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Stories from behind the scenes of one of hockey&’s longest running and most popular broadcasts, Hockey Night in Canada&’s Satellite… Hot Stove, from an insider who&’s seen it all.For more than twenty years, hockey fans tuned in during intermission on Saturday nights to watch one of the most popular segments in the game&’s long broadcasting history. They&’d hear news from around the league, the latest rumours and gossip, and—of course—some of the most controversial opinions of the day. No, we&’re not talking about Coach&’s Corner. The Satellite Hot Stove was a revolutionary show for talking about the game we love. Here, during the second intermission of the first game of every Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, pundits, and insiders would convene in studios across North America—in arenas and other locales—to discuss the biggest topics. Hot Stove was the best place to get news, opinions, and a good laugh. And Al Strachan was in the middle of it all. A bestselling author and award-winning sports journalist, he has been writing and talking about hockey for more than forty years. As a regular TV pundit on Hot Stove, he witnessed the most exciting and talked-about episodes in the modern game. And more than once, his unfiltered, say-it-as-it-is style added controversy of its own, too. In this new book, he relives the best stories of his long career, from working with some of the biggest personalities, on and off the ice, to the hijinks that went on behind the cameras. From embarrassing himself in front of Scotty Bowman, to cooking up a plan with Wayne Gretzky to save hockey, and frank conversations with Ken Dryden and hockey&’s elite, Hockey&’s Hot Stove delivers all new hockey stories you won&’t hear anywhere else.
From TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie comes a new collection of hockey stories about the everyday heroes from across the… game who are defying the odds and championing the next generation of hockey—on and off the ice.In this uplifting and entertaining volume of stories, Canadian broadcasters Bob McKenzie and Jim Lang bring together hockey players, coaches, and refs, as well as those behind the bench—the parents, scouts, analysts, and agents—to tell us, in their own voices, why they love the game and how they&’re shaping its future. Meet Dallas Stars&’ winger Andrew Cogliano, who captivated the hockey world by playing 830 consecutive games, despite various injuries, and hear how hockey and his parents instilled in him the strong work ethic that made his streak possible. Learn about how Jeremy Rupke found his passion and created the popular website, How To Hockey, to help young hockey hopefuls who might not have money for professional lessons develop their on-ice skills and give them the confidence to achieve their dreams off the ice. Read about players like Jack Jablonski, who didn&’t let a life-changing spinal cord injury at age sixteen stop him from being a part of the game, and is now using his experience to raise awareness and funds for spinal cord injury research. From LGBTQ players like Jessica Platt who are breaking down barriers to the women such as Danièle Sauvageau who are breaking glass ceilings as coaches, refs, agents, and analysts, these are the everyday heroes who are using hockey to inspire change. Featuring incredible stories of comebacks, milestones, and friendship, Everyday Hockey Heroes, Volume II highlights the very best of hockey: the power it has to unite us to be the best we can be—for ourselves and for others.
Was one of the most unheralded captains of the Toronto Maple Leafs also one of the greatest players in the… history of hockey's most popular team? In telling his story of turmoil in Toronto's Ballard years (and with Don Cherry's Mississauga Ice Dogs), growing up in an environment filled with alcohol and alcoholism, and his own struggles and battles, Rick Vaive finally sets the record straight.In the storied history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, no player scored fifty goals in a season until Rick Vaive in 1981-82. He did it three years in a row (only two others have scored 50 since) before being unceremoniously stripped of his captaincy and traded out of town, and he did it for a promising team that was nonetheless largely stuck at the bottom of the standings. So why isn't his number 22 hanging from the rafters of the Leafs' rink and his name as revered in Leafs lore as Gilmour, Sundin and Clark? You could blame it on a team that lost far more than it won. You could blame Harold Ballard and his erratic ownership. You could blame the fans, the media...Rick Vaive doesn't blame anybody. Sometimes, life just doesn't go your way. He'd know. Growing up in a household plagued by alcoholism, the gifted young hockey player took shelter in the company of his grandmother and a blind and severely disabled uncle. Rick learned quickly that there are more valuable things in life than hockey. Even after his promising coaching career stopped dead when it ran into Don Cherry in Mississauga--one of the worst seasons in Ontario junior hockey history--he still doesn't point fingers. Life is too sweet for regrets, but learning that lesson can be one hell of a ride.
JOE MURPHY HAD IT ALL. In 1986, he became the first college-educated hockey player selected first overall in the NHL… entry draft. He won a Stanley Cup in Edmonton four years later. But since then, his life has taken a tragic turn, largely due to the untreated brain injuries he suffered as a player.Murphy’s life didn’t begin on a track that would lead to homelessness. He was smart, dedicated to hockey and was a key player for the Oilers, Red Wings and Blackhawks, among other teams. But one vicious body check changed his life forever. Despite being shaken by the hit, Murphy was cleared to return to the game. Soon after, his entire life seemed to change. Murphy became a journeyman, moving from team to team. Along the way, other NHLers said they noticed something different about him, too. Murphy wasn’t acting like himself and soon found himself out of the NHL entirely. Eventually, Murphy became homeless. In the spring of 2018, Murphy made his way to Kenora, Ontario, where he lived in the bush, spending his days outside a local convenience store, muttering to himself and taking handouts of food and drinks from passersby. The player who had once set the NHL aflame now slept by the side of the road in the unforgiving North. In Finding Murph, Rick Westhead traces the true story of Joe Murphy and examines the role of the NHL in the downward spiral of one of the league’s most promising players.
An in-depth look into the origins of how each NHL team was named, received their logo and design, with interviews… by those responsible. Written by those most knowledgeable, you'll learn why every hockey team to every play in the National Hockey League looks the way it does. Nothing unites or divides a random assortment of strangers quite like the hockey team for which they cheer. The passion they hold within them for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Boston Bruins allows them to look past any differences which would have otherwise disrupted a perfectly fine Thanksgiving dinner and channels it into a powerful, shared admiration for their team. We decorate our lives with their logos, stock our wardrobe with their jerseys, and, in some cases, even tattoo our bodies with their iconography and colors. They&’re so ingrained in our lives we don&’t even think to ask ourselves why Los Angeles celebrates royalty; why Buffalo cheers for not one, but two massive cavalry swords; or why the Broadway Blueshirts named themselves for a law enforcement agency in Texas (or why they even wear blue shirts, for that matter). All that and more is explored in Fabric of the Game, authored by two of the sports world&’s leading experts in team branding and design: Chris Creamer and Todd Radom. Tapping into their vast knowledge of the whys and hows, Creamer and Radom explore and share the origin stories behind these and more, talking directly to those involved in the decision processes and designs of the National Hockey League&’s team names, logos, and uniforms, pouring through historical accounts to find and deliver the answers to these questions. Learn more about the historied Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, as well as the lost but not forgotten Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques, all the way to the lesser-known Kansas City Scouts and Philadelphia Quakers. Whichever team you pledge allegiance, Fabric of the Game covers them in-depth with research and knowledge for any hockey fan to enjoy.
A hockey life like no other.A hockey book like no other.Scotty Bowman is recognized as the best coach in hockey… history, and one of the greatest coaches in all of sports. He won more games and more Stanley Cups than anyone else. Remarkably, despite all the changes in hockey, he coached at the very top for more than four decades, his first Cup win and his last an astonishing thirty-nine years apart. Yet perhaps most uniquely, different from anyone else who has ever lived or ever will again, he has experienced the best of hockey continuously since he was fourteen years old. With his precious standing room pass to the Montreal Forum, he saw "Rocket" Richard play at his peak every Saturday night. He saw Gordie Howe as a seventeen-year-old just starting out. He scouted Bobby Orr as a thirteen-year-old in Parry Sound, Ontario. He coached Guy Lafleur and Mario Lemieux. He coached against Wayne Gretzky. For the past decade, as an advisor for the Chicago Blackhawks, he has watched Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, and Connor McDavid. He has seen it all up close. Ken Dryden was a Hall-of-Fame goaltender with the Montreal Canadiens. His critically acclaimed and bestselling books have shaped the way we read and think about hockey. Now the player and coach who won five Stanley Cups together team up once again.In Scotty, Dryden has given his coach a new test: Tell us about all these players and teams you've seen, but imagine yourself as their coach. Tell us about their weaknesses, not just their strengths. Tell us how you would coach them and coach against them. And then choose the top eight teams of all time, match them up against one another in a playoff series, and, separating the near-great from the great, tell us who would win. And why.This book is about a life—a hockey life, a Canadian life, a life of achievement. It is Scotty Bowman in his natural element, behind the bench one more time.
True stories and hard-won lessons about a life of hockey, from a Stanley Cup champion and top analyst.As a child… growing up in Toronto, Nick Kypreos lived for hockey and dreamed of following in his idols&’ footsteps to play in the NHL. Hockey was an important part of the Kypreos household. It was largely through the game that his immigrant Greek parents acclimatized to their new lives in Canada, and from a young age &“Kyper&” proved he was more than good enough to move through the ranks. But he was never a top prospect—he didn&’t even attend the NHL draft when he became eligible. And yet, through dedication and constant improvement, he made it to the show. Kypreos built a career on his tireless work ethic and made a name for himself for always having a positive influence on team morale. A medium-weight fighter, he squared off with the league&’s toughest players, including Chris Simon, Joey Kocur, Tony Twist, and Scott Stevens—anything to give his team an edge. Ultimately, he was brought to the New York Rangers to help them win the Stanley Cup in 1994—their first in fifty-four years—with the legendary Mark Messier. And then he got to live his other dream: playing for his hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. When a concussion forced him to retire early, it changed his life. But the lessons he&’d learned on the ice over eight seasons helped him build a new career as a top hockey analyst and personality for Sportsnet. For twenty seasons he provided unique insight on the evolving game, and a player&’s perspective on the biggest discussions of the day. Revealing, fun, and brutally honest, Undrafted shows the challenges of being a pro player. It&’s a story of the resilience it takes to prove yourself every night, and how the right attitude can lead to the greatest success, not only in the arena, but in life.
An inspiring memoir that shows that anyone can achieve their dreams if they are willing to fight for them.In 1958,… Willie O'Ree was a lot like any other player toiling in the minors. He was good. Good enough to have been signed by the Boston Bruins. Just not quite good enough to play in the NHL.Until January 18 of that year. O'Ree was finally called up, and when he stepped out onto the ice against the Montreal Canadians, not only did he fulfil the childhood dream he shared with so many other Canadian kids, he did something that had never been done before. He broke hockey's colour barrier. Just as his hero, Jackie Robinson, had done for baseball.In that pioneering first NHL game, O'Ree proved that no one could stop him from being a hockey player. But he soon learned that he could never be just a hockey player. He would always be a black player, with all that entails. There were ugly name-calling and stick-swinging incidents, and nights when the Bruins had to be escorted to their bus by the police. But O'Ree never backed down. When he retired in 1979, he had played hundreds of games as a pro, and scored hundreds of goals, his boyhood dreams more than accomplished.In 2018, O'Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in recognition not only of that legacy, but of the way he has built on it in the decades since. He has been, for twenty years now, an NHL Executive and has helped the NHL Diversity program expose more than 40,000 boys and girls of diverse backgrounds to unique hockey experiences. Inspiring, frank, and shot through with the kind of understated courage and decency required to change the world, Willie is a story for anyone willing to persevere for a dream.
Fifty-seven incredible stories from hockey’s biggest names, greatest characters and unsung heroes Essential reading for every fan, Beauties is a… collection of the best stories that players tell each other. Grab a seat with TSN’s James Duthie as hockey’s finest relive highs, lows and hilarious moments on and off the ice from superstars, journeymen, coaches, referees, broadcasters, agents, and hockey moms and dads. In Beauties, you’ll find out: · How Sidney Crosby’s most unusual nickname came to be · How Steve Stamkos’s dad accidentally stole Steve Yzerman’s car · How Paul “Biznasty” Bissonette almost had the Arizona Coyotes kicked out of a Winnipeg hotel on game day · How Wayne Gretzky’s greatest one-liner may have turned around the Stanley Cup Final in 1985 · About the night that Hayley Wickenheiser went blind · Why the St. Louis Blues credit Laila Anderson, a brave young girl, for their Stanley Cup win · What Bobby Orr said the first time he saw Connor McDavid play at a rink in Toronto And more!
And faster than you could blink—not a second, but a fraction— Crosby shot the puck before Miller reacted. It slipped… through his pads and like that it was done, The country erupted—Canada had won!The Vancouver Olympics, 2010. Canada’s best hockey players battle Team USA for the Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey. The stakes are high, and the game starts off fast with both teams fighting for the puck. At the end of the second period, Canada is ahead 2-1 and the gold medal is within reach. Then, with minutes left in the third period, the US scores to tie the game. With millions of Canadians on the edge of their seats, the game goes into overtime and thirteen minutes in, Sidney Crosby shoots and scores. Sid the Kid and one of the greatest hockey teams ever assembled clinches the gold medal on home ice for Canada, the birthplace of hockey. The Golden Goal captures the energy and excitement of the game and celebrates the tenth anniversary of this iconic moment in Canadian history. Perfect for reading aloud and sharing with kids of all ages.
Hockey and multiculturalism are often noted as defining features of Canadian culture; yet, rarely are we forced to question the… relationship and tensions between these two social constructs. This book examines the growing significance of hockey in Canada’s South Asian communities. The Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi broadcast serves as an entry point for a broader consideration of South Asian experiences in hockey culture based on field work and interviews conducted with hockey players, parents, and coaches in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. This book seeks to inject more “color” into hockey’s historically white dominated narratives and representations by returning hockey culture to its multicultural roots. It encourages alternative and multiple narratives about hockey and cultural citizenship by asking which citizens are able to contribute to the webs of meaning that form the nation’s cultural fabric.
The gruffest man in hockey opens up about the challenges, the feuds, and the tragedies he's fought through.Brian Burke is… one of the biggest hockey personalities--no, personalities full-stop--in the media landscape. His brashness makes him a magnet for attention, and he does nothing to shy away from it. Most famous for advocating "pugnacity, truculence, testosterone, and belligerence" during his tenure at the helm of the Maple Leafs, Burke has lived and breathed hockey his whole life. He has been a player, an agent, a league executive, a scout, a Stanley Cup-winning GM, an Olympic GM, and a media analyst. He has worked with Pat Quinn, Gary Bettman, and an array of future Hall of Fame players. No one knows the game better, and no one commands more attention when they open up about it.But there is more to Brian Burke than hockey. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and an accomplished businessman with hard-earned lessons that comefrom highly scrutinized decisions made at the helm of multi-million-dollar companies. And despite his brusque persona on camera and in the boardroom, he is nevertheless a father with a story to tell. He lost his youngest son in a car accident, and has had to grapple with that grief, even in the glare of the spotlight. Many Canadians and hockey fans knew Brendan Burke's name already, because his father had become one of the country's most outspoken gay-rights advocates when Brendan came out in 2009.From someone whose grandmother told him never to start a fight, but never to run from one either, Burke's Law is an unforgettable account of old beefs and old friendships, scores settled and differences forgiven, and many lessons learned the hard way.
Meet Willie O'Ree—Hockey Hall of Famer and a trailblazer for diversity on and off the ice! On January 18, 1958,… Willie O'Ree made history as the first black player in the NHL when he suited up with the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens. O'Ree went on to play a total of 45 games with the Bruins, a remarkable achievement considering what he overcame to get there.In addition to dealing with racism, bigotry and name-calling, Willie lived with a secret disability: he was blind in one eye -- a fact he had to keep to himself, or he'd never play in the NHL. Thanks to his relentless positivity and love of the game, Willie's time with the Bruins was only one of his many achievements in hockey.The Scholastic Canada Biography series aims to introduce young readers to remarkable Canadians whose lives and contributions have shaped our country and led the way for others to follow in their footsteps. Meet Willie O'Ree is no exception. This wonderful book is a celebration of his life from childhood to playing career, to his later work as an ambassador for NHL diversity, and to his eventual induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.Written by award-winning author Elizabeth MacLeod, this portrait of Willie O'Ree couples simple yet compelling writing with full-colour, comic-flavoured illustrations by Mike Deas that help bring this fascinating story to life!
Hockey has had its share of bizarre tales over the years, but none compares to the fascinating story of the… California Golden Seals, a team that remains the benchmark for how not to run a sports franchise. From 1967 to 1978, a revolving door of players, apathetic owners, and ridiculous marketing decisions turned the Seals, originally based in Oakland, into hockey’s traveling circus. The team lost tons of money and games, cheated death more often than Evel Knievel, and left behind a long trail of broken dreams. Live seals were used as mascots, players wore skates that were painted white on an almost-daily basis, and draft picks were dealt away nonchalantly like cards at a poker game. One general manager was hauled in for questioning by mysterious men because he’d mismanaged a player contract, while one of the team’s goaltenders regularly spat tobacco juice at the feet of referees.The California Golden Seals examines the franchise’s entire mismanaged—but always interesting—history, from its ballyhooed beginnings as a minor-league champion in the 1960s to its steep slide into oblivion in the late 1970s after moving to Cleveland. Through a comprehensive season-by-season narrative and a section of definitive statistics, Currier brings to life the Seals’ entire history with lighthearted anecdotes, personal interviews, and statistics about hockey’s most infamous losing team.
Does hockey provide a better understanding of the differences between Canadian and Québécois nationalisms? Is there a fundamental relationship between… the hockey arena and the political arena? What have we lost as a society in abolishing the tie game? Are salaries in the NHL really that outrageous? Is hockey more art than sport? Should hockey players be banned from using performance-enhancing drugs at all costs? Do goalies suffer from angst? Does our national sport have its own mythology and metaphysics? Do hockey brawls reflect our true human nature more than we would care to admit? And what would it be like if the great philosophers were to face off on the ice? A team of philosophy and hockey buffs go deep with these fascinating questions and many others in this examination of a worshipped sport elevated to something akin to a cult. Accessibly written and peppered with humour, the essays in this book will charm specialists, sports fans, and everyone in between. Whether you're a fan of Richard, Gretzky, Crosby, Plato, Kant, or Kierkegaard, you're invited to be a spectator at this very special meeting of minds!
From the distinct and vibrant voice behind Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi comes the story of pursuing a dream and… defying the odds, reminding us all of hockey's power to unite.BoninoBoninoBonino!Ask a hockey fan if they have heard the wonderfully electric call of Nick Bonino's overtime-winning goal from the 2016 Stanley Cup Final and they will almost surely answer with a resounding yes! That's because video clips of the Hockey Night in Punjabi broadcast immediately went viral, amplifying the profile of Harnarayan Singh, the voice behind the call. Growing up in small-town Alberta, Harnarayan was like many other kids who dreamed about a life within the sanctum of the game they idolized. There was only one small difference--he didn't look like any of the other kids. And when he sat down on Saturday nights to tune in to Hockey Night in Canada with the rest of the nation, he couldn't ignore the fact that the broadcasters or analysts didn't look like him either. Undeterred, Harnarayan worked his way from calling imaginary hockey games with his plastic toy microphone as a child, to funding secret flights from Calgary to Toronto every weekend in the early days of Hockey Night in Punjabi, to making history as the first Sikh to broadcast an NHL game in English. Full of heart, humour, and bursting with personality (and maybe a few family prayers for Wayne Gretzky), One Game at a Time is the incredible and inspiring story of how Harnarayan Singh broke through the longstanding barriers and biases of the sport he loves. But more than that, Harnarayan blends his unabashed love of hockey with a refreshing and necessary positive message about what it means to be a Canadian in the world, making him one of the most influential ambassadors of the game today.
On the fortieth anniversary of the historic "Miracle on Ice," Mike Eruzione—the captain of the 1980 U.S Men’s Olympic Hockey… Team, who scored the winning goal—recounts his amazing career on ice, the legendary upset against the Soviets, and winning the gold medal.It is the greatest American underdog sports story ever told: how a team of college kids and unsigned amateurs, under the tutelage of legendary coach—and legendary taskmaster—Herb Brooks, beat the elite Soviet hockey team on their way to winning the gold medal at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. 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.
Contributors include Julian Ammirante (Laurentian University at Georgian), Jason Blake (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia), Robert Dennis (Queen's University), Jamie Dopp… (University of Victoria), Russell Field (University of Manitoba), Greg Gillespie (Brock University), Richard Harrison (Mount Royal College), Craig Hyatt (Brock University), Brian Kennedy (Pasadena City College), Karen E.H. Skinazi (University of Alberta), and Julie Stevens (Brock University).
Hockey in Syracuse retraces the history of the eight professional teams that have taken the ice in Syracuse in six… different leagues since 1930. Each team has its own colorful story, beginning with the Syracuse Stars of the International Hockey League. The "Twinklers" have the distinction of capturing the first Calder Cup ever awarded. Other teams included the Warriors (1951-1954), the Braves (1962-1963), the Blazers (1967-1977), the Eagles (1974-1975), the Firebirds (1979-1980), and the Hornets (1980-1981). The present-day Crunch brought hockey back in 1994 and have provided Syracuse fans with thrills on theice ever since. Salt City teams have won four playoffchampionships and have set several all-time professional hockey records that still stand today. Hockey Hall of Famers from these teams include Keith "Bingo" Allen, Gord Drillon, Phil Esposito, Syd Howe, and Dave "Sweeney" Schriner. Syracuse truly has a rich hockey heritage.
In the 1950s, crowds that equaled half the city of Troy's population filled the newly constructed 3,900-seat Hobart Arena to… watch the area's first hockey team, the Troy Bruins, take the ice. In the 1960s and 1970s, fans packed one of hockey's great "barns," Hara Arena, to watch the Dayton Gems become one of the more well-known and successful franchises in all of professional hockey. In the 1990s and 2000s, it was the Dayton Bombers that reignited the area's love for hockey. Hockey in Dayton tells the story of the teams, players, people, and events that have permanently frozen hockey's place in the history of Dayton area sports.