Review of "All Roads Home"

 Those of a certain age will certainly remember the New York Islanders when they won 4 consecutive Stanley Cups and became one of the great dynasties in hockey history.  A key member of those teams was Bryan Trottier and his story is told in this memoir.  Here is my review of "All Roads Home."

Title/Author:

“All Roads Home: A Life On and Off the Ice” written by Bryan Trottier and Steven Brunt, and narrated by Shelden Elter

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (Very good)

Review: As a member of the New York Islanders in the early 1980’s, Bryan Trottier was a key member of their teams who won four consecutive Stanley Cups.  He won two more in the early 1990’s as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and one more in 2001 as an assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche.  He was named as one of the 100 greatest NHL players during the league’s centennial anniversary in 2017 and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.  However, his family member are never far from his mind and this memoir show what family means to him.

Throughout the book, it is clear to the reader or listener that Trottier is very much a positive person and that family is most important in his life.  He talks lovingly about all of his children and how they are living successful lives.  Even though he was divorced twice, there is never a bitter or mean word said about either of ex-wives.  His tributes to his parents, both during their lives and at their deaths, are very touching.  It was quite different to read such a memoir.

It was also clear he was proud of his Indigenous heritage.  Many others looked to him for inspiration and while he was not outspoken about the struggles of his people, he would make them proud and never forgot that he was representing them.

This positivity is not limited to family.  No matter what part of his hockey career he talks about – junior hockey, his time with the Islanders and Penguins, his coaching in the AHL and in Colorado and even as head coach of the New York Rangers (a job he held less than one full season) he NEVER talked in the negative.  The last job was the one that really surprise me in how he did not have one iota of bitterness toward the team or its GM Glen Sather.  It’s a consistent theme through the book – Trottier was very grateful for all of his opportunities

Of course, the best passages are about his time with the Islanders and his roommate on those teams, another Hall of Fame player, Mike Bossy.  It was fun to listen to the stories about the back and forth between these two all time greats and just as great to hear the description of their play on the ice.  Having the good fortune to have seen these two and their team produce one of hockey’s greatest dynasties was a treat and listening to this audio book was almost as good.

Link: All Roads Home: A Life On and Off the Ice: Trottier, Bryan, Brunt, Stephen, Thistle, Jesse: 9780771084478: Amazon.com: Books

 

Review of "Blood Feud"

After a thrilling baseball postseason, capped off by a wonderful World Series played by two excellent teams, it is now time for two things.  One is to gear up for the winter games of basketball and hockey, and second is to catch back up on reading.  Both of those are accomplished in reading this book on the best sports rivalry in the late 1990's and early 2000's.  Here is my review of "Blood Feud."

Title/Author:

“Blood Feud: Detroit Red Wings V. Colorado Avalanche: The Inside Story of Pro Sports’ Nastiest and Best Rivalry of Its Era” by Adam Dater

Tags:

Ice Hockey, professional, rivalry, Red Wings, Avalanche

Publish date:

November 25, 2006

Length:

272 pages

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review:

Between 1996 and 2002, the best rivalry in professional sports was that between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche. They were the best two teams in hockey at that time, winning four Stanley Cups between them and facing off in some memorable games in both the regular season and the Stanley Cup playoffs.

This rivalry is captured in this book by Denver sports writer Adam Dater.  There are short biographies of key personnel from both sides, such as Colorado goaltender Patrick Roy and Detroit coach Scotty Bowman.  Memorable fights are relived such as the hit on Red Wing Kris Draper by Claude Lemieux, which was believed by many to be the opening salvo in this bitter feud. 

Dater covers these seasons fully, especially the Stanley Cup playoffs, mainly through stories about the teams in the major newspapers of the two cities. While a book on any good sports rivalry can be riveting, this book falls a bit short of that because of the frequent use of newspaper articles for the information. Most of the original material is not new insight into the rivalry but instead on short biographies on players and coaches for both teams.  The two previously mentioned, Roy and Bowman, make for good information to readers who may not be familiar with their stories, but hardcore fans may be left disappointed with the lack of depth.

Dater also injects personal notes into the book, including a passage on how he became a sports writer.  Again, this is a mixed bag.  Sometimes his personal interactions with players and coaches adds a nice touch, such as the story about Bowman, but other times this comes off as too much self-promotion. 

Because of the quality of the teams and the rivalry between them, I did finish this book and enjoyed reliving that era of hockey.  This book is for readers who are just looking for that type of experience, or if they are fans of either team.  Since Dater is a Denver resident, there is a slant toward the Avalanche, but overall the writing is fair to both teams and also fair in overall quality. 

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying links:

https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Feud-Colorado-Avalanche-Nastiest/dp/1589793196/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478357498&sr=8-1&keywords=blood+feud+detroit+red+wings

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blood-feud-adrian-dater/1111631083?ean=9781589793194

Review of "Save by Roy"

Now that the new hockey season is in full swing and the baseball season over, I was looking to see if there were any new hockey books for review on NetGalley.  I was happy to see this one available on Patrick Roy and the Colorado Avalanche.  Even though I was even happier to see this team eliminated in the playoffs last spring by my favorite team, the Minnesota Wild, I decided to pick it up and give it a try.  Here is my review of "Save by Roy."

Title/Author:

“Save by Roy: Patrick Roy and the Return of the Colorado Avalanche” by Terry Frei and Adrian Dater

Tags:

Hockey, professional Avalanche, history

Publish date:

November 5, 2014

Length:

320 pages

Rating: 

3 1/2 of 5 stars (good)

Review:

After a few poor seasons, the Colorado Avalanche, at one time one of the elite teams of the National Hockey League, decided to hire a rookie head coach who had no NHL coaching experience at the time.  He was well-known to the franchise, having led them to Stanley Cup championships in 1996 and 2001. Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy became Colorado’s head coach for the 2013-14 season. That season is chronicled in this book, a collaborative effort between Terri Frei and Adrian Dater of the Denver Post, both of whom have covered hockey for the newspaper.

After a brief recap of Roy’s career and life after hockey, the book really gets going when the press conference announcing Colorado’s hiring of Roy causes some stirring around the league.  How can someone who has never coached in the NHL lead a team that has struggled for the last four years?  Very well, thank you as the Avalanche won their division in 2013-14 and while they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Wild, the season was considered to be a success.     

The book covers the season by recapping every game, some much more in depth than others.  These recaps are not newspaper stories, but instead they will cover a new aspect or situation facing the team, an anecdote about the player who played the biggest role for the Avalanche in the game, or possibly a simple rehash of the results.  In between these stories there were sections that had player biographies that read like the biographies one will read in team media guides.  However, those were more complete in this book with much more information gleaned from the player being profiled.  Those were enjoyable reads and strategically placed at various spots during the season’s recap.

There was also one more feature of the book that was interspersed in various spots in the book, and that was notes “from the notebook of” one of the two authors. These were alternated between the two writers and these features were my favorite part of the book. These pieces were informative, opinionated and entertaining.  Whether the pages from a notebook were about the feud between Roy and St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, how Roy would use the media to his advantage or just commentary on the games, these sections were welcome breaks from the season discussion. Just like how players enjoy breaks in the schedule during a long season, I felt refreshed and ready to continue after reading these.

While the main topic of the book is the 2013-14 Avalanche season, this was also a good source of information to learn more about Roy and what makes him tick both during his playing days and as a coach. The style of the writing is what one would expect from two newspaper reporters, but the stories don’t read like a newspaper.  Put together, they weave a good picture of the team and what the future holds for them. It is a book that any hockey fan will enjoy reading, especially Avalanche fans. 

I wish to thank NetGalley for providing an advance review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Did I skim?

No

Pace of the book: 

Very good.  I felt some of the game summaries and stories started to run together when reading them one after another, but the breaks in them with either player biographies or the notebook chapters made reading the entire book fairly quick.

Do I recommend? 

Avalanche fans will certainly enjoy this recap of this comeback season in which Roy was named the NHL Coach of the Year.  All hockey fans would enjoy reading this in-depth book.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying links:

http://www.amazon.com/Save-Roy-Patrick-Colorado-Avalanche/dp/1630760005/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414631970&sr=1-1&keywords=save+by+roy  

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/save-by-roy-terry-frei/1119614934?ean=9781630760007