Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label Ice Warriors

Ice Warriors by Jon C. Stott

Who do you think of when you think of the greatest players of all time? Wayne Gretzky. Bobby Orr. Gordie Howe. Mario Lemieux. Rocket Richard. The very best of the very best? Jean Beliveau. Doug Harvey. Mark Messier. Bobby Hull. Terry Sawchuk. The Ice Warriors? Guyle Fielder. Eddie Dorohoy. Connie "Mad Dog" Madigan. Lucien Dechene. Sandy Hucul. Wait a minute! Who?! The legends of hockey are not always the NHL's all time greats. For many other fans, the heroes come from leagues NHL fans know little about. One of those leagues was the old professional circuit known as the Western Hockey League, previously labelled as the Pacific Coast Hockey League. From 1948 through 1974 the WHL dreamed big, and honestly was not far off from NHL Original Six quality. During the NHL's Original Six era, there was only 120 jobs available. But the tyrannical NHL owners and managers did not always employ the top 120 hockey players in the world. No, for whatever reason they buried some amazin...

2008 Hockey Book Preview: Ice Warriors

The book: Ice Warriors , Paperback, 240 pages The Author: Jon C. Stott The Publisher: Heritage House Release Date: October, 2008 Pre-order: Amazon - Chapters Book Description Ice Warriors tells the story of the Western Hockey League (known as the Pacific Coast Hockey League before 1952), a determined, ambitious league that at its height aspired to establish itself as a second major league, a western counterpart to the eastern NHL. Between 1948 and 1974, more than 2,500 minor-league professional hockey players skated for the 23 teams that made up the Western Hockey League. A small percentage of these players went on to enjoy substantial careers in the National Hockey League; others were former NHLers who chose to end their pro careers in the minors. Most of them, however, were minor-league "lifers" who played many seasons in the WHL and other minor pro leagues. Ice Warriors traces the league's origins,...