Hockey Book Reviews.com

November 12, 2008

The Unbeatable Martin Brodeur by Andrew Podnieks

The 2008-09 season was setting up nicely for Martin Brodeur. He was likely to set all time NHL records for wins and shutouts by a goaltender, all but crowning him as the greatest goalie of all time.

After a strong start, a torn bicep shelved the New Jersey Devils great for four months, and certainly putting any coronation on indefinite hold.

So what is Marty doing for four months?

Perhaps he has spent some time reading Andrew Podnieks new book The Unbeatable Martin Brodeur.

Actually, it is more likely that he has spent time promoting the title. That is because he is well aware of the juvenile title, cooperating fully with Podnieks. Brodeur wrote the introduction himself, and had his father supply all the color photos in the book.

Published by HB Fenn, the 96 page paperback is an easy read. Podnieks nicely chronicles Brodeur's childhood right through to his Stanley Cup and Olympic glory. The book is a fast, action-packed look at one of hockey's extraordinary nice guys.

After looking at his youth and junior hockey days, the book turns to Brodeur's meteoric rise into hockey's top goaltender. From his rise to the top to his three Stanley Cup championships, from his Olympic and World Cup gold medals to his chase of once-untouchable NHL records, Brodeur's biography is a very convincing argument that he really is the greatest goaltender of all time.

The photos nicely contribute to the exciting feeling about the book. For those of you who do not know, Martin's father, Denis, is one of the most famous hockey photographers of all time. He supplies some rare and interesting photos of son, such as Martin as a child playing road hockey, watching the Montreal Canadiens practice from the player's bench, and receiving one one one instruction from the great Vladislav Tretiak. Later we get to see Brodeur as a Devil wearing the unfamiliar #29.

This book follows other Hockey Canada-related youth books published by H.B. Fenn and Company Ltd. such as, The Sensational Jarome Iginla, The Spectacular Sidney Crosby, and H.E.A.R.T. (Cassie Campbell). Watch for Dominate Dany Heatley later in November, as well.

If you have a young hockey fan or a goaltender on your Christmas list, Andrew Podnieks' The Unbeatable Martin Brodeur would make for an affordable gift to place under the tree.

Casey And Derek On The Ice

Author Marty Sederman and illustrator Zachary Pullen have "spun a hockey yarn...in the beloved rhythms of Casey at the Bat." Casey and Derek on the Ice give hockey families the chance to cheer on the underdogs.

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters

Poet Sederman writes about about Casey and Derek's hockey game. Casey wins the big face-off, and now it is up to Derek to score the tying goal. The fans cheer him on as he speeds down the ice. He cuts inside. He splits the defense. He's about to shoot....then CRASH!

The classic story comes to hockey, although there is a twist. On the ensuing penalty shot, Casey gets a second chance to score the goal. Instead of coming up short like the original Casey way back in 1888, this Casey becomes the hero.

This isn't the first time Casey at the Bat has been rewritten for hockey. In fact, just last year author Chris Mizzoni came out with Clancy With The Puck.

While I raved about the book production and art work of Mizzoni's work, kids who read the book for me did not like the ending. All good stories have a hero come through in the end, right? That's especially true when you are a kid.

So while my initial thoughts were Sederman's and Pullen's Casey And Derek On The Ice paled in comparison, the same kids liked the new book much better.

So there you have it. Casey and Derek on the Ice is kid tested, and parent approved.

The book is published by Chronicle Books in the United States, and distributed by Raincoast Books in Canada.

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 amazing talents in the minor leagues, in leagues like the WHL.

Unlike today's minor leagues, a lot of WHL teams probably could have fared well against NHL teams. Teams like the Portland Buckaroos, the Seattle Totems, the New Westminster Royals and the original Vancouver Canucks were powerhouses that helped establish the league into a Western near-equivalent to the Eastern based National Hockey League.

Fans of the old Western Hockey League were treated to some great hockey and some great hockey players. Now the long forgotten league and it's unappreciated ghosts gets one last moment in the spotlight, thanks to Jon C. Stott's new book Ice Warriors.

Buy The Book: Amazon - Chapters

Stott is a professor at the University of Alberta who previously authored the minor league hockey book Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South in 2006. He returns to his own roots and rekindles many great memories of his youth with Ice Warriors. In the 1950s and 1960s he spent his winters watching WHL hockey in Vancouver and Victoria.

With passion and zeal Stott retraces the history of the league's creation and development, it's rise and fall. He replays each season, sharing the highlights and heroes, ultimately analyzing the league's surprising influence on hockey. Through interviews with former players, coaches, builders and fans, he nicely captures the heart and essence of a league that had a lot to be proud of.

While Stott is striving to keep the memories of the WHL and it's great players alive, for most of this book is more of an introduction to the past. If you're a hockey history nut like me, you will not be able to put this book down.

November 11, 2008

How A Hockey Sweater Saved A World War II Prisoner Of War

This is a replica jersey of the 1939 World Champion Trail Smoke Eaters. That jersey may have saved the life of the Canadian prisoner of war in World War II.

Prior to the start of World War II the Smokies went on a barnstorming tour of Europe and then represented Canada at the World Championships. Upon their successful return to British Columbia, Smoke Eater Mickey Brennan gave his well worn sweater to fan Steve Saprunoff as a souvenir.

Saprunoff later enrolled in the Canadian Air Force, and was called into action in Europe in World War II. He always wore his trusty Smoke Eaters jersey on missions. Even on the day in 1944 his plane was shot down in German territory and he became prisoner of war.

Obviously, being a POW is not an envious position to be in. But Saprunoff was fortunate to have the Smoke Eaters jersey with him, as it earned him a German friend.

The prison guard recognized Saprunoff's Smoke Eaters' jersey. It seems that the guard had seen the Smoke Eaters play in Berlin on Christmas Day, 1938. The guard held the Smokies in high regard, and took pity on his prisoner. The guard would provide extra food for Saprunoff until he and the other prisoners were transferred to another internment camp.

I learned this amazing story reading Dave Holland's amazing self-published book Canada On Ice: The World Hockey Championships 1920-2008. There are a few great stories in the book.

I've reviewed the book at Hockey Book Reviews.com. Check out the full review.

November 4, 2008

Inside Honoured Canadiens

When you go to the bookstore and look for the new Hockey Hall of Fame book Honoured Canadiens, the first thing you'll notice is the striking red cover dominated by the Canadiens regal crest.

Then you will notice the impenetrable shrink wrap around it, making it impossible to look inside.

I hate when publishers do that, especially when what is inside would probably easily sell the book to any serious Montreal hockey fan and then some.

I told this to HB Fenn, and they agreed to show an authorized inside peek to the loyal readers of HockeyBookReviews.com. The following images are two-page spreads from inside Honoured Canadiens. Please go here for the full book review.

Hockey Night In Canada: My Greatest Day by Scott Morrison

When I first got a copy of Hockey Night in Canada: My Greatest Day, I said to myself "This book sure looks familiar."

That would be because Hockey Night in Canada and author Scott Morrison teamed up last year with the hit By The Numbers, looking at the best players to wear every jersey number in history.

This year they are back with My Greatest Day, looking at 50 people's greatest hockey moments, not necessarily games, in their lives.

Buy The Book: Amazon - Chapters

Aside from the content, everything about the two books are nearly cookie-cutter identical - the cover image, the flashy layout, the interior graphics and fonts, the colorful sidebars, the fancy paper, the beautiful photography.

I guess that means this Hockey Night in Canada entrance into the book market last season is intended to be an annual occurrence. That's a great thing, as the production level is as high as it comes and the content has so far been tremendous.

In Hockey Night in Canada: My Greatest Day Morrison interviews 50 hockey people. Some are current NHL players while others are retired. Some are female Olympic players. Some are coaches and others are managers. And in a real interesting interview decorated Canadian military general Rick Hillier is included.

Morrison asks each to describe their greatest day of hockey in their life. As publisher Key Porter suggests if you ask ten hockey players you'll get ten different answers. If you ask fifty you have a book.

Stanley Cup victories and first NHL games and goals are common, but there a lot of surprises, too.

Gordie Howe talks about the first time his mom and dad saw him play in Detroit. Darryl Sittler forever cherishes the night the Leafs retired his number. Referee Paul Stewart remembers his playing days when he got into three fights in his first NHL game. Paul Henderson's greatest day is obvious. Mark Messier's was not, and he never actually does pick on moment.

Very interestingly Cassie Campbell picks a university championship over all those Olympic and World Championship gold medal victories as her greatest moment. And Tony Granto's greatest moment was when his sister, Cammi Granato, helped the US women's team capture Olympic gold in 1998.

And General Hillier talks about the day the Stanley Cup visited Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan.

What about Scotty Bowman? Bobby Clarke? Sidney Crosby? Wayne Gretzky? Gordie Howe? Well you'll have to buy the book to find those out!

Each person's account is engaging and honest. Morrison does a good job of re-telling each person's stories with a nice, personal tone.