The Hockey News' All New Top 100

Back in 1997, The Hockey News, celebrating their 50th anniversary, put together an expert panel to definitively identify the Top 50 hockey players of all time. Famously, Wayne Gretzky edged out Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe to be named the best of all time.

A year later the magazine was re-released as a coffee table book, expanded to include The Top 100 NHL Players of All-Time. That list has since served as the definitive list of hockey's all time greats.

Jump to 2010. In the last 13 years we've seen many players add to their resumes to improve their rankings or deserve inclusion. Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedemayer, Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Nicklas Lidstrom are among many greats in that time frame.

With that in mind, The Hockey News is back with an updated Top 100 list. Sort of.

This time around THN put together a 10 member panel to judge players only since 1997. Those results are then mixed together with original list results to update the famous list.

The only catch is they fail to rank them 1 through 100, which made the original list such a great debate. Instead they decide to rank the players by position. That's right - the Top 100 this time around is a actually five separate top 20 lists - goaltenders, defensemen, left wingers, right wingers and centers.

Now I understand that such a publication needs to distinguish itself from it's famous predecessor. Still, it is a bit of a disappointment that it is essentially a much different list. In reality I think a number of centers would probably knock off a few wingers and goalies in a true 1 through 100 list.

The collector's edition magazine itself is a wonderful presentation, mixing great photography with excellent all new player profiles. They also offer a look at the best players by position for each franchise.

This type of magazine is what The Hockey News does best. It makes wish they would drop their mostly forgettable book series by The Hockey News and always present their special features as collector edition magazines. So look for this collector's edition of The Hockey News All New Top 100 Players of All Time at your favorite newsstand.

Now the question for you Christmas shoppers out there becomes do you spend $8 on the THN special issue, or the $20 on the new Hockey Night In Canada book Best of the Best, which also offers a top 100 list? Don't be afraid to go with the magazine - I would be just as happy with that under my tree.

Eddie Shore And That Old Time Hockey

You think hockey players nowadays are tough? Check out this story from C. Michael Hiam's new book Eddie Shore and that Old-Time Hockey.

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Hiam is describing run-in between a young Eddie Shore - with "a reputation of being afraid of nothing" - and Billy Coutu - described as "simply vicious." Coutu singled out the young Shore, but, to the amazement of many onlookers, Coutu took the worst of it, hit so hard by Shore it was as if Coutu was hit by a truck.

We'll let Hiam, with quotes from Shore himself, tell the story from here.

"The victor, however, did not emerge from the encounter unscathed. Shore was bleeding profusely because Coutu's head 'had smashed into my ear and torn it off. There was just a little piece of skin holding it on."

The Bruins team doctor told Shore there was no way to reattach it. Shore calmly wrapped his head, put on his street clothes and spent the better part of the day visiting medical clinics searching for a doctor who would do the procedure.

Back to Hiam's and Shore's words:

"Shore made the rounds of the medical offices in the city. 'They all said just what the doctor told me,' he later recalled. 'It was not possible to save the ear. Just before office hours for the day ended, I ran across a fellow who was more encouraging. He asked me what type of anesthetic I wanted. I told him just to give me a small mirror. That way, I could watch the kind of stitching he did. I made him change the very last stitch. If I had not done that, he'd have left a scar. I told him I was just a farm boy who did not want his looks messed up."

Hiam's book Eddie Shore and that Old-Time Hockey is full of little stories like that, making his Shore biography a fun adventure. It was a different time with some crazy characters, and Hiam tries his best to bring it all back to life.

An Eddie Shore biography is long overdue, and comes with high expectations. The problem is, and the reason why no one really has properly written about Shore before, is many of the details are near impossible to find if not lost forever. Written records of Shore's youth and early career are pretty sparse at best, and first hand accounts are long gone.

Hiam does his best to bring to life the legend of Eddie Shore, an unenviable task. Shore was a very complex man who, if he is remembered at all nowadays, it is for his oddities as Don Cherry's coach in the minor leagues or as a mythic roughian thanks to Slap Shot movies. Hiam does a good job in truly bringing to life the real Eddie Shore given the lack of material to work with. It is truly a shame that there was not more to work with, as any emotional attachment to our main character is slow to build and at best fades in and out over the course of the book.

Which may have been how most of Shore's teammates experienced "The Galloping Cowboy," anyways. He was very much a loner and he did not spend much time with his teammates off of the ice. This made it hard for teammates to really get to know him. They may not have tried to hard, either, given how obsessive he was about hockey but also his other pursuits in life.

Hiam does provide hockey book fans with the best biography of the 2010 hockey book season, although in all fairness I have yet to see the Bob Probert autobiography Tough Guy.

One area aspect of the book that is a true treat is Hiam's attention to the era's other stars and especially it's characters. The stories shared of the likes of Sprague Cleghorn, Ching Johnson, Lionel Hitchman, King Clancy, Nels Stewart and others are fun reads for modern fans and hardened historians alike. Hiam bulks up the Shore biography with these period tie-ins. It is a nice treat.

Many of the stories will amaze you. Especially the tales of the violence. If you think today's game is too violent, try reading just the back cover. You will instantly realize how much cleaner today's game is. You will quickly realize all the oldtimer's talk about today's game lacking the respect for the fellow player like in the old days is a bunch of hogwash.

There is a spattering of black and white photos through out the book. And the researcher in me definitely thanks publisher, McClelland & Stewart, for investing money into an index.

All in all this is a solid book given the shortage of reference material to work with. The author digs deep and nicely presents the long overdue look at one of hockey's greatest stars and most interesting people.

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Here's the specs:

• Category: Sports & Recreation - Hockey
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
• Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
• Pub Date: October 2010
• Price: $32.99
• ISBN: 978-0-7710-4127-3 (0-7710-4127-6)

Here's more from the publisher, McClelland & Stewart:

Eddie Shore was the Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb of hockey, a brilliant player with an unmatched temper. Emerging from the Canadian prairie to become a member of the Boston Bruins in 1926, the man from Saskatchewan invaded every circuit in the NHL like a runaway locomotive on a downgrade. Hostile fans turned out in droves with a wish to see him killed, but in Boston he could do no wrong.

During his twenty-year professional career, the controversial Shore personified "that old time hockey" like no other, playing the game with complete disregard for his own safety. Shore was one of the most penalized men in the NHL, and also a perennial member of its All Star Team. A dedicated athlete, Shore won the Hart Trophy for the league’s most valuable player four times — a record for a defenseman not since matched — and led Boston to two Stanley Cups in 1929 and 1939. In 1933, Shore was the instigator of hockey’s most infamous event, the tragic "Ace Bailey Incident," and during his subsequent sixteen-game suspension the fans chanted, "We want Shore!" After retiring from the NHL in 1940, Shore’s passion for the game remained undiminished, and as owner and tyrant of the AHL Springfield Indians, he won championship after championship.

This is an action-packed and full-throated celebration of the "mighty Eddie Shore" — and also of the sport of hockey as it was gloriously played in a bygone age.


About The Author:

MICHAEL HIAM was born in 1962 in Boston and came of age as a hockey fan at the height of the Bobby Orr era, when there were no Bruins tickets to be found. As an undergraduate, however, he both played hockey and attended as many Bruins games as he could. Today, Hiam is a licensed psychologist in New York and Massachusetts, and has authored and co-authored a number of scientific articles. In 2006, his first book, a biography of a CIA analyst active during the Vietnam War, Who the Hell Are we Fighting? The Story of Sam Adams and the Vietnam Intelligence Wars, was published by Steerforth Press. Today, Hiam lives in Newton, MA, with his wife and three children, and on Saturday mornings is an assistant coach for the Newton Youth Hockey Association.

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Books Inspire Young Hockey Stars

Chris Zdeb of the Edmonton Journal has a real nice story about how books play a big role in the lives of Edmonton Oilers stars Kurtis Foster and Jordan Eberle, pictured above.

"Every year, my parents bought me the NHL yearbook that had all the stats and all the stories from the year, and that was how they got me to read," Foster said. "Because of that, I got a lot more into reading and it became something I enjoyed. My reading level also got better and better."

Foster also said his love of reading was cemented when he discovered Scott Young's Hockey Stories trilogy: A Boy at the Leafs' Camp, Boy on Defence and Scrubs on Skates, originally written in the 1950s.

For Eberle it was Roy MacGregor's Screech Owl series.

Both players tend to read biographies nowadays. Eberle is currently reading Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell and counts his favourite book as The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.

Be sure to read the full Edmonton Journal article here. If you're kids are Oilers fans, show them this article, too. It is important to let reluctant readers - namely teenagers - that is cool to read.

Best of the Decade: Reflections on Hockey's Past Ten Years

In the past three seasons the NHL has put out magnificent books featuring beautiful photography in their series of books called Reflections. Now they have put together a visually stunning recollection of the past decade in the new book Best of the Decade: Reflections of Hockey's Past Ten Years

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The photography remains of the highest quality, although I often wonder why they select certain photos. The book's title suggests the photos will showcase the best of the decade, but there are an awful lot of questionable photos if that is truly the mandate. Shane O'Brien drinking water? A Florida Panthers "Est. 1993" ball cap? Countless players going through routine slap shots or warm ups?

As always, some of the photography is down right amazing. But outside of the iconic Stanley Cup presentation photos and the Winter Classic pictures, there seems to be an awful lot of the best of the last decade not represented in this book.

Where are the famous goodbyes? The record breaking moments? Ovechkin's famous goal? And most obviously missing, where are the Olympics photos? I can think of an easy dozen choices from the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Games that need to be included in any photo scrapbook of the decade's best in hockey.

An undisclosed portion of the proceeds of the sale of this book goes the charity Hockey Fights Cancer, a most worthwhile cause. Through all the charitable endeavors to date, more than $11 million has been raised to support national and local cancer research institutions, Children's Hospitals, player charities and local cancer organizations.

The book itself is an eye-catching coffee table book. It is a popular series and solid pick up for the hockey fan on your Christmas shopping list. But I can not help but think of what this book should have been rather than what it is. 

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Here's the specs:

• October 2010
• ISBN 978-1-55365-576-3
• Paperback
• 12" x 8 3/4"
• 176 pages
• 200 colour photographs
• Sports & Recreation / Hockey
• Photography
• $29.95 CAD

Here's more from Greystone Books:

"A vivid visual record of a decade of great hockey.

"Filled with stunning photos, Best of the Decade celebrates the highlights of the NHL’s first ten years of the new millennium. During these years, the NHL itself expanded—both locally and globally. The millennium began with the birth of two new teams: the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild. Meanwhile, the league extended its influence abroad, hosting a series of hugely successful games in London, Prague, Stockholm, and Helsinki. In 2003 the Heritage Classic was born—the first outdoor game in NHL history—which continues to draw huge crowds in such storied locations as Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Boston’s Fenway Park.

"Tripped up by a mid-decade lockout, the NHL had to cancel the 2004–05 season. But the league came bouncing back with a return to basics: exciting young players, explosive team rivalries, and exhilarating games—all those elements that keep hockey fans on the edge of their seats.

"Take a fond look back at a decade of professional hockey—with all the action, drama, and excitement you’d expect from the Reflections series."

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If you are interested in this title, I also recommend:

• Reflections 2009 
• Reflections 2008 
• Reflections On A Hockey Season (2007)

The Day I (Almost) Killed Two Gretzkys by James Duthie

When all is said and done, 2010 will be remembered for two humor books: Sh*t My Dad Says and, for hockey fans anyways, TSN's James Duthie's book The Day I (Almost) Killed Two Gretzkys: And Other Hits, Near Misses, and Off-the-Wall Stories About Sports, and Life.

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This book is a collection of Duthie's best columns from over the years with TSN and the Ottawa Citizen. It is obvious from his time on TSN that he is witty, entertaining and intelligent, so this book is highly anticipated as a knee-slapping, breezy read that you will enjoy time and time again.

When I got my review copy from the publisher, I just had to tell my girlfriend about it. Now, you must understand things about her. 1) She does not read hockey books. She's somewhat reluctantly been forced to become a hockey fan hanging around me, but she would not read a hockey book. 2) She reads a lot, but I have never, ever heard her laugh out loud while reading any book.

I told her just to read the funny foreword by Roberto Luongo, as she has become a fan of the Canucks star goalie. Well that was it. I never got the book back. She kept reading it, from cover to cover. She was constantly chuckling outloud, much to my surprise.

"You've got to read this book," she said on more than one occasion, with a smile across her face.

"I'd like to," was what I wanted to say.

She's a dear though. She even earmarked the pages she thought were the funniest or the most insightful. More than half of the book now has bent corners.

I think this may be the best endorsement I can give this book. Absolutely anyone can enjoy this book, even if you are not the biggest hockey fan. Of course, big hockey fans will enjoy it even that much more.

Absolutely everyone is raving about James Duthie's The Day I (Almost) Killed Two Gretzkys. It is the most humorous and entertaining hockey book in some time. I almost guarantee you will agree with that assessment.. So do yourself a favor and buy this book today.

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

Here's the specs:

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (Sep 21 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470677783
• ISBN-13: 978-0470677780

Here's more information from the publisher, Wiley:

James Duthie is one of North America's most recognized hockey media personalities, as well as one of the most respected and personable commentators on the game, and one of the most prolific. Best known as the host of all TSN's NHL hockey broadcasts on The NHL on TSN and for his coverage of the World Junior Championships, James also has a strong following for his work in print, on TSN.ca and in the Ottawa Citizen. He has been writing columns about hockey, sport in general, and his own twisted view of the world for over a decade. This book is the first and only collection of some of his most popular and most controversial columns, as well as several brand new pieces never previously published.

James Duthie is the most-read feature columnist on TSN.ca and is known for his off-the-wall, often humorous, take on the people and issues that dominate Canada's game. In The Day I (Almost) Killed Two Gretzkys, he brings his famous sense of humour, deep hockey knowledge, and his passion for the game to hockey fans and readers everywhere-no matter what team you cheer for.

The subject matter is all over the hockey map. Some chapters are about the NHL, some are about being a hockey parent, some are about hockey as it relates to life. Many are snapshots of a moment in time-Sidney Crosby's first Stanley Cup final, Canada's gold medal win at the Olympics in 2002, September 11th, a son's first game as goalie. Others roam elsewhere around the sports world, musing on basketball, tennis, golf, baseball, football, and more.

Each story is unique. Many will make you laugh. Some will make you cry. All of them will remind you of why you're a fan of the best game you can name.

Sample Chapter

Wiley is offering a free sample of Duthie's book on their website.


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By the way, Duthie and Wiley teamed up for another 2010 hockey title, They Call Me KILLER: Tales from Junior Hockeys Legendary Hall-of-Fame Coach.

Hockey Night In Canada: Best Of The Best

CBC's Scott Morrison is back with another book under the Hockey Night In Canada banner. This time they rank the greatest players of all time in Hockey Night in Canada's Best of the Best.

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Somewhere in the neighborhood of 6000 players have laced up their skates in National Hockey League history. Hockey Night in Canada's Best of the Best celebrates the absolute best players at each position (plus coaches and managers).

The players are ranked 1 through 10, but they are split up into two eras - pre and post 1967. It seems like a nice dividing line. After all, not only is it incredibly hard to compare eras, but fewer and fewer of us can actually claim to have seen many of those older players play.

The players are ranked 1 through 10 thanks to HNIC's expert panel. HNIC regulars Dean Brown, Cassie Campbell, Bob Cole, Garry Galley, Kelly Hrudey, Jim Hughson, Dick Irvin, Pierre Lebrun, Mark Lee, Jeff Marek, Mike Milbury, Scott Oake, and Craig Simpson are joined by writers Andrew Podnieks and Tim Wharnsby on the selection panel.

That's a pretty good panel, although it would have been nice to draw on more HNIC alumni, like they did with Irvin. The first two names that immediately jump to my mind are Brian McFarlane and Howie Meeker. Jim Robson and Harry Neale also could have contributed nicely, particularly for older players.

Any time a book lists players in order of greatness, there is bound to be controversy. The HNIC book avoids a lot of this controversy by keeping players ranked by position. Therefore we do not get the panel's true view as to who was the best. Gretzky vs Orr? Brodeur vs Sawchuk? How do Crosby and Ovechkin measure up at this early stage of their careers?

Soviet and international star players were not considered, unfortunately.

The book is a beautiful compilation, wonderfully presented with colour photography (where available), fascinating facts and quick biographies. It is a nice book for the hard core fan or for the newer fan a like.

My only qualm with the book is they advertise that they will name the best of the best. I think they fall just short of doing just that.

Here's the specs:

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (Oct 1 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1554703166
• ISBN-13: 978-1554703166

Here's more from the publisher, Key Porter Books:

A few years ago, Scott Morrison and a panel of experts from CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada started a debate about the best players to wear each number, from 00 to 99. The result was fascinating and informative—and often contentious!

Now, Morrison and the panel are back with a new debate sure to spark heated arguments in sports bars, dressing rooms, arenas, and even over kitchen tables: Who were the top 10 NHL players all-time at each position? Who were the top 10 coaches and general managers? Which were the greatest NHL teams ever?

And who was the best of the best?

In Hockey Night in Canada’s Best of the Best, Morrison offers an in-depth look at the best of the best, for both the pre- and post-expansion eras, in every category—players by position, coaches, general managers and teams. Morrison also treats his readers to interesting details about what made these men the best of the best, while Hockey Night in Canada‘s experts offer their own insights.

Featuring statistics, little-known facts, interesting anecdotes, and spectacular full-colour photography, this book is sure to be a favourite with hockey fans of all ages.

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Hockey's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Goals by Don Weekes and Kerry Banks

Who scored hockey's greatest goal?

Is it Henderson scoring for Canada in 1972? Mike Eruzione's miracle moment in 1980? Or the time Bobby Orr flew through the air? Where does Sidney Crosby's golden goal rank? How about Ovechkin's crazy goal against Phoenix.


That's the focus of a the new book Hockey's Top 100: Game's Greatest Goals by two undisputed masters of sports trivia - Don Weekes and Kerry Banks. They countdown the top 100 goals in the history of hockey, from the most spectacular and most famous.

I especially like how the authors start the book by defining "great." That is always a pet peeve of mine regarding these lists. It's one thing to rank the 100 greatest this or that, but failing to set the definition is a common sin.

The authors define a great goal not by how flashy it was, but rather it's historical importance. Big game goals usually out rank the flashiest of goals.

Such lists always make for fun debate, and Hockey's Top 100 Goals does not disappoint. I do find it interesting how international hockey dominates the very top of this particular list. The top four selections are all from the international arena. I actually probably would have moved up several spots up the list, too.

I was disappointed that no women's hockey goals (hello Jayna Hefford) or junior hockey goals (pick from several from the World Junior Championship tournament alone) were included. There is no reason given for this omission. There are lots of international goals featured, and even amateur and NCAA goals, so this oversight is curious.

The 168 page book features 50 colour and black & white photographs and generally well written profiles (although the out-of-context comment about Theoren Fleury's demons was unnecessary.)

By the way, this would make the perfect new media e-book, in theory. I could totally see reading this book with an iPad and clicking on the attached YouTube footage to enjoy the goal all over again. Not that an e-book is available for this particular title, and not that it likely would be presented that way anytime soon.

Here's the specs:

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Greystone Books (Aug 23 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1553656601
• ISBN-13: 978-1553656609

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Here's more from the publisher, Greystone.

"Bestselling authors Don Weekes and Kerry Banks reviewed thousands of goals to come up with their top-100 list of the most skillful shots, game-changing moments, and rink-rocking net-bulgers of all time. Relive the game’s most dramatic highlights, including Alexander Ovechkin’s acrobatic back-slider against Phoenix in 2006, Bobby Orr’s stunning airborne Stanley Cup winner against St. Louis in 1970, Sweden’s Peter Forsberg’s magnificent gold-medal shootout victory against Canada in 1994, and Rocket Richard’s dazzling record-breaker in 1952. And who could forget Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, securing Canada’s fourteenth gold medal of the Games?

"With dramatic photographs throughout, The Game’s Greatest Goals is sure to spark debate among hockey fans everywhere".

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If you are interested in this title, I also recommend:

• Hockey's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Records by Weekes and Banks
• Maple Leafs Top 100: Toronto's Greatest Players of All Time by Mike Leonetti