemieux fan, but he still loves looking at his dad's memento — Mario's rookie card — and hearing about how Mario started out with the worst team in the NHL. Tyler is also on the worst team in his league, and losing so often gets very frustrating.

He is inspired by his hero's work on the ice, especially as he watches Mario through the 1990-91 season, giving a magnificent performance during the playoffs, and, of course, scoring an unbelievable goal against the Minnesota North Stars in the finals.

As Mario and the Pittsburgh Penguins become the Stanley Cup winners, Tyler learns that things can change, and a team can become stronger if you give your best — the way Mario did for his team.

About the Author - Mike Leonetti has written numerous books for both children and adults about the good ol' hockey game. His current picture book series with Scholastic is about hockey heroes and includes titles such as Wendel and The Great One, The Rocket, and The Mighty Tim Horton. A lifelong Toronto Maple Leafs fan, Mike lives in Woodbridge, Ontario, with his wife and son.

Gary Chatterton's incredibly life-like illustrations have appeared in advertising campaigns for major corporations such as Molson Canada, Labatt, Bell, and the Biodome de Montreal. Gary lives in Beloeil, Quebec.

Interested in this title? Previous history-themed children's titles by Leonetti include The Mighty Tim Horton, Wendel and The Great One, Maple Leafs A-Z, Gretzky's Game, The Greatest Goal, The Goalie Mask, Number Four, Bobby Orr!, A Hero Named Howe and My Leafs Sweater.

Overtime by David Skuy

2011-10-20T17:09:00.000-04:00

Charlie Joyce is back in David Skuy's newest entry in the Game Time youth novel series, Overtime.

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Teenage hockey player Charlie Joyce is facing a new school year, and a whole new set of problems — both on and off the ice.

The year has barely begun when Charlie finds out his school is in jeopardy because of some damage to the building. Under threat of being separated and bussed to different high schools, Charlie and friends leap into action to raise some money and keep their high school (and hockey team!) intact.

Using all of their skills, they cook up as many fundraising events as they can — until one day a gift comes to them in the form of a hockey tournament with a $5000 prize. Charlie is ecstatic to get his team on the ice — until he realizes that their line-up must be co-ed to compete.

It's a whole new lesson in good sportsmanship at Terrence Falls High School. Can they pull it off and save their school?

Line Change by W.C. Mack

2011-10-20T17:02:00.000-04:00

JT McDonald is back and dealing with a difficult hockey coach — his dad!

That's the basis of the new 144 page youth novel Line Change

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JT McDonald is finally back on the ice with his team, doing better at math thanks to tutoring from his teammate Eddie and sporting the awesome new helmet he bought with his prize money from the Vancouver Canucks contest. Everything seems to be getting back on track for JT. That is, until Coach O'Neil has a bad fall on the ice and the team is left without a coach mid-season.

JT is thrilled when his dad steps in to lead the team — but his teammates have a harder time adjusting to the new coach. Suddenly practice time isn't fun anymore, they're fighting among themselves, and they're devastated when they lose a game that should have been an easy win. Can the Cutter Bay Cougars get back on track before the season ends?

This book is the long awaited sequel to Mack's Hat Trick

The Devil And Bobby Hull

2011-10-20T12:37:00.002-04:00

As the epic battles between Rocket Richard and Gordie Howe reached their zenith in the 1950s, another superstar arrived in the same stratosphere. Bobby Hull - hockey's Golden Jet - was every bit as good as his counterpart #9s. In fact, he was kind of a hybrid of the two. He had Howe's size and strength, and Richard's flare for the dramatic.

He may have been the greatest player of his era, the 1960s, carrying the torch from Howe and Richard until Bobby Orr came along. Hull was pro sports first million dollar man, and he had the million dollar smile to go with it. Not unlike Wayne Gretzky after him, his personality was contagiously appealing, almost as important as his athletic prowess. He transcended the game to almost Hollywood proportions

But, for a variety of reasons, Hull's lasting legacy does not measure up with the likes of Howe or Richard or Orr or Jean Beliveau. Instead he is painted as a more dastardly character. His key role in jumping to the WHA ruffled many feathers, leaving him estranged for decades with the Chicago Blackhawks, the team he is most associated with and won the Stanley Cup with. The Wirtz family, owners of the team, held a deep grudge and did what ever they could to keep Bobby out. Of course the narcissistic Bobby also has himself to blame in his tainted legacy, thanks to a very messy and very public divorce (Tiger Woods could relate) that swirled with domestic violence.

Gare Joyce offers a look at one of hockey's greatest players in The Devil and Bobby Hull: How Hockey's Original Million-Dollar Man Became the Game's Lost Legend. As Joyce says, "the world of hockey glory was his to lose. And he did."

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Bobby Hull ranks as one of hockey's most important figures ever. On the ice he had few equals, and remains one of the top ten players of all time. His records and brilliance are truly rarefied. His off ice contributions are every bit as important. By taking his stand against the NHL and jumping to the WHA, Hull became a millionaire, but a huge cost. He also made a lot of other hockey players rich, as his stand directly led to the spike in player salaries. Every player from the 1970s forward owes Bobby Hull a debt of gratitude.

Author Gare Joyce does a good job in building up the case for Hull as arguably hockey's greatest figure. But the he goes on to cover Hull's demise, but does not do it in a tabloidish manner which is much appreciated. With the estrangement from the Hawks and the bitter and public divorce, Hull never really recovered his golden boy image. That hurt Hull in many ways. In the aftermath of all this the author goes on to paint Hull as a tragic character, a shadow of the legend he once was.

This is a book that very much should be considered for your reading list. It is a well rounded unauthorized biography (though Hull is prominently interviewed) of one hockey's greatest yet most tragic figures.

East Coast NHLers

2011-10-17T19:19:00.000-04:00

The best selling hockey book in the Canadian maritime region this year probably will be East Coast NHLers: The stories of the lives and careers of players from the Maritimes and Newfoundland.

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Veteran hockey author Paul White looks at the career and lives of hockey players from Canada's maritime provinces and Newfoundland. Highlighted by Sidney Crosby, Al MacInnis, and Brad Richards, there might not be a lot of Atlantic Canadians in the NHL but their journeys are all fascinating.

Modern day fans will appreciate White's look at Crosby's rise from Coal Harbour, Nova Scotia to hockey superstardom, or the day Richards brought the Stanley Cup home to Prince Edward Island, or when Detroit's Dan Cleary and Boston's Brad Marchand and Michael Ryder brought the trophy home to Newfoundland.

Every bit as interesting is White's look at some players from the past. He looks back at Nova Scotia's Al MacInnis and his feared slap shot. He looks back at Darryl Sittler and Lanny McDonald's old Maple Leafs running mate Errol Thompson, and Steve Yzerman's old winger Gerrard Gallant, both from Summerside, PEI.

How many people knew Willie O'Ree, who broke the NHL's colour barrier, was from Fredericton, New Brunswick? White also looks back at Nova Scotian goalie Al MacNeil, tough guy Forbes Kennedy, sniper Danny Grant and old time Hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Drillon, all from New Brunswick.

White also offers a special look at the game in Newfoundland in the chapter "Hockey on the Rock." He pays special attention to Newfie hockey legend Alex Faulkner and lesser-knowns like Keith Brown, Doug Grant, Joe Lundrigan, Tony White and Bob Gladney before moving forward to more recent times. Darren Langdon, Teddy Purcell and world juniors hockey legend John Slaney get brief profiles.

Obviously this will be very popular under the Christmas trees of east coast hockey fans. You should be able to get the book under the sticker price of $17, making this 160 page book very reasonably priced. Don't expect the profiles to dig too deep, but it is an enjoyable and quick read.

Ron MacLean Signing Copies Of Cornered

2011-10-15T07:21:00.000-04:00

Pucks On The 'Net Interview on Kukla's Korner

2011-10-15T01:19:00.003-04:00

Special thanks to Alanah McGinlay-Downie for her Kukla's Korner feature of an interview with me concerning my new ebook Pucks On The 'Net.

Also thanks to Rick Buker for his review on the Pittsburgh fan site PenguinPoop.com
and to Dennis Kane for his review on his Montreal fan site.

Learn more about my third book and first ebook at PucksOnTheNet.com

You can buy the book for just $3.99:

Amazon Kindle

Barnes & Noble Nook

Kobo

Smashwords (including .pdf file for any computer)

and of course Apple iTunes for iPad/iPod/iPhone

Thanks again until next time when put more pucks on the 'net.

Forgotten Heroes: Winnipeg's Hockey Heritage by Richard Brignall

2011-10-14T21:47:00.000-04:00

Four years ago author Richard Brignall and J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing got together and decided to make a book about hockey history in Winnipeg. They call it Forgotten Heroes: Winnipeg's Hockey Heritage.

By pure dumb luck they decided to release the book in October 2011. That decision was made many weeks before the NHL announced the Atlanta Thrashers were moving to Manitoba to become the re-born Winnipeg Jets.

Talk about good fortune! The Jets come back and these guys are ready to welcome them and all the hockey fans back with what promises to be a top notch book about hockey in Winnipeg.

Buy The Book - Amazon.ca- Chapters - Amazon.com.

And then Brignall and J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing got even more good fortune, as the highly esteemed writer Roy MacGregor boasted about the book in the Globe and Mail's front page feature about Winnipeg's proud hockey history. You can not buy that type of publicity.

The Jets returning to Winnipeg certainly has all of Manitoba caught up in hockey hysteria. But it is kind of funny how the hockey fan's attention completely revolves around the NHL and the Jets. Yes they had 3 WHA championships and some memorable NHL battles. Much of their history has become all about the loss of their beloved team and now about their return.

In some ways that is unfortunate as the Jets completely overshadow the province's rich hockey history. And in that sense Brignall's book Forgotten Heroes is more important than ever.

You will not find much coverage of the Jets at all in this book, and that might make quick bookstore browsers dismiss the title too quickly. That would be a terrible mistake, as Forgotten Heroes is an amazing undertaking and should be mandatory reading for any hockey history fan in Canada, especially in Manitoba.

Brignall's exhaustive efforts cover 70 years of hockey history in Winnipeg. From the years of 1890 through to 1959 city teams were Stanley Cup champions, Olympic gold medalists, world champions and Allan and Memorial Cup title holders. The Winnipeg Falcons, who won Olympic gold in 1920, are famous now, but the Winnipeg Victorias, who won Stanley Cups near the turn of the 20th century, are incredibly significant to hockey history in Canada though all but ignored.

All the great players in that time frame are featured prominently - from familiar NHL names like Terry Sawchuk, Andy Bathgate, and Bill Mosienko to more local legends like Legs Fraser, Zeke Ferley, and the now-celebrated Icelanders. The real old timers like Dan Bain, Tommy Dunderdale and Frank Frederickson get lots of due coverage.

The book is loaded with amazing black and white photos. It is fascinating to look back at hockey in such a foreign time.

The book is incredibly well researched. It is clear the author spent countless lonely hours scouring through newspaper archives to piece together the definitive history of hockey in Winnipeg from 1890 through 1959.

We can only hope a follow up volume is in the works.

The city of Winnipeg is rightfully celebrating it's great hockey history these days. With this book fans will learn just how rich that history is - dating back long before anyone had ever heard of Bobby Hull, Dale Hawerchuk or Teemu Selanne.

Buy The Book - Amazon.ca- Chapters - Amazon.com.

Gamble In Goal: The Bruce Gamble Story

2011-10-10T00:09:00.000-04:00

Born in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay), Bruce Gamble's professional hockey career as a National Hockey League (NHL) goalie spanned 14 years, and he saw action with four NHL teams: New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers.

He is hardly the most famous goalie in hockey history. Yet his story, finally told in David Nicholson's new book Gamble in Goal, is very interesting.

Buy The Book: Chapters

Gamble broke into pro hockey in the maskless days of the Original Six. Though he was a solid goalie in the AHL, he never really stuck in the NHL until the late 60's when expansion and the legislated two goalie system saw NHL goaltending jobs grow from 6 to 24.

Previously Gamble was best known as the goalie who refused to be subservient to the so called system. He quit hockey in 1965 rather than report to Eddie Shore's team in Springfield. He had had enough of Shore and his irascible ways. So he took 'Shore leave,' quit hockey and went home and worked in the grain elevators back in Port Arthur.

It was not until Punch Imlach and the Leafs rescued him a year later that he returned to the ice. Soon enough he was playing with the Leafs, serving as their main goalie for stretches in the late 1960s.

Coming off a Stanley Cup dynasty, it was a tough time to be a goalie in Toronto. As the book points out, Gamble goes down as one of the most underrated goalies in team history.

"Undoubtedly, Bruce Gamble is an extremely underrated player," said reporter Jim Vipond. "He's got to practically play goal standing on his head before people recognize him."

"When Bruce is hot he's the best in the league. But when he lows, he blows sky high," said coach John McLellan.

Perhaps reporter of Paul Dulmage summed it up best in the 1969-70 season.

"This season he's averaged about 36 shots per game. When he tries to fall asleep the sheep come at him three on one. Without Gamble the Leafs would have sunk so deep Smythe couldn't have found them using Jacques Cousteau."

By 1972 Gamble had lost his hot hand and was tending goal for the Philadelphia Flyers. While playing for the Flyers in a game in Vancouver, Gamble suffered a heart attack while playing. It forced him to retire.

Gamble mysteriously slipped out of sight soon after that. His marriage fell apart and he kept to himself, moving to the Niagara Falls area. He died of another heart attack in 1982. He was just 44 years old.

The book is published by River Rocks Publishing. All in all it was an interesting about a player I really did not know very much about. The book is very thorough in covering his life. Perhaps the text could have been better expanded to cover the Leafs fall from champs to chump during this time period rather than focusing solely on Gamble.

There is no doubt - if you are looking to read up on former Leafs goaltender Bruce Gamble, David Nicholson's book Gamble in Goal is the definitive resource.

Back In The Bigs: How Winnipeg Won, Lost & Regained Its Place in the NHL

2011-10-09T13:10:00.000-04:00

The Winnipeg Free Press is pairing with Penguin Books to publish a commemorative book that will mark Winnipeg's historic re-entry into the National Hockey League.

Back in the Bigs: How Winnipeg Won, Lost and Regained Its Place in the NHL, will be written by award-winning sports writer Randy Turner, and is due out in September.

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters

"We want to tell the story by bringing the past to life... not just archives, but dozens of interviews with major players, on and off the ice," Turner said. "There is a direct link to the Jets' early years, which explains why NHL hockey left, but the passion never did -- even for all those 20-somethings celebrating in the streets who barely saw the team play."

The book will track the history of pro hockey in Winnipeg, from the wild days of the World Hockey Association to the Winnipeg Jets's entry into the NHL in 1979; and from the heartbreaking loss of the franchise in 1996 to its triumphant return in 2011.

I had my first chance to view the book while in Toronto at The World's Biggest Bookstore. The presentation quality is high, with some great photos from throughout the years gone by. I could only sample the text, but it seemed deep and interesting.

Because of the beautiful lay out I am sure this book will be a winner with all Jets fans, not only in Winnipeg but throughout Canada and beyond. I will offer a full review when I receive my copy.

In the meantime, The Winnipeg Free Press is offering a free excerpt about John Ferguson's impact on hockey in Winnipeg. Also, check out this video presentation on the book.

Winnipeg Jets Merchandise

2011-10-09T13:00:00.000-04:00

The Lost Dream: The Mike Danton Story

2011-10-07T18:15:00.000-04:00

One of the most promising titles of the 2011 hockey book season promises to be Lost Dream, The: The Story of Mike Danton, David Frost and a Broken Canadian Family.

Like the stories released of Theo Fleury or Bob Probert in years past, this book is not a squeaky clean fun book to read. It is an understatement to say that the Danton/Frost story is sad or even down right disgusting. Perhaps it is because it is so incomprehensibly bizarre, but it is a story that some how captivates us for reasons we might not fully understand ourselves. Maybe it's because it could have happened to any of us or to any of our children.

The inconceivable story is of course that of Mike Danton, the NHL player who ended up in jail in a failed murder for hire plot. He wanted his agent, David Frost, dead, or at least that was what the authorities said. Danton later said he wanted his father, Steve Jefferson, gone. Guilty in the court of public opinion if not the courts of law, David Frost is essentially a predatory creep who preys upon young boys and girls including Danton. In the process the Jefferson family (Mike changed his name to Danton and has nothing to do with his birth family) is torn apart. Danton blames his family, while the family lames David Frost.

Watch: George Stromboulopoulos Interviews Steve Simmons. Mike's brother Tom Jefferson also talks with Strombo about his first hand experience with David Frost.

At first I was a little guarded in my expectations of this book since Steve Simmons was writing it. Scratch that thought from your head immediately. Yes Simmons is known for being provocative and controversial but I was thoroughly impressed with the level of writing in this book. Simmons, who has been following this sordid story since 1999, kept it highly professional and makes no judgements or stands. He presents the facts and leaves it at that.

Of course, Mike Danton (or whoever writes his blog) disagrees vehemently with that assessment. Danton is playing professional hockey over in Sweden this year, even making positive headlines for saving a teammates life. He is maintaining a blog of experiences in Sweden, and used that medium to respond to the allegations in Simmons book:

Fairly recently, a book about my life has been published and is now in bookstores available for sale. Even though this book has my picture on the cover with my name in bold lettering, I had nothing to do with the book. This book was authored by someone that I have never spoken one word with in my entire life. I was totally taken back when I had heard that a finished copy of a book, regarding my life, was now selling in stores. I was neither interviewed nor was I asked to comment regarding the contents of the book. The author took it upon himself to interview my biological family – a family that I have not spoken to in over 12 years – regarding my life. This is a family that I left home at when I was 11 years old. How the hell can they know anything about my life? Yet, they are profiting off of a book that has been built on lies and fabrications.

I have read only two chapters of this book. In these two chapters, I have discovered so many lies that it sickens me. Lies that can, and will be, easily proven to be false. The author did a poor job at fact-finding as he allowed my biological family to spew all of their hate for the last 20 years into a book that could, hopefully, bring them some financial assistance that they so desperately need. But the author, his editors, and his publisher never asked me a single question. It was not as if I was asked and offered “no comment.” I just was not asked at all. How is that for journalistic integrity?

He goes on at length talking about how life as a pro hockey player is not nearly as glamorous as we all think, and takes great offense to one Simmons allegation in particular - that one of Frost's children is actually his. He also says he is considering legal action against the author and/or the publisher for this falsehood.

Two things I know for sure: 1) that the story of Mike Danton and David Frost is as sick and as twisted far more than we will ever know, and 2) while Simmons and Danton both will stand behind their respective sides of the story, only one man knows the complete truth - David Frost.

This book is a necessary and significant piece of work, but not easy to read. You may want to skip over chapter four completely, as it a full description of a horrifying horrific sexual, physical, mental and assault on a 13-year-old Tom Jefferson with Frost in supervision. Granted it is only one side of the story, but it leaves you angry and wondering how in the hell the police could not make now-dismissed charges against Frost stick.

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

2011 Hockey Books

2011-10-07T15:41:00.000-04:00

Amazon.ca Widgets

I Hate Hockey by Francois Barcelo

2011-10-06T17:56:00.037-04:00

Francois Barcelo, a Governor General's Award winner, is a well established writer, penning more than 40 novels for both adults and young adults. Up until now, all of those books were in French. His first English release (with Peter McCamridge doing the translating) certainly catches the browsing eye with the striking title I Hate Hockey

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters
You can also purchase the original book in French - J'haïs le hockey
Also Read: Interview With The Translator

Upon cracking the spine, it does not take long for eye brows to raise. The main character is an unlikeable chap (That is far too kind - he's actually a racist, chauvinistic pig). Oh, and he rambles. And rambles. And rambles some more, somehow lengthening the otherwise quick 112 page read into a bit of a chore. At least he has a few occasional humorous lines. Perhaps more contradictory than out right funny, but there was some clever, dark wit.

The story quickly dissolves into uncomfortable story lines of murder, sexual abuse, and teen suicide. Which, in the shadows of Mike Danton, Theo Fleury and Sheldon Kennedy, is fair enough. But it really does not have a lot to do with hockey.

If you are looking for a novel about hockey, don't be intrigued by the words in the title. It really has little to do with hockey other than to serve to lure the prospective buyer's attention. Our main character has a lot of things going wrong in his life - lost his job, lost his wife, you know, the whole Quebecois country song idea. And he somehow blames it all on hockey, a sport he barely played, never watches and, if it wasn't for his son, he would never have anything to do with.

Since I review hockey books, I will withhold judgement on this short novel. Not being much of a fiction reader, this book reminds me a lot of the stories we had to read in high school English class. I know this is a critically acclaimed piece of literature. But I don't really know why.

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters
You can also purchase the original book in French - J'haïs le hockey

Making Select by Steve Barwin

2011-10-06T17:46:00.001-04:00

Author Steve Barwin and publisher James Lorimer and Company have released the 2011 102 page young adult novel Making Select

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

This is the pretty normal hockey story for many of us. Most of us don't make it to a high level. Many of us give up the game in our youth, probably a couple years later than we should have. There are other things we begin taking an interest in - video games, girls, schooling, girls, music, girls, etc. We lose the love of playing, but feel the pressure to keep chasing the national dream because that is what we are supposed to do. Especially when that dream is spoon fed to us by a parent.

That is exactly what Tyler faces in Making Select. He achieves every kid's goal of making the select team. But he soon realizes the pressure at this level is more than he bargained for. He would rather return to the fun of house league, but his hockey crazy mom applies as much pressure for him to stay as any coach or teammate.

Hockey burn-out is something many kids feel. As this book is aimed at young readers, specifically young boys who may be reluctant readers, it is a book young boys should read. It is okay to let the game go, or at least stay in house league and play for fun. Life is too short to be doing something you do not really want to be doing anyways. The quicker kids learn that lesson the better off they are.

Author Steve Barwin has an important offering here in Making Select. He understands the target juvenile audience expertly. After all, he is a middle school teacher in Ontario and has written several Sports Stories novels including Fadeaway, Rock Dogs, SK8ER, and Icebreaker, which was chosen as a Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens selection.

All in all, a solid new title from Barwin and Lormier publishing.

Hockey's Original Six by Mike Leonetti with Howard Barkley.

2011-09-24T20:10:00.000-04:00

The Original Six are hot these days. The Bruins and Blackhawks have won the last two Stanley Cups. The Red Wings are the class of hockey in recent years. Montreal and Toronto always have undying support, and quietly the Rangers are one of hockey's better teams right now.

That makes for a great time for a book about hockey's glory days when these six teams were the only ones around. Enter Hockey's Original 6. Written by Mike Leonetti, the book really is a beautiful showcase of the late Howard Barkley's hockey photography.

Buy the Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Here's more from the publisher: "The hockey stars of the 1950s and '60s—Rocket Richard, Gordie Howe, Dave Keon, Bobby Hull, Jean Beliveau, Terry Sawchuk, Tim Horton, and others—were some of the most passionate players in National Hockey League history. These skillful and often colorful athletes played exhilarating hockey and were national heroes in a time when only six teams and fewer than 150 players battled for the Stanley Cup.

"Hockey's Original Six celebrates the most dynamic players and exciting moments of the era in more than 120 photographs from the legendary Harold Barkley Archives, including a number of never—or rarely seen—images. From 1942 until the early '70s, Barkley was the Toronto Star's leading sports photographer. He pioneered the use of electronic flash to capture stop-action hockey, and his dramatic work—both black and white and vibrant color—define the pre-expansion period.

"Two informative essays by Mike Leonetti-hockey historian, archivist, and prolific sportswriter—set Barkley and the photos in context, and short image captions illuminate the players and their feats. Jean Béliveau—hockey legend and elder statesman—provides a personal and insightful foreword. Combining iconic images and hockey lore, Hockey's Original Six is the perfect gift for sports fans, history buffs, and art collectors."

In many ways this book is a re-presentation of Leonetti's 1998 release HOCKEY'S GOLDEN ERA: Stars of the Original Six. That book featured brief biographies of each featured player, whereas this new release does not. That's okay though, as Barkley's photos are stunning show-stealers. Leonetti's captions wonderfully compliment the photos. Jean Beliveau writes the foreword rather than Frank Selke, Jr.

All in all, a beautiful book that promotes hockey history. You know I like that.

The Puck Hog

2011-09-19T23:32:00.001-04:00

Author (and TV news anchor) Christie Casciano approached me today about her 2010 book release The Puck Hog. Both the story, and the story behind it, are fascinating.

Buy The Book - Amazon.com - Amazon.ca

First, the story. It's about a young girl named Sophia, and her hockey team wants to be the best in the league. But their biggest challenge isn't an opposing team, it’s Eddie, their puck-hogging teammate. A team trip to a Syracuse Crunch game and a pivotal moment on the ice may convince Eddie to become a better teammate, but will it be enough?

Children will enjoy skating along on an emotional journey with this tight-knit group of youth hockey players. The Puck Hog, an early reader chapter book, encourages the values of fair play, playing together as a team, playing hard and having fun!

The story is actually based on her own kids' experiences on the ice.

"When I became a hockey mom I had a lot of free time in the stands," she said. "There is not a lot to do when your children are on the ice practicing. So I took out a pad and started writing stories. I came up with this story, which is a compilation of a lot of what my kids went through."

Also, Ms. Casciano expands the family angle even further by inviting her sister Rose Mary Casciano Moziak to illustrate the book with her pencil sketches.

Now for the story behind the story. The Syracuse Crunch, an American Hockey League team, have teamed with Ms. Casciano. The players head into classrooms to present the book and teach the values of not only sportsmanship, but of reading, too. Their presentation is called "Reading, Writing, and Passing."

It is an admirable undertaking by all involved. You can learn more about the book and the community connections at The Puck Hog blog.

Pond Hockey: Kita Learns To Skate

2011-09-19T23:17:00.000-04:00

Erik and Robert Jacobson present their cute 40 page book Pond Hockey: Kita Learns to Skate. The book is aimed at readers aged 3 through 8.

Little Kita can't wait to play ice hockey. But first he must learn to skate. His brother Bobby shows him how by demonstrating the correct movements. Kita practices hard and learns fast. Soon he's ready to play pond hockey with his big brother and new friend, Allie. What could be more fun than that?

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

The book is nicely illustrated, certain to capture the imaginations of youngsters. The story is a simple and fun quick read, teaching good lessons and friendship and sportsmanship.

If you know a youngster who is about to learn to skate or to start playing hockey, Pond Hockey: Kita Learns to Skate would be an ideal gift.

Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Championship Books & DVDs

2011-09-12T00:57:00.001-04:00

NHL Official Guide & Record Book 2012

2011-09-10T22:11:00.000-04:00

The annual hockey book classic National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012 features Zdeno Chara on the cover this year.

Undoubtedly there will be regional covers for Canadian and major US markets.

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Puckster's First Hockey Sweater and Puckster's First Hockey Game

2011-09-10T02:04:00.000-04:00

Noted children's hockey author Lorna Schultz-Nicholson has teamed up with Hockey Canada and illustrator Kelly Findlay to bring us a whole new hockey book franchise: Puckster!

2011 sees the first two books in what will likely be a series of releases over the coming years. Here they are:

Puckster's First Hockey Sweater and Puckster's First Hockey Game. Here's the cover images:

Pretty cute stuff. Here's more from the publisher:

There are hundreds of thousands of young children enrolled in organized hockey associations all across Canada and nothing is more exciting for these kids than getting that first hockey sweater and playing in their first hockey game. With loads of exciting hockey action, great illustrations, and an entertaining story, young hockey fans everywhere will love to read—or be read— Puckster’s hockey adventures again and again.

Each book is 24 pages long and published by Fenn.

Buy The Books: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Lorna Schultz Nicholson grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario. She was a co-host and script writer for an aerobic television show. Moving to Ottawa, she was a reporter for a news show, and a researcher for a sports show, Donohue’s Legends, at CJOH television. Later, she hosted, produced, and wrote all the material for her own syndicated radio show in Ottawa, titled Family Time. By this time she’d had three beautiful children and she moved her family to Calgary, Alberta. There, she did a brief stint at writing magazine articles and a sports column, and a community events reporter for a local radio station.

For the past six years Kelly Findley has been working as a graphic designer, mostly with Hockey Canada, the largest National Sports Organization in Canada. Prior to working at Hockey Canada, she worked as both an in-house designer with a variety of different companies and for an advertising agency.

Buy The Books: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Why The Leafs STILL Suck by Al Strachan

2011-09-10T01:48:00.000-04:00

Strach is back, and at it again. Sometimes I swear he does this stuff not to make a living, but just to needle Brian Burke.

You may remember back in 2009 controversial writer Al Strachan released the straight-to-the-point book Why The Leafs Suck And How They Can Be Fixed. Well, he's back with an all new and update version of that book here in 2011. And of course, what else would you call it but Why The Leafs Still Suck

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Now updated to include both the disastrous 2009–10 season and the 2010–11 season, Al Strachan covers what’s gone wrong and why. With behind-the-scenes access and forty years of fascinating Leafs personalities and stories, Al discusses

* How the downfall started and how Harold Ballard perpetuated it
* Why fans were once again ill-served in the battle for club ownership after Ballard’s death
* The three wasted first-round draft picks in one season
* Why the Leafs passed on Wayne Gretzky
* How the Phil Kessel trade will impact the team for years to come
* Why Brian Burke may not be the saviour Leafs fans are hoping for
* And most important, what can be done—how other teams have had success and thrived in the salary-cap era

For fans who love the Leafs (and those who love to hate them), Why the Leafs Still Suck is a revealing and sometimes shocking inside look at professional hockey.

The Hockey Sweater

2011-09-04T16:56:00.002-04:00

Must See T.V. for any Canadian hockey fan: Le Chandail de hockey. The Hockey Sweater.

Roch Carrier's most famous story is about a young boy who orders a Montreal Canadiens sweater from the Eaton's catalogue, but receives a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey instead. Brilliantly capturing the cultural tensions between English and French Canada, it is considered to be one of the most important works of Canadian literature ever written.

The book is based on the real experience of Carrier growing up in an isolated part of Quebec in the 1940s. He, like all boys his age, was a big fan of the Montreal Canadiens and their star player, Maurice "The Rocket" Richard.

When Carrier's Montreal Canadiens hockey sweater wears out, his mother orders a new one from Eaton's.

Unfortunately, the department store giant sends a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater instead, the Canadiens' bitter arch rivals.

A loyal fan of Les Habitants, Carrier protests having to wear the new sweater. But his mother refuses to let her son wear the old worn out sweater and, apparently unaware of the business's traditional policy they advertised, "Goods satisfactory, or money refunded", insists that if they were to return the sweater it may offend Mr. Eaton, himself a Leafs fan. As a result, young Carrier is forced to wear the Leafs sweater to his hockey game, feeling humiliated before the other players on the ice, each proudly wearing Canadiens sweaters.

Getting your first hockey sweater is one of the truly great Christmas gifts one can receive. I'd love to hear your stories of Christmases past or present about giving or receiving a special hockey jersey.

Summer Reading: Mad Men and Wealthy Barbers

2011-09-04T02:02:00.000-04:00

On my most recent camping trip I got quite a bit of reading in. I cracked the spines of some old favorites, and one new non-hockey release:

Off The Post by Risto Pakarinen
The Rink: Stories From Hockey's Home Towns by Chris Cuthbert and Scott Russell
The Mad Men of Hockey by Trent Frayne

And, in my non-hockey reading, I picked up the new twist on the old Canadian Classic: The Wealthy Barber Returns

On The Wing: A History of the Windsor Spitfires

2011-09-03T22:49:00.000-04:00

Product Description

On the Wing: A History of the Windsor Spitfires covers the history of the Squadron from its first inception in 1946/47, through it’s rebirth in 1975, to the team’s final two years, battling tremendous adversity to become two-time Memorial Cup Champions. Complete with more than 150 photographs, many of them in colour, and many available for the first time, On the Wing offers a history of the team, its heroes, struggles and victories, and is a volume that no true Windsor Spitfire fan, or, indeed, hockey fan, should be without.

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters

About the Authors:

Bob Duff has been a columnist with the Windsor Star for nearly 30 years, and has covered hockey, and the Spitfires for most of this period. He has authored or do-authored more than a dozen sports and hockey books, including autobiographies of Steve Yzerman, Bob Probert and Johnny Bower.

Jim Parker has been a sports writer for the Windsor Star for two decades, and has covered the Spitfires for most of this period.

Muskegon Lumberjacks: The Life of a Hockey Puck

2011-09-03T22:34:00.000-04:00

Author Jay VandeVoorde is joined by six 2010-2011 Muskegon Lumberjacks Players: Paul Berrafato, Matt DeBlouw, Micki Mihailovich, Casey Thrush, Brendan Woods and Mark Yanis in writing Muskegon Lumberjacks-The Life of a Hockey Puck!

A children's book exploring what life would be like for a hockey puck in a real-life game situation at the L. C. Walker Sports Arena in Muskegon, Michigan.

Follow the antics of an Official USHL Hockey Puck as he is slapped, passed, scored, and beaten during the scope of a hockey game. Experience a hockey game as the game puck even describes the rough and tumble fights that take place during a contest. Come inside Muskegon Lumberjacks-The Life of a Hockey Puck! Witness what the world of USHL and Lumberjack hockey is really like!

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Hockey Trivia For Kids 3

2011-09-03T22:27:00.000-04:00

Hockey Trivia for Kids 3: Stanley Cup Edition is the ultimate hockey trivia collection - all about our beloved Cup! How many Stanley Cups are there? Why does the Cup always seem to end up in Mario Lemieux''s pool? What are some of the strangest things that have sat in the Cup bowl? This book answers all of these questions and more - all about our beloved Stanley Cup!

Kids can continue to wow their friends with their amazing hockey knowledge. Chock full of amazing facts delivered in the same style as the previous Hockey Trivia books, this book is a flat-out winner!

About The Author: Eric Zweig''s love of sports and compiling facts about them started early: by the age of ten, he was already filling school notebooks with game reports and statistics. Eric has also worked as a writer and producer for CBC Radio Sports and TSN SportsRadio. He lives in Owen Sound, Ontario, with his wife Barbara.

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Tales From The Boston Bruins Locker Room

2011-09-03T22:00:00.000-04:00

After the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011, Sports Publishing re-released their 2003 book Tales from the Boston Bruins Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Bruins Stories Ever Told

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Product Description

In this fascinating collection of Bruins tales, Kerry Keene brings readers behind the scenes and captures the stories that have defined the franchise throughout its storied history. From the team s inception in 1924 up through their 2011 championship run, Tales from the Boston Bruins Locker Room has it all. This treasure trove of Bruins lore brings Boston s best hockey players to life with stories about Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Phil Esposito, Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas, and other Bruins legends. Learn what Bruins jersey number was retired twice, who started the tradition of painting stitches on hockey masks, how the 1977 Bruins team inspired author George Plimpton to write the book Open Net, and relive the greatest moments of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals.

About the Author

Kerry Keene is a freelance writer and sports historian. A member of the Society for American Baseball Research, Keene lives in Raynham, Massachusetts.

Star Spangled Hockey by Kevin Allen

2011-09-03T01:32:00.000-04:00

Kevin Allen is back with another flag waving, patriotic book about hockey in America: Star-Spangled Hockey

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Here's more from Triumph Books:

In Star-Spangled Hockey, legendary hockey writer Kevin Allen takes readers on a journey from the earliest days of USA Hockey to celebrate the organization's 75th anniversary. From the beginning, when the organization was started literally out of a shoebox in Tom Lockhart's New York City apartment, to the excitement generated by the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, this book covers the fascinating history of amateur hockey in America.

Hockey's Greatest Stars: Legends and Young Lions (re-release)

2011-09-03T01:12:00.000-04:00

Revised in it's third incarnation since 2007, Chris McDonell and Firefly Books are back with Hockey's Greatest Stars: Legends and Young Lions

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Here's more from the publisher:

Profiles of the best players of all time plus the up-and-coming new stars. Hockey fans everywhere are always hungry for more information on the game. Hockey''s Greatest Stars profiles hockey''s greatest players -- the all-stars and the promising young lions. Fans will enjoy the book''s lively and incisive commentary combined with memorable quotes and insider tales of trades and off-ice antics.

The book profiles 60 of the greatest NHL players of all time plus the 20 top players of today. Each profile is illustrated with action-packed photographs.

The legends include:
Wayne Gretzky
Maurice Richard
Bobby Hull
Tim Horton
Gordie Howe

While the young lions include:
Sidney Crosby
Alex Ovechkin
Steve Stamkos
Drew Doughty
Carey Price

Sure to be as popular as the first and second editions, this third edition of Hockey's Greatest Stars is an entertaining and informative book for every hockey fan.

About The Author:

Chris McDonell is a writer, graphic artist and hockey enthusiast. His other books include Shooting From the Lip, The Football Game I''ll Never Forget, For the Love of Hockey and Hockey All-Stars.

Hockey Playbook by Michael A. Smith

2011-09-03T01:01:00.000-04:00

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From The Publisher:

The bible for hockey coaches at all levels of competition.

Mike Smith's Hockey Playbook is a practical handbook for coaches seeking to improve their players and better their team-play.

The book features systems for defensive, offensive and special-team situations, all accompanied by annotated, easy-to-understand diagrams. The systems range from conservative to aggressive -- some are intended for big, physical teams; others for fast-skating and highly skilled teams; and some work for both. Smith also includes teaching methods and drills for honing specific skills.

The first challenge for every coach is to determine the abilities of each skater. The approach in Mike Smith''s Hockey Playbook is effective with players of all ages and levels of ability. Coaches can match systems with team strategy, bringing a special creative magic to one of the fastest team sports in the world.

Mike Smith''s Hockey Playbook includes:

Clear step-by-step diagrams
Dozens of plays and skill-building drills
Conservative and aggressive systems
Teaching strategies for all levels of play.

About The Author:

Michael A. Smith has been involved in hockey for over 40 years as a player, coach and general manager of the New York Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Chicago Blackhawks and Team USA. He was an adviser for the National Hockey League and has traveled extensively as a lecturer and studied European training methods in Russia and Sweden. The author of six books on hockey, he lives in West Tisbury, Massachusetts.