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Showing posts from November, 2012

Crosby's Golden Goal by Mike Leonetti

Mike Leonetti is back with yet another in his long line of hockey history inspired children's titles. This time his work was inspired by and titled with Crosby's Golden Goal Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com Missing NHL hockey this season? Maybe Mike Leonetti's newest release  Crosby's Golden Goal  will help you rediscover your love for the game, all while spending some quality time with the children. This book relives the excitement of Sidney Crosby's "golden goal" at the 2010 Winter Olympics through the eyes of a young hockey fan. Tyler has grown disheartened with hockey too, but for different reasons. But in this fine book he  rediscovers the joy of hockey through Sidney Crosby''s famous gold medal goal. Tyler's life has always been about hockey: hockey after school, hockey on weekends, hockey on holidays... hockey, hockey, hockey. So his parents are surprised and disappointed when Tyler abandons the game he

Journeyman by Sean Pronger

Some players, such as the great defenseman Chris Pronger, are blessed with the opportunity to turn their amazing physical abilities and talent into a Hockey Hall of Fame career. Most players are nowhere near as fortunate. They spend their careers riding buses in the minor leagues, spending their meal allowances at McDonalds and staying in no-name motels. If they are really lucky they get a chance to play in the NHL, often with a weak, new expansion team where they experience more losing than winning. Maybe they can parlay that into appearances with a stronger NHL team, though more likely serving as a healthy scratch than not. Those players are affectionately termed as journeymen. Players such as Chris Pronger's brother, Sean Pronger. In 12 professional seasons Sean Pronger played with 16 different teams in 5 different leagues spanning 3 countries and 2 continents. In fact, in only 3 of those seasons did he stay with the same team for the entire season. The older Pronger

Hockey Night In Canada's Favorite Books

Many of the hockey personalities over at the CBC/Hockey Night In Canada shared their favorite hockey books over the years. Here's a clip from their website : Ron MacLean "My favourite hockey book is  Hockey Dreams: Memories of a Man Who Couldn't Play by David Adams Richards, from Miramichi, New Brunswick. It starts off with the story of a drifter out in British Columbia during the '72 Summit Series and he's running into folks everywhere who detest the Canadians and his basic premise is these S-O-Bs don't love hockey and he has a good reason behind it. David has always had the line, 'When are we most Canadian? When we drop the puck,' and I thought that book really got us to the place most of us beer leaguers or rink rats are in, so I really admire that one." Elliotte Friedman "I don't know if anybody's going to find this book, but when I was a kid and I was learning how to play, and I'll admit I wasn't great, my father g

Stanley Cup: 120 Years of Hockey Supremacy by Eric Zweig

Stanley Cup: 120 Years of Hockey Supremacy is the definitive book on the history of the Stanley Cup and the championship teams that have won it. In honor of the 120th anniversary of the first winner of the Stanley Cup, author Eric Zweig has collected the details of every cup winner from 1893 to present. Hockey fans can chart the course of hockey history and revisit the dynasties and Cinderella stories of each and every decade. Zweig presents each Stanley Cup winner in an illustrated two-page spread, detailing playoff brackets, club rosters and playoff statistics, as well as providing stories and sidebars outlining the incredible journey each team took to achieve hockey supremacy. Presented between seasons are highlights of some of hockey's best and most controversial playoff moments, such as Brett Hull's "no goal" in the 1999 final or Bobby Baun's overtime winning goal for the 1964 Stanley Cup. Also included in this expansive volume are personal stori

Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos

This a long over due book. Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos  tells the story of heartbreaking tragedy that shook a Canadian town and the whole hockey world to it's core. On December 30, 1986, the Swift Current Broncos set out for Regina to play the Pats. A few kilometres east of Swift Current, their bus left the highway and four players died in the crash. Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka, and Brent Ruff (younger brother Buffalo Sabres legend Lindy Ruff) were killed. The rest of the team, led by future NHL star Joe Sakic, played out the season despite the loss. In a move to memorialize the fallen players, the WHL now awards the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy to the league's Player of the Year. Two seasons later the Broncos won the 1989 Memorial Cup. Graham James, general manager and head coach, was the hottest thing in hockey. But few were aware of what was going on behind the scenes. In 1996, having moved on to the Calgary Hitmen

The Big Game by Gilles Tibo and Bruno St-Aubin

Notable children's writers/illustrators Gilles Tibo and Bruno St-Aubin have teamed up to give us the new hockey themed children's book The Big Game . It's a beautiful book with a nice story - kinda Robert Munsch-like. Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters Nicholas has his parents, his coach, the other spectators, and even his sister doling out advice on how to take on the top team in the league. But with opinions coming at them from all sides, Nicholas and his teammates can't decide who to listen to. Between periods, Nicholas comes up with an ingenious plan to save the day — and stop every shot on goal! When he shares his winning strategy with the rest of his team, they can't help but come out on top. Featuring Nicholas, the star of the bestselling Where's My Hockey Sweater? and The Best Goalie Ever, fans will love this new story that puts him back on the ice! About The Authors Gilles Tibo is a compulsive writer. As one of Canada's most import

Over At The Rink: A Hockey Counting Book

Count all the ways to have fun at the hockey rink! Over at the rink Where the anthem's sung, The whole town gathered For some hockey fun. Set to the catchy rhythm of the traditional counting song "Over in the Meadow", Over at the Rink: A Hockey Counting Book describes a delightful jaunt to the local ice rink. The story of the game is counted up to ten, when the players finally hoot, "Let's play again!" Scot Ritchie's expressive, humourous illustrations capture the excitement of the day, perfectly complementing the rhyming story. This is one title that will have young readers yelling, "Let's read it again!" Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters

Hockey Now! by Mike Leonetti

2012 brings us the seventh edition of the always popular Hockey Now! series by Mike Leonetti. Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com 70 NHL stars are featured in a book jam-packed with glossy in-action photos, solid biographies and interesting sidebar information. All the usual suspects are featured - Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, Zdeno Chara, the Sedin twins, Evgeni Malkin and Jonathan Toews who is prominently featured on the cover. First time additions include Jamie Benn, Jordan Eberle, Loui Eriksson, Gabriel Landeskog, Max Pacioretty, Jason Pominville, Carey Price, Pekka Rinne and Ryan Suter. This is always a safe holiday gift to buy the hockey fan of any age on your shopping list.

J.R. Jeremy Roenick's Autobiography

Jeremy Roenick, one of the premier hockey players of his generation and one of the greatest American stars the NHL has ever known, shares his life story in this frank and unflinching autobiography - J.R.  Buy The Book -  Amazon.ca  -  Chapters  -  Amazon.com After making his debut as an 18-year-old with the Chicago Blackhawks, Roenick thrilled fans with his flashy style, take-no-prisoners approach, and jaw-dropping skills. A native of Boston, Roenick went on to play for four more franchises—including the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings—during his incredible 18-season career. By the time he was through, Roenick had racked up 513 goals—the second most of any American-born player—and 703 assists. Now a tells-it-like-it-is commentator for NBC and the NHL, Roenick takes readers on a behind-the-scenes, warts-and-all tour through his illustrious career, both on and off the ice. Written with Kevin Allen. My take - Oh good ol' J.R. Either you love him or hate him. If

Brass Bonanza Plays Again: How Hockey's Strangest Goon Brought Back Mark Twain And A Dead Team

And now for something completely different: Let's take a look at the wonderfully offbeat Brass Bonanza Plays Again: How Hockey's Strangest Goon Brought Back Mark Twain and a Dead Team--And Made a City Believe  by Robert Muldoon. Buy The Book - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com What happens when a major league pro sports team leaves a city? The Hartford Whalers left on April 13, 1997—leaving behind devastated fans. The players left, too—except one who stayed and suffered like the fans. Tiger Burns is an unlikely hero—even for a hobbit-sized, smash-faced, hockey goon with 600 fights. Standing 5’3”, with one-eye, cauliflower ears, and a full-rigged ship tattoo on his chest, his most unusual feature is this: he loves Hartford and its team, the Whalers. In a league where players date super models, ice princesses and Miss Americas, he is a misfit. But in a league of Los Angeles, New York and Boston so is Hartford. Brass Bonanza Plays Again tells the riches-to-rags sto

The Puck Hog 2: Haunted Hockey In Lake Placid by Christie Casciano

" If I had one lasting impression from The Puck Hog, it was that I only wish it had been on the shelf of my local Brooklyn library when I was looking for a hockey book one winter's afternoon in 1939." Those powerful words come from none other than Stan Fischler, hockey's maven. I'm pretty sure Fischler has read every book on the subject of hockey. Oh yeah, and he's written a few dozen, too. So Fischler knows something about hockey books. Clearly Fischler has taken to Christie Casciano's series of books called The Puck Hog. Back in 2010 she released the original book in conjunction with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch. Well the whole gang is back in 2012 with The Puck Hog Volume 2: Haunted Hockey in Lake Placid . Buy The Book: Amazon.com Sophie, Eddie and the whole team have graduated to Squirts level and are travelling to Lake Placid. The team is extra excited as several Canadian teams are making the trip south, and the gang is eager to show the

Derek Sanderson Story To Be Made Into A Movie

Great news for Derek Sanderson and author Kevin Shea - their new book Crossing The Line is going to be turned into a movie . We’re apparently not alone in thinking that the life and times of Derek Sanderson would be fodder for a good biopic. We got word Monday that actor/director/producer Edward Burns is working with “Akeelah and the Bee” writer/director Doug Atchison on a film about the flamboyant former Bruins player. Here's the full story . Here's the link to the Crossing The Line book review .

Interview With The Author: Todd Denault

I recently had the great opportunity to interview with none other than Todd Denault, author of the bestselling book A Season In Time: Super Mario, Killer, St. Patrick, The Great One and the Unforgettable 1992-93 NHL Season . This is Todd Denault;s third book release.  A Season in Time: Super Mario, Killer, St. Patrick, the Great One, and the Unforgettable 1992-93 NHL Season  is a celebration of the twentieth anniversary of one of the greatest seasons in hockey history. And congratulations are in order, as the book as made Chapters' bestsellers list. Buy The Book:  Amazon.ca  -  Chapters  -  Amazon.com   Here's the full book review . What follows is the interview. I hope you enjoy it. There are a lot of great seasons in National Hockey League history. Why did you pick the 1992-93 season to relive? As someone whose childhood coincided with the 1980's, I now look back and feel extremely fortunate to have grown up in that era. To have watched the careers o