Forever Faithful: Celebrating The Greatest Moments of Cornell Hockey

Jim Roberts and Arthur Mintz have put together a beautiful book all faithful Cornell hockey fans - of multiple generations - simply have to have.

In Forever Faithful: Celebrating The Greatest Moments in Cornell Hockey have a stunning tribute to the Big Red. They look at the last 60 years of the hockey team's modern history - both men's and women's - and honour the great teams, many heroes and the wonderful fans.

Roberts and Mintz accomplish this by reliving 24 of the greatest games in Cornell hockey history. That includes the 1967 and 1970 national championships, including the magical 29-0 1970 season. These memories make up the bulk of this 280 page shrine which is loaded with photos.

A big reason for Cornell's success in the late 1960s was due to it's most famous graduate - goaltender (and history student) Ken Dryden. Dryden, a noted author in his own right, wrote the book's foreword. It is beautifully done, and naturally draws all hockey readers who are removed from Cornell. This glimpse into Dryden's life at that time is an excellent read.

The Most Anticipated New Hockey Book Of The Season

As hockey books begin hitting store shelves, a common question I've been getting is this:

Which new hockey book are you looking forward to the most?

The answer is unequivocally Game Change: The Life and Death of Steve Montador and the Future of Hockey by Ken Dryden

Earlier this year I wondered what Dryden, hockey's most interesting man, was up to. Then came word of this ever so promising title.

The former Hall of Fame goaltender - recently named as one of the top 100 NHL players of all time - turned author/educator/Toronto Maple Leafs executive/politician has not been heard from a lot since losing his seat and federal cabinet position in 2011. He has been teaching a Canadian Studies course at McGill University in Montreal since.

But he has also been working on the new book about Montador, concussions and the future of hockey.

Dryden, of course, is noted author. He is most famous for his 1983 book The Game, which was both a commercial and especially a critical success. He also wrote Home Game and Faceoff at the Summit, as well as three non-hockey related books.

I have yet to see anything on Game Change, but this could be his most important text to date.

Obviously concussions in hockey are a big deal, and the pending lawsuit by former players threatens to change the way the game is played forever. The thing the powers that be in the hockey world need to realize is if they are not careful the lawmakers will change things instead of the hockey people.

So the hockey people need to be proactive, and Dryden looks like he will lead the way his blue print.

Equipment changes are always possible. Penalties for any direct head shot are to be enforced and strict. The elimination of fighting. These are all likely in the book.

But the ultimate game change will be in the mindset we use to approach physical play. Ultimately that may take a generation or two to achieve.

I do hope that Dryden comments on how to change bodychecking. Before the 1970s bodychecking was always condoned as long as the defending player was attempting to retrieve the puck on the play. Too often since the 1970s bodychecking is used to physically intimidate while removing the player from the puck, but leaving the puck for others to retrieve. Bodychecking should be enforced where the impeding player is still trying to get the puck while making physical contact.

This would allow for a cleaner hockey game to be played, though I do not know if it would have any result on the concussion problem itself. Presumably it would, but people far smarter than I would be able to decipher that.

Ken Dryden's The Game: 30th Anniversary Edition

It’s hard to believe, but we’re already at the 30th anniversary edition of Ken Dryden’s The Game .

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

Widely acknowledged as the best hockey book ever written and lauded by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 10 Sports Books of All Time, The Game is a reflective and thought-provoking look at a life in hockey. Ken Dryden, the former Montreal Canadiens goalie and former president of the Toronto Maple Leafs turned politician, captures the essence of the sport and what it means to all hockey fans. He gives vivid and affectionate portraits of the characters—Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard, and coach Scotty Bowman among them—who 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 a rare inside look at the game of hockey and an incredible personal memoir.

It may have been thirty years since this seminal book first hit book stores, yet it’s still just as relevant as ever. This commemorative edition marks the 30th anniversary of the book’s original publication, and it includes a new foreword by Bill Simmons, new photography, and a new chapter, “The Game Goes On.”

The new chapter discusses the tradition of NHL players from the Stanley Cup-winning team having the opportunity to take the Cup home. Surprisingly, this tradition didn’t start until 1995. Having never had the chance to take part in this custom, Ken petitioned to have the opportunity to do so, and when his request was finally granted – he celebrated his success in a big way.

In this celebration he was able to have with his family, Dryden expertly ties together themes from his original text from 30 years ago to today's audience. Themes such as how hockey is about so much more than sport, but rather it is about community, and family and Canada. It is the national narrative, whether it is played out in the big NHL arena's, or in our own backyards.

The new chapter in The Game: 30th Anniversary Edition is just a few pages long. It was the first chapter I read in the new re-released offering and I was instantly taken back. I was immediately reminded why The Game is arguably hockey's greatest book, and why Dryden is possibly hockey's most fascinating person and most gifted writer. Instantly I knew I had to re-read this 30 year old book that I have read a few times before, something I wasn't really planning on when I agreed to do this review. I am so glad I did, because this timeless classic is such an amazing read.

And now it has a whole new spectacular ending to it.

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

Ken Dryden Talks The Game

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/

New Book From Ken Dryden

Ken Dryden has accomplished a lot in his life. He graduated from Cornell, enjoyed a successful career as a lawyer and businessman, was a three-time Olympic broadcaster and currently is Member of Parliament in Ottawa. Oh yeah, and he had a Hall of Fame hockey career where he won 6 Stanley Cups in 8 seasons and is considered one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the game.

He also somehow found the time to write 5 books, including The Game, universally regarded as the best hockey book ever written.

Since losing out on a Liberal Party leadership bid in 2006 he has been somewhat quiet, at least on the national political scene. But he's back making headlines, thanks to the release of his new book.

Calm down hockey fans. Dryden's new book has little to do with hockey. Becoming Canada: Our Story, Our Politics, Our Future. Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Becoming Canada is very much about politics. Dryden lays out his vision of a new nationalism, a new way of seeing this country that leaves behind the tired cliches of our past and embraces the modern and incredibly diverse country that Canada has become.

That means putting aside our traditional French/English divide and our anti-Americanism. He wants us to embrace being "the most global country in a global world."

"We have paid a huge price for having the wrong sense of ourselves as a country," he writes. "It has forced us to live under a ceiling of expectation and ambition that is so far below what we can do and can be."

Dryden does not necessarily define what Canada should be, but engages readers to enter into the debate so that we can collectively move forward.

Dryden has several lifetimes of accomplishments in his 60-plus years. He has always had a grander vision of everything than all of us. If he can engage enough Canadians and especially enough politicians to act on their vision of Canada's future sooner rather than later, this could be his most important contribution yet.

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

By the way, this is not Dryden's first venture into writing about subjects other than hockey. In 1995 he looked at our education system in In School: Our Kids, Our Teachers, Our Classrooms. Two years earlier than that he tried his hand at fiction with the novel The Moved And The Shaken.  

Update: Here's some more links of interest concerning this title:

• Twitter: @BecomingCanada
• Ken Dryden discusses new book on Fan590 radio .