Having a heat wave here in the Northeast United States heading into the Independence Day celebration and here is a review on ice hockey. But not just any hockey book - it is about the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans, the first team from the United States to win the Stanley Cup. Here is my review of a great book on that team, "When It Mattered Most" Also, want to wish a belated Canada Day to the good people in the nation where hockey is their sport.
Title/Author:
“When It Mattered
Most: The Forgotten Story of America’s First Stanley Cup Champions and the War To
End All Wars” by Kevin Ticen
Tags:
Ice Hockey, professional,
championship, history
Publish date:
April 2, 2019
Length:
217 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (outstanding)
Review:
Before the NHL was established as
the single professional hockey league in which the championship team would be
awarded the Stanley Cup, the trophy was given to the team who won a series that
matched the winner of the two different professional leagues in the early 20th
century, the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) and the National Hockey
Association (NHA), consisting of teams from the East such as the Montreal
Canadiens. That team faced the Seattle Metropolitans in the 1917 series to
determine the Stanley Cup winner. This
excellent book by Kevin Ticen
Because the “Mets”, as they were
also known as, won this championship more than 100 years ago, Ticen relied
heavily on newspaper accounts, league records, and other similar sources of information
for the book. He does a wonderful job
with these sources as the book reads like a great recap of the entire 1916-17
PCHA season with excellent information on not only the Metropolitans, but the
other three teams in the league – the Portland Rosebuds, Spokane Canaries and
Vancouver Millionaires. There are also brief snippets on other star players
from that era of hockey such as Newsy Malone.
Detailed game accounts are common
throughout the book and stories about the key players for Seattle, such as forward
Bernie Morris and goaltender Hap Holmes are included as well. Again, keeping in mind that there were no
direct interviews with any of these people makes the inclusion more impressive.
The person who is mentioned most throughout the book, however, is the Seattle
Coach, Pete Muldoon. Indeed, he became a
very popular figure in Seattle after the Metropolitans won the Cup and his legendary
status continued long after his death.
The book, like most other sports
books that cover a particular time period, had much about World War I as the
Metropolitans were enjoying their success on the ice while the United States
was being pulled into the Great War. Large
segments of text are included in the description of the Mets’ season as this
was by far the most important issue on the minds of many Americans and Canadians.
With the NHL awarding Seattle an
expansion team to begin play in 2021, this is a very timely book that hockey
fans and historians should read to learn about the history of Seattle hockey
and learn even more about the first American team to win the Stanley Cup.
Book Format Read:
Ebook
(Kindle)
Buying Links:
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