2008 Hockey Book Preview: Don Cherry's Hockey Stories And Stuff

The book: Don Cherry's Hockey Stories and Stuff, Hardcover, 288 pages
The Author: Don Cherry with Al Strachan
The Publisher: Double Day Canada
Release Date: October 28, 2008
Pre-order: Amazon - Chapters

Book Description
He has been named an NHL “Coach of the Year” with a winning percentage of over .600 and an AHL “Coach of the Year.” His comments on Coach’s Corner routinely make headlines; they entertain, educate, and often enrage. For all his controversy no one can deny the popularity he enjoys, popularity that was reflected in his top 10 ranking in the competition for “The Greatest Canadian.”

Quite simply he is a Canadian icon, and you can imagine the stories he has to tell.

About The Author
Don Cherry needs no introduction. So here's what he has to say about his first book in 25 years:

I’d like this book to be just like we’re sittin’ down tellin’ stories in my own language. I know I’ll be criticized because for some reason people are not too thrilled with the way I speak.

In fact, CBC wanted to fire me my first month on Hockey Night in Canada. The brass told my boss, Ralph Mellanby, “This guy is awful. Get him off the air. We owe it to the English-speaking children of Canada.”

I stayed because Ralph, who had just won an Emmy or somethin’ for the Olympics, said, “If he goes, I go.”

But Ralph stayed and said, “I have to admit, Canada is a land of two official languages and Cherry speaks neither.” It kinda hurt my feelings.

So don’t blame Random House or Al Strachan for the way the book is presented, I wanted the book to be like a couple of guys sittin’ down with a few pops tellin’ hockey stories.

I hope you enjoy it.

Joe's Note
While I don't know exactly what to expect with this title, I can guarantee this book will be a top seller this fall. And don't be so quick to dismiss Cherry as a literary giant. His 1983 autobiography Grapes: A vintage view of hockey was a great read.

Cyclone Taylor: A Hockey Legend

So on a recent trip to Kamloops, BC, I walk into a thrift store. Why? Because I'm cheap. But also because I love hunting for hockey book. Trust me, thrift stores are a great place to find some unexpected treasures, and at the cheapest of prices.

In this store I found a copy of Eric Whitehead's 1977 book Cyclone Taylor: A Hockey Legend. I think the book cost $5, but thinking I already had the title in paperback back home, I put the book back on the shelf. But at at the last minute I decided hey why not and picked it up.

It's a good thing I did, because it turned out to be a gold mine.

On the inside title page is the following inscription:

"Jan 22, 78.
For Denome + John Kerr
Fred W (Cyclone) Taylor"

Yep. Autographed by Cyclone Taylor himself.

I would not have the foggiest idea on how to verify if the signature is authentic. Assuming it is legit, I would have no idea how much such an item might be worth in the collectibles market. I suspect a tad more than five bucks.

Perhaps one of my readers can shed a little more light on the value of such a unique and I'd assume rare autograph.

The Legend, The Book

Cyclone Taylor was hockey's first national superstar, known to Canadian hockey fans on both coasts and everywhere in the early 1900s. Whitehead's book brilliantly looks back at Taylor's career and life. While many Canadians may recognized the name Cyclone Taylor, very few know much about him. This book is an excellent resource not only about Taylor, but about early 1900s hockey and other legends.

Sneak Peak: 2008 Hockey Book Releases

Regular reader Matthew Csaszar wrote me with this message:

"Bob Probert and Joey Kocur, along with Bob Duff of the Windsor Star, have a book coming soon. The Bruise Brothers - Hockey's Heavyweight Champions will be released June 1.

I bet it ends up being book of the year :)"

I bet that that book will be a very popular buy. It also got me thinking: I wonder what other new hockey books we can look forward to in the fall/winter of 2008. Here's what I found:

The Meaning of Puck: How Hockey Explains Modern Canada - Hockey is more than a game or even a way of life in Canada. Its a perfect window into the issues that confront the nation as it nears its 150th birthday with all its achievements and its challenges. Canada is a land of contradiction and curiosity that is best summed up in the national sport. In The Meaning of Puck, bestselling author Bruce Dowbiggin takes a tour of the country using hockey as his itinerary. In a series of essays, he shows how the national passion of hockey reflects the issues of globalization, regionalism, anti-Americanism and militarism in the new century. Using the dominant themes of the sport, The Meaning of Puck shows the challenges before the nation. More than just a sports book, The Meaning of Puck is a look into the fabric of a nation straining to keep old traditions alive and incorporate new national myths.

Hockey Night in Canada: My Greatest Day - Nothing from the publisher yet, but expect another beautifully designed book, just like HNIC's 2007 release By The Numbers. I suspect Scott Morrison collects the stories of NHL greats of the past and present about their memories of Hockey Night In Canada, including their first and/or favorite games played on Saturday night.

The Little Book of Hockey Sweaters Vol 2. Andrew Podnieks and artist Anthony Jenkins return with a sequel to the popular little book The Little Book of Hockey Sweaters. More stories about why players wear the jersey numbers they do are always entertaining. And I can't wait to see more work from the talent illustrator Jenkins.

Say what you want about Don Cherry, but the man knows how to sell. In his first literary release since his autobiography over 20 years ago, the man they call Grapes is teaming up with fellow Hockey Night in Canada cohort Al Strachan to release Don Cherry's Hockey Stories And Stuff. Hopefully they spent a lot more time on the content of the book than they did on the title.

Honoured Canadiens: Hockey Hall of Fame - prolific author Podnieks returns with another title, this time looking at the careers of all of Montreal Canadiens whose careers were so great that they were enshrined in Hockey's Hall of Fame. That's a lot of players to cover, from Howie Morenz to Rocket Richard to Guy Lafleur to Patrick Roy. Expect a beautifully designed book from HB Fenn.

The Road to Hockeytown: Jimmy Devellano's Forty Years in the NHL The architect of the Detroit Red Wings has been around the NHL for forty years. It shows, because his fashion sense hasn't changed since. But his hockey sense is among the most savvy in history. Now Jimmy D will take a look back at his lengthy career in his autobiography.

In 2007 the National Hockey League put out a beautiful photograph book called Reflections. The book must have done as well as the league returns with Reflections 2008: The NHL Hockey Year in Photographs. Undoubtedly the action photography will be as amazing as last year. It looks like this will become an annual release

Herb Brooks: The Inside Story of a Hockey MasterMind - Author John Gilbert gives us another look into the life and times of American's most famous hockey coach, Herb Brooks.

The Ultimate Book of Hockey Lists - The Hockey News returns with a new book, following the same tried and true formula that magazines often use for books. This book is obviously a collection of the top, the best, the worst, the funniest and strangest players, events, games and moments in hockey's history. No doubt this will be a popular Christmas buy for fans of all ages and levels.

Author Jon C. Stott looks at the mostly unknown story of the old PCHL/WHL minor pro league from 1948 through 1974 in Ice Warriors. For much of this league's existence the NHL was only a six team league, and the top players of the minor leagues weren't much different than the NHL stars. There was some great hockey and great hockey players in that old league, and finally we have author trying to bring those memories back to life.

With the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada, so too comes the Paralympic games. Author Lorna Schultz Nicholson comes out with Fighting for Gold: The Story of Canada's Sledge Hockey Paralympic Gold. Sledge hockey is a very different and surprisingly physical game that has gotten more notice in recent years. Hopefully the 2010 games and Nicholson's book can raise the game to another level again.

I'm sure there are many more. Publishers are just starting to list new titles on online resources such as Amazon and Chapters. I'll update this list after the playoffs

Bruce McNall: Fun While It Lasted

Bruce McNall is forever a hockey legend, even if he is as infamous as he is famous.

McNall is of course the high roller who bought the Los Angeles Kings and then bought Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers, changing the game beyond anyone's wildest expectations.

McNall also had other influences on the game - in such areas as business and marketing applications, expansion cash infusions and salary inflation - but it was the Gretzky trade that is McNall's long lasting legacy.

He, of course, will also always be known for the collapse of his financial empire and his white collar crimes that landed him in prison.

I recently picked up Fun While it Lasted, Bruce McNall's autobiography, co-written by Michael D'Antonio. I picked up only because of its connection to hockey. I was hoping the book would cover hockey more. Instead it touches mostly upon what is already publicly well known.

Though most of us know of him strictly because of it, hockey is just a small part of McNall's story. Let's face it - we know nothing about him unless it involves the LA Kings, and maybe, just maybe, the Toronto Argonauts football team and the Honus Wagner baseball card he once owned. He also had his hand in some movies, such as Weekend At Bernie's.

McNall tells his story the way he sees it, or at least the way he wants us to see it. Let's face it, this book is partly a marketing campaign to paint himself back into the public's good graces, as well as a cash grab from an interested publisher. I don't know about the latter part, but the book comes up short on the first point.

McNall was more or less a self made billionaire, discovering a fascination with coin collecting as a boy. His prodigious knowledge of rare coins financed his way through college and into his own business. While he started out working for high-paying clients, he soon accumulated his own collection and saw his net worth skyrocket, although several outside sources accused McNall of smuggling.

Soon enough he would branch his business interests out to include such antiques as vases, urns, and you know, sports franchises.

McNall also got involved into financing firms, which is where he got in over his head. Soon enough he and business partner David Begelman ran up expenses faster than their net worth rose. They juggled banks and accountants hoping to land that elusive $200,000 deal that would clean their hands of all questionable activities.

Of course that deal never came, and the authorities did. Instead of continuing to be the most visible owner in hockey and a big time roller in business, coins and Hollywood, McNall was off to prison, losing pretty much everything on the way.

McNall's story is interesting, possibly fascinating, though this book does not really impress that upon the reader. I'm not quite sure what it is, but something is missing. In our celebrity and wealth pre-occupied world we live in, this book seems almost pedestrian.

Perhaps fellow book reviewer Budd Bailey said it best when he said "Ultimately, a book like this often turns on whether the subject can generate sympathy from the reader. Here, McNall falls short."

Bailey is right. Perhaps McNall spends too much time bragging about his celebrity friendships and his "sickness" of wanting to be liked. That's great if you retain great friendships through the toughest of times, but wanting to be liked doesn't excuse taking $200 million.

Five Most Important Hockey Books Of All Time

A reader asked me recently to name the top 5 hockey books of all time. Here's my response, ranked in order of importance according only to me.

Our Life With The Rocket: The Maurice Richard Story by Roch Carrier. This book is neither a biography nor a memoir of Quebec's greatest hockey player. No, in fact it is in many ways a thoroughly researched and infectiously proud all grown up version of The Hockey Sweater. It's about what it was like to be French Canadian at a time when the Rocket was hockey's most dynamic player.

Game Misconduct: Alan Eagleson and the Corruption of Hockey by Russ Conway. Investigative reporting by small-town sports editor Russ Conway brought down hockey's most powerful man, Alan Eagleson. The author's legwork uncovered how Eagleson, working as both an agent and as head of the players' union, cheated players out of a small fortune.

The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier. 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 Game by Ken Dryden. The enduring classic, Dryden's incredible memoir are brilliantly captures what it is like to be a NHLer, including everything from fame and glory to failure and disillusionment.

The Hockey Handbook by Lloyd Percival. Simply put this has to be the most important hockey book of all time. The Russians treated Dr. Percival's original text as the bible, and used it to transform the game into that we know today.

Ranking the 2007 Hockey Book Titles

It is a question I've been asked commonly this hockey book season: Which of the new hockey books is the best?

Unlike in 2006, I did not feel that there was truly a must-have title that would go on to be a classic. Of course such books are rare in jock literature, but last year I felt Stephen Brunt's Searching For Bobby Orr will achieve that lofty status.

Without that clear number one, it really is tough to say which hockey book I would deem to be the best. The content should be the bottom line, and therefore any listing is really based on personal preference.

But people want to know, and Christmas shopping time is running out. So without further adieu, here's my ranking of the best newhockey books published in 2007.

#1 World of Hockey - I really enjoyed this IIHF release because I felt it offered the greatest educational experience. No matter what age or level of fan you may be, this book will wow you but not overwhelm you with information. It is also a beautifully laid out book with great historic photography. All in all, I have no second thoughts on naming this book as the best of the 2007 hockey book season.

#2 King Of Russia - From a literary stand point, this is probably as close as any book gets to the classic label. It is a fascinating look into one year of a great coach, a strange but passionate hockey land, and many characters.

#3 Gretzky To Lemieux - Another rare literary contribution. The iconic moment sells itself (has it really been 2o years already?), but a very nice job by Ed Willes here. He captures all the moments and lays them out nicely.

#4 Clancy With The Puck - It's supposed to be a kid's title, but this is probably the most beautifully produced hockey book I've ever seen. Great work Raincoast! Casey At The Bat hits the ice.

#5 Walking With Legends - A typical jock book, but from a unique vantage point. Hockey Night In Canada has been the voice of hockey for generations, and author Ralph Mellanby saw it all. He shares he memories of the players, the great moments, and the broadcasters who help make our favorite moments so memorable.
#6 Maple Leafs Top 100 - Beautiful book, interesting project. Could have been even better, but it is certainly a great addition to your collection or your coffee table.

#7 THN's Top 60 since 1967 - The Hockey News didn't put a lot of money into production quality, which was a disappointment, but the scope of their project is interesting nonetheless. And no, its not a regurgitation of their Top 50 Players Of All Time project from 10 years ago.

#8 McCown's Law - Controversy sells, and lots of hockey books attempted to stir some up this season. But no one does it better than Bob McCown

#9 Future Greats and Heartbreaks - A great author with a great idea, but no real defining moment or conclusion. The author attempts to get an inside look in the world of scouting. This book has potential to be a good read a few years down the road as we begin to look back at the draft classes of 2006 and 2007.

#10 Red, White and Blues - A real nice project here by Timothy Gassen, and a real unexpected surprise that would be a great addition to any collection. The topic of Indiana hockey is probably too small to warrant a higher ranking, which is unfair to Gassen I know. A must have for WHA fans or those curious about Gretzky and Messier's days in Indy.

#11 By The Numbers - I like this book because it is different. The topic is unique, thoroughly researched and a great conversation starter. The book is beautiful in it's layout and photography. Every hockey fan can enjoy this book.

#12 H.E.A.R.T - Cassie Campbell's juvenile entry is part autobiographical and part how-to. A great Christmas gift idea for a young athlete in your family, male or especially female.

#10 Reflections - Incredible photography, and a good cause. But no captions and no reading.

#11 Maple Leafs A-Z - I'm not a big fan of this book.

2007 Hockey Books not yet reviewed:

As the Puck Turns by Brian Conacher
Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne by Bob Showers
The Complete Hockey Dictionary: More than 12,000 Words and Phrases and Their Specific Hockey Definitions by Andrew Podnieks
Hockey's Young Guns: 25 Inside Stories on Making It to "the Show" by The Hockey News
Lord Stanley: The Man Behind the Cup by Kevin Shea and John Jason Wilson
New Game: How Hockey Saved Itself by Steve Paikin
Travels with Stanley by the Hockey Hall of Fame
Cold-cocked: On Hockey by Lorna Jackson

All in all, 2007 has been a decent hockey book season. Depending on your personal tastes, I'm certain there is at least a couple of great titles for every hockey fan this Christmas season.

Future Greats And Heartbreaks by Gare Joyce

Gary Joyce is a literary gift to the sports world. He is just a marvelous writer, able to paint beautiful imagery with his keyboard. And hockey fans should count themselves as very lucky that Joyce accidentally became a hockey writer.

That's one the earliest of revelations in his new book Future Greats and Heartbreaks: a Season Undercover in the Secret World of NHL Scouts. He also reveals a life long passion of studying and analyzing sports drafts, a passion that many fans share.

For some fans it is all about hope. Hope of what is to come. For others, like Joyce, it is about academics, which in the sports world doesn't always have a place.

To further educate himself and his readers, Joyce sets out to explore the tightly locked hidden world of talent scouting. He is in search of the theory behind scouting, looking for trends as surely there must be some careful strategy when handing out million dollar contracts to junior players and college kids.

Frankly, there isn't. Apparently. The author concludes "There was no unified theory, no logic." In that sense, I felt what the author must have ultimately felt - disappointment.

Not disappointment in the book, as it is a gem by Doubleday Canada and worthy of your purchasing consideration. No, the disappointment lies in the scouting institution.

I think Joyce, like myself and probably many other fans, entered into this book with some assumptions about the depth scouts go to dig information on the players. Sure, we all know they dissect their on ice performance to no end, but I always figured what separates the best drafting teams from the worst drafting teams was the in depth background checks, personality analysis, parental and other outside influences, and any last circumstance that might affect their play and their development. When ranking 100s of players on a draft list, I figured it was the human intangibles that more often than not separated players of equal value.

Wrong.

Or at least that is the way it was with Doug MacLean's Columbus Blue Jackets organization, the only team that would grant the journalist mostly unfettered access to the scouts, the meetings and the war room for the 2006 and 2007 NHL draft.

The Jackets were a notoriously poor drafting team under MacLean, and when I read it was Columbus who Joyce was shadowing, a warning flag immediately shot up for me. And I think I was right.

You almost hope Joyce's findings were skewed by this poor organization. In all likelihood any skewing is not terribly significant, given the NHL's crap shoot history at the draft, but it sure would be interesting to see how Detroit or Ottawa does things in comparison.

Joyce looks at what life is like to be an unheralded scout - low pay, constant travel, terrible motel rooms and no thanks. He also exposes it as surprisingly political, and, not surprisingly, old school. He then tries to use his journalism training to scout player, with the intent of comparing his findings with that of the traditional bird dogs.

I think Joyce's look at the scouting world has the potential to let that old school scouting world look at itself and it's archaic ways. I'm almost shocked at the lack of off-ice background work done by the scouts. In many ways the trained journalist was able to see more than the scouts.

Not that that helped matters in the end, though. Joyce was not high on Phil Kessel, based largely on character. It is still early, but Kessel is now proving his detractors all wrong in Boston. Joyce also gives us some interesting and personal looks into the lives of prospects like Angelo Esposito and Akim Aliu, and his own thoughts on many, many other prospects. By doing so he lets his readers get a hint of what it must be like to on the opposite end of the scouting spectrum: to be the player everyone is tearing apart.

After reading this book, the draft will remain about hope for me. But I'm not certain it is about academics now, if it ever was. Perhaps the best drafting teams have already figured that out and corrected it.

Though many of the mysteries of NHL scouting remain unsolved (or perhaps unsolvable?) Gare Joyce's Future Greats and Heartbreaks: a Season Undercover in the Secret World of NHL Scouts is an excellent hockey book. Check it out today at your local bookseller.

Win A Copy Of This Book! Hockey Book Reviews.com in conjunction with Double Day/Random House publishing is giving away 2 signed copies of this book. All you have to do is tell me two other hockey books published by Double Day/Random House in 2007. Here's a good place to look. Then email your answers and to hockeybookcontest@hotmail.com. A draw from all correct answers will take place on December 1st, 2007!

Also See: Gare Joyce is once again trying his hand at blogging, offering http://scoutshonourbygarejoyce.blogspot.com/ as a post script of the book. Who knows, over time it may be just the beginning of the next chapter.

H.E.A.R.T. by Cassie Campbell

When the topic of hockey's greatest leader comes up, the usual suspects are always named: Mark Messier. Steve Yzerman. Phil Esposito. Joe Sakic.

I think the greatest leader in hockey may not even have been a NHL guy. In fact, the greatest leader may not have been a guy at all.

As the long time captain of Canada's national women's team, Cassie Campbell led the nation to two Olympic golds and a world championship. She is one of Canada's all time most decorated athletes, adding 5 more world championships, as well as an Olympic and world championship silver medal to her medal count. She is the only Canadian hockey player to captain back to back Olympic gold medal championships.

And she did all that while earning an honours degree in Sociology and raising 100's of 1000's of dollars for charity.

No one earned more respect as a leader than Campbell. Wayne Gretzky was very complimentary of her as a great hockey leader:

"I was totally impressed with her ability to motivate the Canadian women's team both on and off the ice. Not only did she work hard as a player during the actual games, but she seemed to go above and beyond her duties as captain to try and keep her team together off the ice."

Now that she has retired, Cassie Campbell has dedicated herself to being a true ambassador to not just women's hockey, but all of hockey. She is truly an amazing and inspiring person we can all look up to.

One of Campbell's initiatives is the new book H.E.A.R.T . In the book Campbell shares her secrets of success, and how we can all use not only to be better athletes, but better people.

H is for hard work. E is for experience and education. A is for attitude. R is for responsibility and respect. T is for teamwork. Combined they form the word heart, but they also form success.

And this book isn't all self help talk. She also talks about her many experiences she had while on the national team for 13 years. She includes several great stories, and talks about her teammates and her opponents.

Though the book is considered juvenile literature, this book isn't specifically geared towards kids, although they will be easily draw by it. Adults can also take a lot from this book.

Kids and adults, girls and boys, women and men, hockey fans and non hockey fans will like it and hopefully latch on to the principles quickly.

When asked the question 'who should read this book?' the answer is simple: Everybody.

Hockey Trivia Anyone?

Hey what sports doesn't like a little hockey trivia? And it makes for a perfect small Christmas gift or stocking stuffer.

Well there's no shortage of options of trivia books again this Christmas.

The king of hockey trivia is Don Weekes, author of (by my count) 24 hockey trivia books! In 2007 he's teamed with Greystone Books for two new titles: Shootout Hockey Trivia and Crease-Crashing Hockey Trivia, both selling for under $10!

By the way, here's some Don Weekes trivia for you - Weekes is an award winning television producer-director at CTV Montreal, and his trivia has been used by TV stations, radio stations, websites and magazines all around the world. Most interestingly, his hockey trivia has ended up on cartons of Post cereal and Jell-O Pudding Cups!

Jesse Ross and Raincoast Books offers something a little more geared towards younger fans in the new title: Hockey: Games, Trivia, Quizzes and More! There's trivia, crosswords, matching games, word searches and puzzles. Its a fun book from the author of The Amazing Allstar Hockey Activity Book

There's one more book I think you shouldn't be too hasty to pass over. If you like to read my lead stories at Greatest Hockey Legends.com, you'll probably enjoy Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Shoots and Scores!, published in Canada by Raincoast Books. It's an eclectic collection stories, facts, and more often than not hockey history, the type of stuff I love to headline over at Legends. You'll learn lots in short bursts, and have a lot of fun doing it.

Aykroyd Interviews Willes About Canada Cup Book

My buddy Lucas Aykroyd over at Hockey Adventure interviewed Ed Willes about his new book Gretzky to Lemieux: the Story of the 1987 Canada Cup, published by McLelland & Stewart.

Here's just an excerpt:

What were the most surprising and enjoyable discoveries you made during your research for Gretzky to Lemieux?

What stayed with me is the impact this event had on the players and coaches who took part, and that includes Gretzky, Lemieux, Mike Keenan, Igor Larionov–everyone. James Patrick was a fringe player on Team Canada, but he told me about sitting on the bench for over an hour in Game Two, then getting thrown out in overtime and facing a two-on-one against Larionov and Krutov. I checked it out against the tape and, sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. Gretzky could recall individual moments from those games with remarkable clarity. Rick Tocchet told me he’s kept tapes of the games, and when he needs a confidence boost, he watches them.

Read Lucas Aykroyd's full interview at Hockey Adventure

McCown's Law

Forget about all the bad things he did and all the money he stole and all the people he screwed over. We all need to personally send Alan Eagleson a thank you card for all of the good things he did for hockey.

At least that's the argument Bob McCown puts forth in his new book Mccown's Law: the 100 Greatest Hockey Arguments. It is published by Random House and written in connection with Dave Naylor of The Globe And Mail.

McCown is a loudmouthed and very opinionated sports radio host on Fan 590, a Toronto all sports radio station that can be heard around Canada and the United States and in this day and age of satellite radio and internet podcasts, all around the world. The radio show "Prime Time Sports" is also shown on Rogers SportsNet television.

So Mr. McCown is no stranger to Canadians. He's sort of a Don Cherry of the radio. You either love him or you hate him or a combination of both. But like Cherry McCown is an absolute genius when it comes to performing the shtick that he does. McCown is the master of taking any side of an argument, often the least popular side, and arguing that one viewpoint so vehemently and so matter of factly that it almost ticks you off. He's right, and those who don't agree are wrong. No two ways about it. McCown is the master of creating controversy and mayhem, and it sells.

McCown puts together 100 of these arguments in the compelling text McCown's Law: the 100 Greatest Hockey Arguments. He argues that Mark Messier's leadership skills are overrated, that Slovakia might be a better hockey nation than Canada, that we need bigger nets and that women's hockey shouldn't be an Olympic sport.

Yikes. And I've only made mention of 5 of his thoughts. Wait to you get a hold of the whole book. There are weaknesses to many of his arguments, which will make it all the more fun for you and your friends to debate and tear it all apart. And the best part is McCown can't respond to your arguments like he does on air.

Let's go back to the Eagleson affair. I think everyone knows that Alan Eagleson is forever tainted as a crook who stole money from hockey and hockey players for his own gain. He went to jail for it after pleading guilty to various charges and was forced out of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

But Eagleson also did a lot of good for hockey, argues McCown. He had the connections to form a NHLPA years before anyone else ever could have. Despite the generally accepted accusation that he worked with NHL owners to keep salaries down salaries actually increased at a percentage similar to increases in the Bob Goodenow era. He also got things like guaranteed contracts, medical and insurance benefits and a pension plan. He also brought us the 1972 Summit Series, the Canada Cup tournaments, returned Canada to the world championships after nearly a decade hold out, had NHLers admitted to world championship play and was instrumental in creating the world junior hockey championships.

Now Eagleson may have abused his power in some or all of these cases, and there are certainly counter arguments to be made here. But I kind of agree with Mr. McCown here. How about you?

Maple Leafs Top 100

Prolific hockey writer Mike Leonetti set out to answer one of the most difficult questions in all of hockey.

Who is the greatest Toronto Maple Leaf of all time?

Not an easy question, is it? While Montreal has Rocket Richard, Boston has Bobby Orr, Detroit has Gordie Howe, Chicago has Bobby Hull and Edmonton has Wayne Gretzky, is there a definitive face of the storied Toronto Maple Leafs franchise?

In fact, when I named the top 36 hockey players of all time a couple months back, I did not include a single player synonymous with the Maple Leafs. (Terry Sawchuk and Red Kelly both made my list, but I think most people always view them, especially Sawchuk, as Red Wings)

If you were to ask 14 different people you'd come up with 14 different answers. Well that's exactly what Leonetti did for his latest book project Maple Leafs Top 100: Toronto's Greatest Players Of All Time. Leonetti asked a jury of Mark Askin, Howard Berger, Joe Bowen, Milt Dunnell, Doug Farraway, Paul Hendrick, Lance Hornby, Harry Neale, Frank Orr, Paul Patskou, Frank Selke, Bill Watters, co-author John Iaboni and himself to determine a definitive list of the top 100 players in Maple Leafs history.

Coming up with this list is extremely difficult. The Leafs glory years came in the 1940s and 1960s. Very little video evidence and first hand accounts exist for the late '40s dynasty, so how do you fairly treat Syl Apps, Teeder Kennedy, Turk Broda and Max Bentley. Even the 1960s dynasty is very distant, and those teams really prided themselves on putting the team before the individual. Frank Mahovlich, Johnny Bower and Dave Keon stood out, but perhaps their legacies were minimalized. The Leafs have had so little success since the 1960s that a couple generations of fans don't know what a championship run really is. Championships = greatness, so how do you compare Darryl Sittler, Doug Gilmour, Wendel Clark and Mats Sundin.

Well the panel of experts narrowed it down, and I have to say I'm highly impressed with the results, or at least the top end. The panel's voting identifies Dave Keon as the greatest of the Maple Leafs, with Teeder Kennedy, Syl Apps, Frank Mahovlich, Darryl Sittler, Charlie Conacher, Johnny Bower, Tim Horton, Turk Broda and Borje Salming rounding out the top 10.

I have no real qualms over the top 10 list, though once you realize who is not included you realize how tough this undertaking really is. Where's Mats Sundin, the franchise's all time leading scorer? Where's King Clancy, once the undisputed face of the franchise? How about George Armstrong, Doug Gilmour, Max Bentley....

The list goes 100 deep, which is an aesthetically pleasing number, but perhaps a bit too long. Even with 80 years of history to wade through, do Mark Osborne or Todd Gill really belong in a book about the greatest Toronto Maple Leafs of all time? With this being the 80th anniversary of the franchise, perhaps 80 would have been enough?

This book is published by Raincoast Books, and as always they come through with the most beautiful of books. Each of the top 100 receive a full color photo (except, for obvious reasons, for some of the players from decades ago) with at least one more smaller color image.

Leonetti is a power writer, churning out books left, right, and center. In fact, just 5 years ago he did the book Maple Leaf Legends: 75 Years of Toronto's Hockey Heroes, featuring the top 75 players in his estimation. His usual style is to accompany Raincoast's commitment to beautiful photography with biographies, some of which can be quite brief.

Leonetti recognizes that his past formula for success needs refreshing for another greatest Leafs book. Instead of biographies Leonetti highlights a single game in each player's career which was the defining moment in each player's time with the Leafs.

Now the defining moment provides for some nice reading, but it somehow leaves me feeling like the book is lacking. If you write a book ranking the greatest players of all time, then I want some defense of the results. I know it was a panel decision and not Leonetti exclusively, but compel me, wow me with some arguments why. Too controversial? All the better! The greatest game idea is a wonderful concept, but perhaps for another book.

I think the best part of the book's text is essayist John Iaboni's contributions. Perhaps too often his compositions are too biographical, but when he allows himself to get personal in his memories (Keon, Bower) he writes wonderful stuff.

All in all, I think this is a REALLY good book that comes up a bit short of being a GREAT book.

King of Russia

Oh wow!

I didn't know quite what to expect from McClelland & Stewart's 2007 release King of Russia: a Year in the Russian Super League. Let's just say I'm so impressed by this book that I'm almost overwhelmed.

King of Russia is about Canadian hockey coaching legend Dave King's journey to the Ural Mountains to become the first Canadian coach in Russia. The book is based on King's daily diary, typically meticulous and refreshingly open, and polished up beautifully by The Globe & Mail's ace hockey reporter Eric Duhatschek.

I personally consider Duhatschek to be the best hockey journalist out there for quite some time. Not only is he incredibly connected, thorough and respected, but he's got an easy to read and captivating writing style. So I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised how easily I was drawn into the text.

But I was very pleasantly surprised just how compelling and fascinating the text is. One biography or well written autobiography that I've always wanted to read is that of Coach King. He is a three time Olympic coach, and formerly the one man Canadian national team king-pin. He's also coached two NHL teams and teams all over the world. As one of the greatest bench tacticians ever, his story potentially has so much to offer a reader - about the Soviets, about the NHL, about Canadian hockey and about European hockey, and so much more.

King of Russia isn't that book. Instead is a look into a single season of King's career. I cracked the spine already disappointed because I knew it wasn't what I was looking for.

A few paragraphs later, I realized I had found quite possibly the leading candidate for best read of the new hockey book season.

Back when King was coaching in Calgary, the NHL had a great influx of eastern Europeans. One of them was Soviet great Sergei Makarov. We North Americans were never truly understanding of the hardships these guys faced. A whole new country, a whole new way of hockey, a whole new language, a whole new life. They understandably struggled, and we were quick to dismiss them as inferior, and never truly understood the incredible transition they had to go through.

Well now we can, but in reverse. It is the Canadian, King, pioneering his way into Russia. He had to deal with the strange new homeland, a language barrier, a cultural 180 degree turn and a stubborn and peculiar hockey system. Oh, and there's such 21st century hazards such as the Russian mafia. Finally Coach King understands Makarov's struggles all too well.

Through it all, King tries to finds the silver linings, but in his daily diary he is very open about wondering if he has made a big mistake. At times we get to see the rare vulnerable side of a hockey legend.

But we also get to see so much more. By the end of the book, I'm converted in to a Metallurg Magnitogorsk fan and am looking online to buy a jersey. I feel for many of the players, much like King can't but help develop but must depress. King looks to former NHLer Dimitri Yuskevich defenseman to be an early pillar, and an English ally. Swedish defenseman Anders Eriksson and Canadian goalie Travis Scott are also relied on heavily. Ilja Vorobiev becomes a favorite of Coach King and of any Canadian reader. Others on the team include gormer NHLer Igor Korolev, the wildly enigmatic Stanislav Chistov and teenage phenom Evgeni Malkin, who leads the team and the league, but will soon leave the league to join the National Hockey League.

Malkin's departure allows to better appreciate how the Russians feel about the NHL continually uprooting the country's top young players. It's a real eye opener for us Westerners, and maybe the Russians have a point when it comes to their continuing dispute about player compensation with the NHL-IIHF player transfer agreement.

King learns first hand why the Russians are able to develop incredible individual talents but poor international teams. Its a far cry from their glory days, that's for sure.

Through it all, King is continually open and perplexed, and as usual successful. Its an amazing look into just one year of an amazing life. I still want a great biography or autobiography of Dave King, but I now realize it would take volumes to cover his hockey insight.

Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story Of The 1987 Canada Cup

Ed Willes has gone down a road that I am very familiar with.

Willes, hockey journalist extraordinare of the Vancouver Province daily newspaper, revisited his youthful memories of the 1987 Canada Cup only to find that the hockey he may have mythologized in his own memories was even more spectacular, more special and more impacting than even he realized. He captures it all nicely in his new book Gretzky to Lemieux: the Story of the 1987 Canada Cup

I know the road Willes has travelled all too well. In 2002 co-author Patrick Houda and I released our first book World Cup of Hockey: A History of Hockey's Greatest Tournament, sort of an encyclopedic history of all the Canada Cup/World Cup tournaments. This project allows me to give a real unique review of Willes' new title.

Firstly, I can attest Willes' book is incredibly thorough and well researched. I've always considered myself to be more of a researcher than writer, and I have exhaustively researched the 1987 Canada Cup. It is obvious Willes has too. I can attest has expertly fit everything of importance into his dissertation.

I will end any comparisons of "Gretzky to Lemieux" and "World Cup of Hockey" right now. I feel no shame in telling you that Willes' book blows mine away.

I don't think Willes' book is a particularly profound or prolific piece of literature, but then again such a find is incredibly rare in the hockey book industry. What it is is a fun, engrossing read that you can't put down. It is thoroughly complete, expertly written and, through the use of countless quotes, incredibly well connected to the main characters. And Willes has a real professional publisher in McLelland & Stewart. The word professional is all over this book.

So is the word entertaining. But how could any book about the greatest hockey ever played not be entertaining. With names like Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Mario Lemieux, Grant Fuhr, Viacheslav Fetisov, Vladimir Krutov, Sergei Makarov and Igor Larionov all in the primes of their caree, the greatest collection of hockey talent translates in every language into the games of their lives and of our lives.

Willes' intense passion for such hockey is obvious on every page, and allows us to relive it all, all over again. The drama. The intrigue. The memories.

Willes immediately captures readers with an opening chapter about how Wayne Gretzky was initially reluctant to play in the tournament. He goes on to subsequent chapters of introducing the teams, giving the Russians the same time as the Canadians. Though the two teams seemed worlds part on and off the ice, Willes lets everyone know how strangely identical they actually were.

Willes devotes a chapter to a whirlwind recap of the other countries and the entire tournament That chapter may have been short and sweet, but realistically that is all that is needed. The other countries, for the most part, were supporting actors in the epic drama between eternal rivals Canada and Russia.

Willes quickly jumps into the three classic games that comprised the Canada Cup finals, giving a nicely detailed blow by blow description. Along the way he takes time to further look into many of the key protagonists from the series, packing the pages with many interviews and quotes. He captures it all, and also looks at the true villains of the tournament - Alan Eagleson, Viktor Tikhonov and Mike Keenan.

All in all, this Gretzky to Lemieux: the Story of the 1987 Canada Cup is a real solid book, and a definite must have for any fan who witnessed the greatest hockey ever player. This book is very much deserving of your $25.

Reflections On A Hockey Season

The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association don't always work well together. But they, in tandem with Getty Images and Greystone Books, did an amazing job on the new book release Reflections on a Hockey Season: The 2007 NHL Year in Photographs. The book captures the highlights of the 2006-07 NHL season, headlining Vincent Lecavalier, Roberto Luongo, Martin Brodeur, Alexander Ovechkin and of course Sidney Crosby.

The 150 photographs are nothing short of spectacular, although the lack of captions is puzzling. Actually I should correct that. Photo captions and credits are in the very back of the book as opposed to with each photo. On one hand that allows for the pictures to truly say 1000 words, but the lack of captions is a common complaint of the non-hardcore hockey fans I've shown the book to.

The book also is fund raising endeavor for the NHL/NHLPA joint initiative Hockey Fights Cancer, now in its 10th year. Part of the proceeds of this beautiful book will be donated to the fight against cancer.

This book is truly worth displaying on your coffee table. And the best part is the media release says the publication is "the first of an annual visual celebration." Hockey fans rejoice - more high quality photo books like this one are in our future.

Hockey Book Review: THN's Top 60 Since 1967

A decade ago The Hockey News celebrated their 50th anniversary by forming a panel to name the top 50 players in National Hockey League history. The result: a whole lot of conversational debate, a classic special issue magazine-turned-expanded book, and, I'm guessing here a bit, magazine/book sales out the ying-yang.

Fast forward to 2007 and THN needs to celebrate their 60th anniversary. How do they do it? By forming another panel to name the top 60 players, of course. But in order to make it different they only look at players after the NHL's first expansion in 1967, skip the special issue magazine and immediately release the book Hockey News Top 60 Since 1967: the Best Players of the Post-Expansion Era. Last step: cue the debate.

Now of course you're immediately saying, "Okay Joe, tell us who the 60 are." Well, I won't quite do that. You gotta go down to the bookstore and check it out yourself.

But I will tell you what I learned firsthand this past summer when I tried naming my top 36 players in the history of the sport. Lists like this are supposed to create controversy and conversation, there in turn selling more books. Everyone wants to chime in with their opinions, and no two people will ever have identical lists. It's all part of the fun.

The only comments on the list I will make at this time are:

• I'm surprised Brett Hull and Stan Mikita were ranked as low as they were.
• Judging Sidney Crosby's place on this list is incredibly tough. He belongs, but do his 2 seasons really place him ahead of Hall of Famers?
• Unlike before, this list isn't strictly about NHLers. That being said, only one WHA player was included, and no Soviets or international players.
  
• The more you study the list, the more you realize the names that aren't there. Mike Gartner, Teemu Selanne and Adam Oates are three that entered my mind quickly.
  

The panel consisted of Mike Brophy, Brian Burke, Jacques Demers, Jim Devellano, Kevin Paul Dupont, Jason Kay, Harry Neale, Jim Rutherford and Al Strachan. The panel is not nearly as strong as the 50 man panel from ten years ago, but their results are strong.

THN writers-extraordinaire Adam Proteau and Ken Campbell write the biographies, although undoubtedly the whole THN staff contributes. It can be tough to write yet another profile of Wayne Gretzky or Guy Lafleur, but I felt each writer did really solid jobs given the space allotted. I pretend to consider myself a well-researched historian when it comes to such players, and I was able to learn a few things. That's probably a really good sign.

Brett Hull scores with the book's foreword. He's open and insightful with his opinion of the era and of his dad, the Golden Jet Bobby Hull. It's short but a nice read.

When I first got the book, I must admit it did not meet my expected first impression at all. The hard cover book is small at 23.5 x 16 cm, much smaller than the normal magazine-size format THN has always used in the past. But it grew on me quickly, and the geeky side of me thinks that in this case different is cool. I like it.

What I am having trouble adapting to is the black and white photos. THN is known for splashy, colorful photos, and lots of them. In this project, done in tandem with publishing giant Random House, they give each player just one photo, and it's black and white. I'm sure that's a sound business decision, but it's disappointing. This isn't suggesting that the book is bad, but it isn't what most people may be expecting.

There is something about this book's layout that I really do like, but I can't quite figure it out. I think it must be the choice of font or maybe they've played with the margins marginally (no pun intended), but the book's typeface though small is really nice.

How this book will stack up against its epic predecessor from a decade ago will be interesting to watch unfold. One thing is for sure: A whole lot of debate will ensue shortly.

Overall Book Rating: 3/5 Second Liner

Hockey Book Review: Maple Leafs A-Z

Yesterday I talked about Raincoast Books lucrative children's hockey book franchise. The beautifully illustrated and well written stories are amazing power sellers. Previous titles include Gretzky's Game, The Greatest Goal, The Goalie Mask, Number Four, Bobby Orr!, A Hero Named Howe and the incredibly successful franchise starter My Leafs Sweater. All of these books were written by Mike Leonetti.

In 2007 Raincoast returns with two titles. They branched out and let Chris Mizzoni have a try with what is sure to be a hit in Clancy With The Puck. As I reviewed yesterday, this is a special title.

And of course Raincoast returns with another Leonetti effort in Maple Leafs A-Z. And why not? The Leonetti/Raincoast formula has worked magnificently in the past, and the marketplace is all theirs.

Except this book is a miss.

Now I don't doubt for a second that this book will sell more copies than most books this season. Greg Banning returns and his artwork is amazing. The franchise's reputation precedes itself, particularly with collectors and public and elementary school library systems. And the #1 rule about publishing hockey books is Maple Leafs books sell. Lots.

My number one complaint about this book: A - Z doesn't make much sense. Now I'll give Leonetti leeway with Max Bentley for the X entry, but E is Ted Kennedy and U is for Mats Sundin? Or H is for Busher Jackson or I is for King Clancy? Every kid I showed this book to drew the same conclusion. "That makes no sense."

Another common complaint: the kids this book is aimed at don't have a clue who anyone other than Sundin is. T is for Darcy Tucker and W is for Kyle Wellwood and M is for Bryan McCabe. I'd have to travel back in time and find myself if I wanted to find an 8 year old who knew who Dave Keon, Happy Day, Red Kelly, Syl Apps or Joe Primeau were.

Now who am I to criticize the Raincoast franchise on this subject. After all, I am the Hockey History Blogger and I think it is great that a) hockey history books are aimed at children and b) there are enough children out there to keep churning out more titles.

But I do find it hard to believe most kids want to connect with players of yesteryear they never heard of. They don't care about Turk Broda, they want Vesa Toskala. Who cares about Borje Salming, where's Tomas Kaberle? Tim Horton is some donut guy, he never played for the Maple Leafs.

Leonetti's previous children's titles all told a well written story, be it about the first goalie mask, the famous goal that beat the Russians, the 10 point game or of the career of #99. But this book just offers the briefest of biographies. It lacks Leonetti's trademark enthusiasm. Only Banning's artwork saves this book.

Overall Book Rating: 1/5 Back Up Goalie

Hockey Book Reviews: Clancy With The Puck

Raincoast Books 2007's entry in their annual children's hockey book marketplace is sure to be a huge, huge hit, as always.

The amazingly beautiful new title Clancy with the Puck continues the publisher's popular children's book franchise, following previous releases such as Gretzky's Game, The Greatest Goal, The Goalie Mask, Number Four, Bobby Orr!, A Hero Named Howe and the incredibly successful franchise starter My Leafs Sweater.

It's actually quite ingenious. These books follow the same formula: A good story, beautiful artwork and the high quality production that is Raincoast's trademark. They tend to be of historical reflection, which interests parents and allows for a great family moment to pass on the joy of both reading and hockey. The books are always popular under Christmas trees for years to come. And the publisher still has every public and elementary school library in Canada to sell at least one copy to. Raincoast's incredibly successful children's franchise will likely churn out new titles every year for some time to come.

2007 is a bit an experiment for Raincoast. While all the previous holdings were written by super-writer Mike Leonetti, new writer Chris Mizzoni steps in on this title. He also illustrates the book. Leonetti does return with a new children's title for 2007, Maple Leafs A-Z, which will be reviewed shortly.

Mizzoni doesn't miss a step, and Raincoast spares no resources, as the two teamed up to produce the most beautiful hockey book I've perhaps ever seen. The artwork and color is simply amazing, and appeals to both adults and children. For the very young the artwork tells its own story, allowing youth to fall in love with books and with reading and making their own stories up as they flip the pages.

Because of the artwork and production, I so wanted to love this book and give it the instant classic designation before I even read the story. And that's where I'm troubled just a touch by the book.

Mizzoni copies the classic Casey at the Bat, the 1888 baseball/literary classic by poet Ernest Thayer. Our hero on the ice is named Clancy Cooke, and is based loosely on the real life "King" Clancy. Our overconfident protagonist cockily lives through great success, but when the Stanley Cup is on the line he comes up just short.

Only as an adult did I understand the greatness of the original Casey, but as a youth I never did. I only really enjoyed the Walt Disney adaptation which ends with a happy ending. Mizzoni's Clancy sticks with the original stencil, basically ending the book with the surprise failure.

I wondered how today's kids would take to this book, so I took it to them. The results were consistent: the beautiful artwork instantly grabbed their attention, and the happy story sucked them in only to be shocked by the ending. Most kids didn't get it, and the few that were more didn't like the character after all. He was too "arrogant" said one girl.

So I'm afraid I can't quite give this book the Hall of Fame status that I want to. Mizzoni's poetry is really clever, although occasionally a bit too wordy for youngsters. As great as the artwork is and as captivating as the story starts out, the sudden and unexpected ending leaves can leave a young reader no longer in love with the book.

One more note, the book also comes with a DVD that brings the story to life on your TV or computer screens. I found the kids were more receptive to the story in this medium, although that may be a sign of the times. The animated short is narrated by legendary Hockey Night In Canada commentator Bob Cole. It may have just been me or my copy, but I did find the DVD difficult to get out of the plastic pocket. Be sure to help your child get the disc out on the initial viewing.

Bottom line, you have to check out this book. It is that beautiful! I know it is proudly displayed in my office.

Overall Book Rating: 4/5 All Star

Hockey Book Reviews: Oldtimers

I wasn't just pleasantly surprised by the book Oldtimers: On the Road with the Legendary Heroes of Hockey. I was blown away by it.

I had always dismissed "Oldtimers" whenever I saw it on the bookshelves. The book covers the Oldtimers Hockey Challenge tour, as they travel across Canada and Alaska. I have seen the tour firsthand, both on the ice and off it, and I wasn't sure I wanted any deeper knowledge.

I've witnessed the hard drinking, prank playing ways of their life, and quite frankly found it sad. Here were players I grew up idolizing. I'd go to the game to honor them for who they were, to remember them, to remember my youth. But then I'd see who they have become: middle-aged hangers-on who are desperately trying recapture their youth.

Even sadder was the plight of some of the older legends. These players tour to raise monies for local charities, but also as a form of income. Its kind of sad that legends like Johnny Bower travel to the tiniest of towns in the coldness of winter to hock autographs.

Not all of the players are in it for the money. Some of the more recent retirees, the Russ Courtnalls, Bob Rouses and Gary Nylunds played in the big money era. Though they weren't at the top of the pay scale, they certainly did not need the puny appearance fees. Were they just desperately hanging on to the game they loved, the only life they knew?

So why were they there? Why were well-off Hall of Famers like Lan