Crossing the Line: The Outrageous Story of a Hockey Original


Derek Sanderson - 2012
    Living life in the fast lane, Sanderson grew his hair long, developed a serious drinking problem, and eventually found himself out of the league and prowling the streets for his next drink. In this autobiography, Sanderson comes clean on his life in hockey, the demons that threatened to consume him, and the strength and courage it took to fight his way back. Today a successful entrepreneur and speaker, Sanderson’s incredible story is a must read for any fan of hockey.

The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL


Ross Bernstein - 2006
    The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL by Ross Bernstein takes you in-depth and behind the scenes to explore the history of fighting during hockey games and the honor system behind it. More than 50 NHL players, coaches, and media personalities were interviewed to examine how players go about their business during a fight on the ice. They explain why fighting is allowed and what tactics are used before, during, and after the melees. The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL discusses the top reasons why the gloves come off during hockey games.

Hockey Confidential: Inside Stories from People Inside The Game


Bob McKenzie - 2014
    No one has the access or the breadth and depth of experience. Now, in his very first book on the NHL, Bob takes readers behind-the-scenes, covering the inside stories, the lesser-known personalities, and all the events that shape this great game.Hockey Confidential is Bob’s all-access pass to the NHL. In addition to revealing the actual stats that NHL coaches and scouts use, Hockey Confidential is also about the value of family within a hockey context. An 80-yearold Don Cherry sharing precious moments with his son, Tim, at the rink; rock star Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip communing with his brothers in a lifelong love affair with the Boston Bruins; the patriarchs of the Subban and Tavares families emigrating from Jamaica and Portugal, respectively, to become household hockey names and raise great Canadian superstars; to say nothing of a teenaged Connor McDavid, leaning on his family and support system, including the incomparable Bobby Orr, to help cope with the pressures of being tabbed as the Next Big Thing in hockey; as well as Sheldon Keefe’s dramatic personal struggle to leave behind a dark and troubled past to become a better man, son, brother, husband, father and hockey coach.Karl Subban poured out his heart and soul in a long, all-encompassing interview at a Tim Hortons in Rexdale, Ontario; Tyler Dellow and myriad other advanced statistics gurus, including the legendary Vic Ferrari, made themselves available on numerous occasions to repeatedly explain their craft to a guy who barely escaped Grade 12 math; and Jari Byrski welcomed Bob into his home, where his beloved wife died and where he thought seriously about taking his own life—and might have, if not for hearing Bob’s voice on television talking about a Steven Stamkos goal.Jari Byrski? Well, that’s one of a number of reasons why the full title of the book—Hockey Confidential: Inside Stories from People Inside the Game—is actually an apt description. Jari Byrski may not be a household hockey name, but the fact that he, like so many others, work with and are well known to so many of the biggest stars and best players in the NHL means you should know them—and their stories—too.Hockey Confidential is about more than just hockey. For Bob McKenzie, whose life more or less revolves around all things puck, there’s plenty here for the hardcore hockey fan: John Tavares talking about the essence of scoring goals; Brandon Prust making sense of what it’s really like to give or take punches in a hockey fight; and the colliding worlds of old and new in the growing debate on the place of advanced statistics—or #fancystats, as many have taken to calling them. And yet what Bob also captures in writing this book is an attempt at understanding the grander and more universal themes of life and death, and the meaning or purpose of our respective journeys, and the passion and love that comes from the ice.Entertaining and insightful, Hockey Confidential is a must for any hockey fan.

Patrick Roy: Winning, Nothing Else


Michel Roy - 2007
    Thirty years later, he stands in a class by himself as the winningest goaltender of all time. His indomitable will to win and his focus on being the very best brought him four Stanley Cups, three Conn Smythe trophies, three Vezina trophies, and many more honours. Patrick Roy is every bit the warrior: intensely competitive, full of confidence and pride, and passionate about his sport and his play, sometimes to a fault. Many things have been said and written about him. So many that we sometimes feel we know everything--and yet nothing--about him. Patrick Roy: Winning, Nothing Else brings to life Patrick Roy's phenomenal career, holding nothing back. A proud father and an impassioned hockey fan, Michel Roy reveals what makes Patrick tick, taking us behind the scenes and into the family life of one of the greatest goaltenders of all time: his will to win; the art of protecting the goal; how he revolutionized goaltending by helping to develop and popularize the butterfly style; his role models and inspiration; his relationships with teachers, teammates, the media, hockey scouts and coaches, agents and players. But Roy holds nothing back as he also reveals the blunders, faults and difficulties of the famous goalie, including the heartbreaking move away from Montreal that nearly broke Patrick Roy's spirit. A dramatic, lively biography, and a very special testimony to Patrick Roy's brilliant career.

The Making of a Miracle: The Untold Story of the Captain of the 1980 Gold Medal-Winning U.S. Olympic Hockey Team


Mike Eruzione - 2020
    No one believed the scrappy Americans had a real shot at winning. Despite being undefeated, the U.S.--the youngest team in the competition--were facing off against the four-time defending gold medalist Russians. But the Americans' irrepressible optimism, skill, and fearless attitude helped them outplay the seasoned Soviet team and deliver their iconic win.As captain, Mike Eruzione led his team on the ice on that Friday, February 22, 1980. But beating the U.S.S.R was only one of the numerous challenges Mike has faced in his life. In this inspiring memoir, he recounts the obstacles he has overcome, from his blue-collar upbringing in Winthrop, Massachusetts, to his battle to make the Boston University squad; his challenges in the minor leagues and international tournaments to his selection to the U.S. team and their run for gold. He also talks about the aftermath of that stupendous win that inspired and united the nation at a time of crisis in its history.Eruzione has lived a hockey life full of unexpected twists and surprising turns. Al Michaels' famous call in 1980--do you believe in miracles? YES!--could have been about Mike himself. Filled with vivid portraits--from his hard-working, irrepressible father to the irascible Herb Brooks to the Russian hall of famers Tretiak, Kharlamov, Makarov, and Fetisov--this lively, fascinating look back is destined to become a sports classic and is a must for hockey fans, especially those who witnessed that miraculous day.Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Open Ice: Reflections and Confessions of a Hockey Lifer


Jack Falla - 2008
    At times funny, often poignant, and occasionally melancholy, Open Ice is one man's witness to fifty years of the game he loves. Reflections on hockey, its great personalities and arenas, and twenty-five years of dedication to his own backyard rink are woven into family memories and other fond remembrances. From the death of Rocket Richard, to skating on the Rideau Canal, memories of being in all Original Six arenas, and more, Open Ice is a reflective and fond look at hockey for people to whom the sport is more than just a game. Selected reviews of Home Ice: The literary hot chocolate that will warm your heart.-- The New York Times While Home Ice may be a book about hockey and the charm of backyard rinks, it is more than that, too. It is a book about relationships--between fathers and sons, husbands and wives--and how the game can bridge the gaps that commonly occur between generations in a family... It's a treasure and one that readers will be happy they searched out. Possibly the best hockey book since Ken Dryden's The Game, -- The Globe & Mail

The Game of Our Lives


Peter Gzowski - 1981
    These were the days when the young Oilers, led by a teenaged Wayne Gretzky, were poised on the edge of greatness, and about to blaze their way into the record books and the consciousness of a nation. While the story of the early Oilers embodies the book, The Game of Our Lives is much more than a retelling of one season in the life of an NHL team.Unlike any book ever written in the annals of hockey, Gzowski beautifully weaves together the anatomy of a modern NHL team with the magnificent history of the game to create one of the best books about hockey in Canada. Here are the great teams and the great players through the ages—Morenz, Richard, Howe, Orr, Hull—the men whose rare and indefinable genius on the ice exemplified the speed, grit and innovation of the game.The Game of Our Lives is the best book on the Canadian passion for hockey; a wondrously perceptive account of the hold the game has on Canadians. —Jack Granatstein, The National Post

The Game


Ken Dryden - 1983
    Intelligent and insightful, former Montreal Canadiens goalie and former President of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ken Dryden captures the essence of the sport and what it means to all hockey fans. He gives us vivid and affectionate portraits of the characters—Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard, and coach Scotty Bowman among them—that made the Canadiens of the 1970s one of the greatest hockey teams in history. But beyond that, Dryden reflects on life on the road, in the spotlight, and on the ice, offering up a rare inside look at the game of hockey and an incredible personal memoir. This commemorative edition marks the 20th anniversary of "The Game's" original publication. It includes black and white photography from the Hockey Hall of Fame and a new chapter from the author. Take a journey to the heart and soul of the game with this timeless hockey classic.

Open Net


George Plimpton - 1987
    He survives a game against the Philadelphia Flyers relaticely unscathed - and brings back this memorable portrait of the rough-and-tumble world of professional hockey.

Ice Capades: A Memoir of Fast Living and Tough Hockey


Sean Avery - 2017
    For thirteen seasons, Avery played for some of the toughest, most storied franchises in the league, including the Detroit Red Wings, the Los Angeles Kings, and the New York Rangers, making his mark in each city as a player that was sometimes loved, often despised, but always controversial.In Ice Capades, Avery takes his trademark candidness about the world of pro hockey and does for it what Jim Bouton's game-changing Ball Four did for baseball. Avery goes deep inside the sport to reveal every aspect of an athlete's life, from what they do with their money and nights off to how they stay sharp and competitive in the league. While playing the talented villain in the NHL, Avery broke far away from his on-ice character in the off-season, and Ice Capades takes the reader inside the other unexpected and unprecedented roles that Avery inhabited—Vogue intern, fashion model, advertising executive, restauranteur, gay rights advocate, and many more.Love him or hate him, Sean Avery changed the way professional hockey is played today. Rollickingly honest and compelling throughout, Ice Capades transcends the "sports book" genre and offers a rare, unvarnished glimpse into the world of 21st century hockey through the eyes of one of its most original and memorable players.

Past Time: Baseball as History


Jules Tygiel - 2000
    In Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy, Tygiel penned a classic work, a landmark book that towers above most writing about the sport. Now he ranges across the last century and a half in anintriguing look at baseball as history, and history as reflected in baseball.In Past Time, Tygiel gives us a seat behind home plate, where we catch the ongoing interplay of baseball and American society. We begin in New York in the 1850s, where pre-Civil War nationalism shaped the emergence of a national pastime. We witness the true birth of modern baseball with thedevelopment of its elaborate statistics--the brainchild of English-born reformer, Henry Chadwick. Chadwick, Tygiel writes, created the sport's historical essence and even imparted a moral dimension to the game with his concepts of errors and unearned runs. Tygiel offers equally insightfullooks at the role of rags-to-riches player-owners in the formation of the upstart American League and he describes the complex struggle to establish African-American baseball in a segregated world. He also examines baseball during the Great Depression (when Branch Rickey and Larry MacPhail savedthe game by perfecting the farm system, night baseball, and radio broadcasts), the ironies of Bobby Thomson's immortal shot heard 'round the world, the rapid relocation of franchises in the 1950s and 1960s, and the emergence of rotisserie leagues and fantasy camps in the 1980s.In Past Time, Jules Tygiel provides baseball history with a difference. Instead of a pitch-by-pitch account of great games, in this groundbreaking book, the field is American history and baseball itself is the star.

Calling the Shots: Ups, Downs and Rebounds – My Life in the Great Game of Hockey


Kelly Hrudey - 2017
    Kelly made seventy-three saves (to this day an NHL record for most saves made in a playoff game) against the Capitals before Pat LaFontaine scored the winner in the fourth overtime period of Game Seven at two o’clock in the morning. Later that year, Kelly was in the Canada Cup lineup of one of the most talented teams ever assembled on ice. In 1989, he joined Wayne Gretzky and Marty McSorley on a team that took Los Angeles by storm: the Kings went all the way to the Stanley Cup final against the Canadiens in 1993. Hrudey is now a well-respected hockey analyst and broadcaster and has watched with a keen eye as the game continues to evolve. Through it all, he has seen greatness and missed opportunities, inspiring moments and outright craziness. Working with bestselling author Kirstie McLellan Day, Kelly delivers a lively and thoughtful memoir, rich in behind-the-scenes anecdotes, humour and insight.

Secretariat: The Making of a Champion


William Nack - 1988
    The only horse to ever break the two-minute mark in winning the Kentucky Derby until recent winner Monarchos, Secretariat also pulled off one of the most astounding victories in the annals of horse racing by winning the Belmont Stakes by a record-breaking thirty-one lengths. Now William Nack updates his acclaimed portrait with a new afterword that examines the legacy of one of ESPN's "100 Greatest Athletes of the Century": the only horse to ever grace the covers of Time , Newsweek , and Sports Illustrated all in the same week.

Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game


Rob Neyer - 2018
    Though this was only one regular season game, the match-up of these two teams demonstrated how Major League Baseball has changed since the early days of Athletics general manager Billy Beane and the publication of Michael Lewis’ classic book.Over the past twenty years, power and analytics have taken over the game, driving carefully calibrated teams like the Astros to victory. Seemingly every pitcher now throws mid-90s heat and studiously compares their mechanics against the ideal. Every batter in the lineup can crack homers and knows their launch angles. Teams are relying on unorthodox strategies, including using power-losing—purposely tanking a few seasons to get the best players in the draft.As he chronicles each inning and the unfolding drama as these two teams continually trade the lead—culminating in a 9-8 Oakland victory in the bottom of the ninth—Neyer considers the players and managers, the front office machinations, the role of sabermetrics, and the current thinking about what it takes to build a great team, to answer the most pressing questions fans have about the sport today.

Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association


Terry Pluto - 1990
    During its nine seasons, the ABA generated scorn and laughter--and made a lasting impact on how the game is played. 24 pages of photographs.