Hockey Book Reviews.com

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 o...

As a man who spent his entire adult life in show business, Ralph Mellanby knows controversy sells. So when promoting his new book Walking With Legends: The Real Stories of Hockey Night in Canada , the 73-year-old former executive producer of Hockey Night in Canada hasn't shied away from sharing his thoughts on NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. "Bettman to me is the real problem for hockey," said Mellanby. "He's done so much damage to hockey it may never recover. We don't have time to go through the litany of errors." Mellanby backs his case citing teams in bad hockey markets, ignoring Canadian and European opportunities, a deteriorating product, turbulent labour relations, the reluctance to embrace change and some controversial TV deals. "Hockey has never been in worse straits," Mellanby said. "I'm an elder statesman now and I feel at times like a lone voice in the wilderness, but I'm not completely alone. The great minds of the game...

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. Appar...

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 m...

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...

In 2008 the International Ice Hockey Federation is holding the world championships in Canada for the very first time. Obviously the worlds clash with the NHL playoffs from a timing stand point, and traditionally the worlds aren't as overly accepted in Canada as they are over in Europe, but somehow it seems odd that hockey's world championships have never been held in the sport's motherland. What makes it even weirder is 2008 marks the 100th anniversary of the IIHF, a fact I don't think a lot of North American fans realized until recent marketing campaigns. With the games coming to Quebec City and to Halifax, the IIHF has many commemorative projects in the works, including special events, ceremonies, and interactive exhibits both in person and online. A full list of events can be seen here . For hockey book lovers, the IIHF has just released a beautiful 228 page coffee table book, World of Hockey: Celebrating a Century of the IIHF . The project was closely directed by S...

Hockey is a game of numbers. Goals. Assists. Penalty Minutes. Salaries, nowadays. But no numbers are more revered than a player's sweater number. Sweater numbers not only identify players, but forever etch a player into our memory. Think of Wayne Gretzky or Bobby Orr or Mario Lemieux. The numbers on their backs are often as iconic as they are. Hockey Night In Canada with author Scott Morrison has come out with Hockey Night in Canada By the Numbers: From 00 to 99 . The book looks at the great personalities for every number, from 00 to 99. Incredible photography and fast facts make this a beautiful book to thumb through. Controversy is always a great seller, so this book attempts to do so by ranking who was the best player to wear each number. Such strategy is a brilliant way to spark a lively debate and rekindle a lot of fond memories. Can anyone catch Bobby Orr for jersey number 4? Not even Jean Beliveau? How fast is Vincent Lecavalier climbing the list? How about jersey #9, ...

By now fans know me now as The Hockey History Blogger. But my long time readers know me as a big fan of international hockey as well. There's two DVD releases just in time for Christmas 2007 that will have international hockey fans stoked. The first is '72 Complete gift set is the second major dvd set about the 1972 Summit Series. The first, Canada's Team of the Century: The Best of '72 , was a huge success. '72 Complete will cater more to the hard core fans, as the 8 games in the series have already been released and are already in many people's collection. '72 Complete does feature a bonus exhibition game against the Swedes, as well as many new features such as interviews, Hall of Fame coverage, an original documentary, reunion dinner coverage and a feature called Where Were You in '72?. Judging by early results, '72 Complete is going to be another unqualified success. The 1972 Summit Series will never die. Another favorite international tourna...