Best of
Hockey

2006

Hockey: A People's History


Michael McKinley - 2006
    A must-have for every fan!Hockey is not just Canada’s national game, it is part of every Canadian’s psyche, whether we like it or not. Watching it, playing it, coaching it, and talking about it are up there with eating on the list of the top ten things Canadians do most. In the first half of the last century it mirrored our increasing confidence as a nation and in the last years of the 1900s, which saw an aggressive but unsettling expansion of the game south of the border, it reflected our growing wariness of American influence on Canada.Hockey: A People’s History, like the ten-part CBC series it accompanies, tells the story of this breathtakingly fast game from its hotly contested origins, and the surge in its popularity after 1875, when it was first taken inside, through the rise and fall and rise again of women’s hockey, the sagas of long-lost leagues, such as the Pacific Coast Hockey League and, more recently, the World Hockey Association, to the present day and the first-ever lockout of players by the one remaining league. In that time, while play has changed only slightly (every generation of Canadians has complained about the growing violence of the game) hockey itself has been transformed from a rough and ready winter sport to a business worth many billions of dollars, played by millionaires.But Hockey: A People’s History is not a business story, rather, it is the story of the men and woman who helped make the game what it is today.It also tells the story of all the great moments in hockey: not just the unforgettable 1972 victory against Russia, but victories no less glorious at the time, such as the Leafs’ previously unheard-of third consecutive Stanley Cup in 1949. Through its lavishly illustrated pages skate the players, the coaches, the owners, many of them still legendary, too many of them almost forgotten. They are the reason why Canadians have stayed true to the game.

What It Means to Be a Red Wing: Detroit's Greatest Players Talk about Detroit Hockey


Kevin Allen - 2006
    The spirit of the Red Wings is not captured by just one phrase, one season, or one particular game; instead, the players and managers who made the magic happen over the decades blend their experiences to capture the true essence of their beloved team. Wings fans will relish the intimate stories told by the figures they have come to cherish.

Why I Didn't Say Anything


Sheldon Kennedy - 2006
    The media portrayed Kennedy as a hero for breaking the code of silence in professional hockey and bringing James to justice. The heroic myth intensified in 1998 when Kennedy announced that he was going to in-line skate from Newfoundland to British Columbia to raise awareness of sexual abuse. The skate raised over $1 million for Canadian Red Cross sexual abuse programs, and Kennedy settled in Calgary with his wife and young daughter. Anyone who has followed hockey in the last ten years is familiar with the story of ex-NHL player Sheldon Kennedy. As one of the most promising hockey talents to emerge from the Canadian minor leagues in the last two decades, Kennedy was destined for hockey greatness. But after he was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 1988, he attracted more attention for his off-ice antics than for his contributions to the score sheet. Plagued by rumours of drug and alcohol abuse and a string of injuries, Kennedy drifted from team to team. The happy ending promised by the headlines never materialized. Still haunted by the demons of sexual abuse, Kennedy's life spiralled out of control. Now he has finally come forward to tell his story, and the story of coach Graham James, who is out of prison and currently coaching hockey in Europe.

Timberwolf Chase


Sigmund Brouwer - 2006
    Tom Morgan has just moved from Toronto and is a talented player. Tom is also very competitive and seems determined to pick on Stu Duncan, who is slightly overweight.Johnny suggests a race between Tom and Stu. Tom eagerly accepts; Stu is reluctant but Johnny convinces him to trust his best friend's advice. On race day Tom is surprised by both the race and its outcome and learns that teamwork pays off.The Howling Timberwolves series of Orca Echoes early chapter books offer lots of sports action and humour that will appeal to young boys.Also available in French.

Tales from the Pittsburgh Penguins


Joe Starkey - 2006
    If Penguins fans are not shedding tears of sadness, they are crying for joy or simply laughing so hard they cannot stop. The team's games once played on a station called WEEP, and its first mascot, a penguin named Pete, died of pneumonia. In Tales from the Pittsburgh Penguins, sportswriter Joe Starkey takes fans inside the locker rooms, onto the team buses (including the one defenseman Bryan "Buggsy" Watson hi-jacked) and behind the personalities that have shaped Penguins hockey since 1967. No franchise has survived more near-death experience than this one, which twice went bankrupt and man times escaped the threat of relocation. In 1975 things were so tough that players had their postgame oranges taken away.

Zamboni: The Coolest Machines on Ice


Eric Dregni - 2006
    The process-including the refreezing-took more than an hour. That all changed when a tireless inventor by the name of Frank J. Zamboni, who also happened to own a 20,000-square-foot rink in Southern California, put his mind to creating a quality sheet of ice in a shorter time. The story of the machines he produced-now as beloved as ice skates and hockey pucks among winter sports enthusiasts-is fully told for the first time in this book, a fun-filled history of machine-age ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that forever changed the nature of sports on ice. Beginning with a prehistory of the machines, this fully illustrated book goes on to explore the early genesis of Zamboni ice-resurfacing machines, how a Zamboni works, tips from drivers, various models that have evolved through the years, colorful anecdotes from and about Zamboni drivers, and more. Entertaining sidebars examine such topics as Zamboni wipeouts, non-ice-resurfacing machines from the company, the Zamboni factories, Zamboni toys, and television ""roles."" Officially licensed, the book features a wealth of material from the Zamboni archives.

Artificial Ice: Hockey, Commerce and Cultural Identity


David Whitson - 2006
    Contributors to "Artificial Ice" discuss the changing character of "major league" sports in North America, the strategic mistakes of the NHL in trying to enlarge its US presence, the importance of television to the economics of sports today, and the role of luxury sports facilities in the new "downtown" economy. The book highlights profound social and cultural changes within hockey, as well as in the global market for sporting spectacles.Academics please note that this is a title classified as having a restricted allocation of complimentary copies. Restricted titles remain available to adopters and to academics very likely to adopt in the coming semester. When adoption possibilities are less strong and/or further in the future, academics are requested to purchase the title, with the proviso that UTP Higher Education will happily refund the purchase price if the book is indeed adopted.

Striking Silver: The Untold Story of America's Forgotten Hockey Team


Tom Caraccioli - 2006
    This is the story of Striking Silver and its members, which included schoolboy heroes and college All-Americans as well as those plucked from the jungles of Vietnam: Ahearn, Bader, Boucha, Brown, Christiansen, Curran, Ftorek, Howe, Irving, McElmury, McGlynn, McIntosh, Mellor, Naslund, Olds, Regan, Sanders, Sarner, Sheehy, and Sears ? the Silver Medalwinning 1972 United States Olympic Hockey team.

The ABC's of Detroit Red Wings Hockey


Ann Jacobs-Mooney - 2006
    You'll learn the ins and outs of hockey and discover little-known Red Wings trivia and history along the way!