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 "Scotty"

Having renewed my subscription to Audible as my current working set-up allows access to listening to audiobooks, I added this one to my library upon renewal and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Scotty Bowman has led a charmed hockey life and this book is a perfect means to learn about it. Here is my review of "Scotty"

Title/Author: "Scotty: A Hockey Life Like No Other" written and narrated by Ken Dryden

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: Scotty Bowman is considered to be one of the all-time great coaches in all of team sports, with his teams winning nine Stanley Cups spanning a time frame of 29 years between the first (Montreal Canadiens, 1973) and the last (Detroit Red Wings, 2002).  He amassed over 1400 regular season wins during his remarkable career and his goalie for five of those championships, Ken Dryden, has written a book on Bowman's hockey life as a player, scout, coach and other duties.

"Other duties" include his current status as a special guest of the Tampa Bay Lightning to their home games.  He still attends as many games as he can, goes to his seat in the press box and still takes diligent notes on each game with the chance that he might be able to pass along information to the Lightning staff.  That is typical Bowman – always looking for anything that can help a hockey team improve. It is the impression a reader or listener will get after enjoying this book.

Dryden and Bowman will take the reader through decades of hockey history and the name dropping is impressive – Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky for starters as players he saw but did not coach.  As for those he coached on his championship teams in Montreal and Detroit, there are plenty of stories and observations of them, from Guy Lafluer to Mario Lemieux (even though he was the coach for Pittsburgh when they won the Cup in 1992, Bowman doesn't talk a lot about that team, only obtaining the job due to the death of Bob Johnson, so he calls them Johnson's team) to Steve Yzerman. 

The book isn't limited to Bowman's championships as he talks about his life before coaching when he was working for Sam Pollack with the Canadiens – later they would become a very successful coach-general manager tandem.  He also talks about his time coaching the St. Louis Blues as a brand new expansion team as well as the Buffalo Sabres, who were a talented team under Bowman who could never get over the hump.

One other feature of the book is a "tournament" in which Bowman selects the eight greatest teams he has seen in his lifetime and he breaks each one of them down to Dryden and then eliminates them one by one until there is one team left.  No spoilers here as one will have to read or listen to the book in order to find out which team that will be.

Dryden is an established hockey author and his work shines here.  At times, there is great detail and I believe that the audio version that I listened to will work better for those who both read physical books and listen to audio books.  But whichever version is chosen, one will enjoy this biography of a legendary hockey coach.

Links: Scotty by Ken Dryden | Audiobook | Audible.com

Review of "Most Valuable"

One would be hard pressed to find another player who is as important to the NHL as Sidney Crosby has been since he came into the league in 2005.  There might be other players with more talent or skill, but in terms of sheer importance to the game itself, this book makes a strong case that Crosby has played a significant role in the game.  Here is my review of "Most Valuable"

Title/Author:

“Most Valuable: How Sidney Crosby Became the Most Important Player in Hockey History” by Gare Joyce

Tags:

Ice Hockey, professional, biography, Penguins

Publish date:

October 29, 2019

Length:

320 pages

Rating: to

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Sidney Crosby has been the face of the National Hockey League (NHL) since his rookie season of 2005. While he may not have the statistical excellence of Wayne Gretzky or changed the play of a positing like Bobby Orr did for defensemen, but sports journalist Gare Joyce, who earlier had penned a biography of Crosby, makes the case that Crosby has transformed the entire league into a league that he may not have been able to succeed in.

If this sounds confusing, then one must read this book as Joyce covers all levels of hockey in which Crosby has excelled – pee wee hockey and the Canadian Junior league as well as his time at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Minnesota and of course his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the only NHL team for which he has played. As an American reader, I was appreciative of the description of Crosby’s time in juniors as it is very detailed about not only Crosby nearly single-handedly leading a less talented team to a championship but also the structure and the cut-throat nature of junior hockey.

Something else that was noted throughout the book is that Crosby is one of the very few players who have had successful hockey careers learning the game in a Maritime province – in Crosby’s case, he hails from Nova Scotia.  While it is well known that the Maritimes have not produced many hockey stars, it was interesting to learn that many consider coming from that area a handicap in one’s hockey career.

Joyce gives Crosby a lot of credit for leading the NHL away from the defensive style of hockey it played in the 1990’s and early 2000’s thanks to the success of the New Jersey Devils with their infamous neutral zone trap and into a game that emphasizes speed, puck handling and skill. The transformation into this type of game has been so successful that players like Connor McDavid and Nathan McKinnon, the latter whose skills are described in great detail in the book.  If there is a downside to reading the book, it would be that while Joyce writes about the hits that Crosby took in which he suffered debilitating concussions resulting in the loss of significant playing time, Joyce doesn’t write much about a possible solution or at least how the issues of concussions will be addressed.

Readers who are fans of Crosby or of today’s style of hockey played in the NHL will want to read this book.  Even if they are Crosby critics, and Joyce acknowledges them and doesn’t dismiss all of the criticisms, this book is one to read to learn why Crosby has to be considered one of the greatest players in the history of the game.

I wish to thank Viking Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

                                                                       

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)                                                                                                                                

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Most-Valuable-Hockeys-Greatest-Changed-ebook/dp/B07MFHCHZ2/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "Slim and None"

I have to admit, I love to read anything about hockey teams that no longer exist. One of these teams is the Hartford Whalers and when I found this memoir of the original owner of the Whalers, I knew that it had to have some great stories about the team. It certainly did and told the story of a very interesting person.  Here is my review of Howard Baldwin's autobiography "Slim and None.

Title/Author:

“Slim and None: My Wild Ride from the WHA to the NHL and All the Way to Hollywood” by Howard Baldwin with Steve Milton

Tags:

Ice hockey, professional, memoir, Whalers, Penguins, Flyers, owners

Publish date:

October 7, 2014

Length:

320 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Even though he was a good athlete through high school and college, Howard Baldwin never thought to have a sports career as a player – instead he wanted to own a team.  He achieved that dream at the young age of 28 as one of the partners of the New England Whalers of the fledgling World Hockey Association. How he got there and what he did with the team, as well as his future endeavors are captured in this wonder memoir that is entertaining, informative and full of great memories for hockey fans.

Baldwin doesn’t spend too much time talking about his childhood or his college days.  After his time in the Marines, he dives immediately into his sports career, becoming a ticket manager for the expansion Philadelphia Flyers in 1967. When Gary Davidson had an idea to create a rival hockey league in 1972, Baldwin convinced two other men to become the owners of the brand new New England Whalers franchise. The team was one of four WHA teams to join the NHL in 1979 as the Hartford Whalers – a merger (although for business reasons it was called an “expansion”) between the two leagues in which Baldwin played a key role.

How Baldwin and the Whalers got there and their years in the NHL makes for great reading. How the team and the entire WHA league was able to make deals with players, negotiate rent for arena time and yet still provide excellent hockey is covered throughout the book. It is clear that Baldwin is very passionate about the Whalers and the city of Hartford even after he sold his shares in 1989 and the subsequent move of the franchise to Raleigh in 1996.

Life after the Whalers is discussed in depth as well in the same entertaining manner – Baldwin later moved to the West Coast after marrying his second wife Karen and was instrumental in making San Jose a viable NHL market. However, that lead to a very brief tenure as an owner of the Minnesota North Stars. He went from Minnesota to Pittsburgh and was able to celebrate the Penguins’ 1992 Stanley Cup championship with them.  He also went on to become a successful movie producer with his wife, the most notable of his films being the hockey movie “Mystery, Alaska.”

Hockey fans will love the stories of the WHA and some of the wisecracks Baldwin makes. One of my favorites came during the discussion of the final season of the WHA, when it finished with six teams, only four of which would join the NHL. Baldwin stated that “the NHL had its Original Six and the WHA would have its Final Six.”  His relationships with people like Jack Kelley, whom he hired from Boston University to become the first Whalers coach and GM, are told with reverence. It is clear that he feels that he should do right to people who help him or work for him and it is really no surprise he became such a successful team owner.

This was one of the few memoirs that I read in one sitting because I was riveted to the book’s hockey stories and Baldwin’s writing that was easy to read.  It was entertaining, insightful and a book that is highly recommended for hockey fans.  People who have fond memories of the Hartford Whalers will especially love this book.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying links:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LWFF3E0?keywords=slim%20and%20none&qid=1450748612&ref_=sr_1_1&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/slim-and-none-howard-baldwin/1119185311?ean=9781770893634

Review of "The Winter Classic"

Have you noticed that the biggest sporting event on New Year's Day is no longer one of the college football bowl games?   It is now a regular season hockey game, the NHL's Winter Classic.   This is a review of a book on this "new" New Year's Day tradition. 

Title/Author:

“The Winter Classic” by Russ Cohen and Michael Del Tufo

Tags:

Ice hockey, professional, New Years Day, Penguins, Sabres, Flyers, Bruins, Red Wings Blackhawks, Rangers

Published:

November 15, 2012

Length:

162 pages

Rating: 

2 1/2 of 5 stars (readable)

Review:

This book was okay but disappointing in several ways.  It contains too many editing errors.   I counted five typographical errors in the book.  The pictures that were included in the electronic version were negatives, not the photos.

It has most factual items correct and these were nicely done since the authors experienced them. However, a glaring mistake is one about the next Winter Classic in 2014.  It states that the game between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs will feature teams in different conferences.  This is incorrect.  The NHL is realigning and the teams will now be in the same conference.  I mention this because the book was written and published after the realignment was announced.

The book's structure makes it easy to follow.  For each Winter Classic game, there is a narrative about the venue, why it was chosen, the politicians and NHL officials talking about the location.  This is one section of the chapter.  Next are interviews with players about playing at such a site.  Then the recap of the game itself, a rundown of the rest of the season for both teams and what is coming next.   These make for an easy means of looking up information in the book.  However, I felt there was inconsistency with the writing style.  Sometimes more emphasis was placed on describing the venue, other times it was on the game itself.  I felt that this made reading the entire book challenging.   This wasn't aided when there were extra sections in the chapters for the 2011 and 2012 Winter Classics when HBO also was filming footage about the participating teams.  

My last disappointment with the book is that the authors barely acknowledge the other two outdoor games played in Canada, the Heritage Classic.  Yes the book is titled The Winter Classic.  But if the Heritage Classic games are going to be mentioned, give them the same respect as the Winter Classic games as well. 

Overall, I thought that while the book had its good points and entertaining moments, I felt that there was room for improvement and a more complete accounting of all outdoor NHL games to this point would have been better.  It isn’t a bad read – I did enjoy parts of the book – I just closed the book hoping for more.

Did I skim?

Yes.  I wasn’t interested in reading about the two times that HBO featured the two participating teams, as mentioned in the review. I did read some of the first chapter on this topic, when the Penguins and Capitals were on the show, but grew tired of it and skipped over the last few paragraphs of that chapter.  Then when the Flyers and Rangers were featured and the authors wrote about them, I skimmed really quickly through that portion as well.  I didn’t completely skip it in case there was something interesting to learn, but I didn’t read much of this section either. 

 

Did I learn something new?

Yes.   The reader will learn just how big the event has grown in the five years it has been in existence.  I also learned what some of the other side events take place other than just the hockey game, such as the skating rinks and fan festivals that are going on in the days leading up to the Classic.

Pace of the book: 

Good for the most part.  Again, I only felt like it dragged during the sections about HBO.   

Positives:

I did like learning about each venue and what extra attractions and activities they featured to engage fans and to make the experience fun for fans and players alike.   The authors experienced this for themselves and it showed as a reader can see the joy they had in participating in these events.

Negatives:

The worst of these have been mentioned in the review (typos, lack of information on Heritage Classic games, and the upcoming Detroit-Toronto Classic), so I will not rehash them here. 

Do I recommend? 

Yes.  Despite the number of stars, I do believe hockey fans will enjoy at least parts of this book.  For those who were interested in the HBO shows but didn’t get to see them, those chapters do a good job of detailing the contents of the show.    I would also recommend for those interested in purchasing this book to buy the paperback version as the pictures in the eBook were of poor quality.

Book Format Read:

EBook (Kindle)

Buying Links:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AG3A808/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img