Title/Author:
“Icing on the Plains:
The Rough Ride of Kansas City’s NHL Scouts” by Troy Treasure
Tags:
Ice Hockey,
professional, Scouts, management, history
Publish date:
November 8, 2018
Length:
278 pages
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very
good)
Review:
Continuing its expansion into new
cities and territories, in 1974 the NHL expanded by two teams placing them in
Washington, DC and Kansas City. While the Capitals have enjoyed success in
Washington, including a Stanley Cup championship in 2018, the same couldn’t be
said for their expansion brethren. The
Kansas City Scouts lasted just two seasons in that city before being sold to a
group in Denver who moved them there.
The two seasons in Kansas City are the subject of this well-researched,
fast-reading book by Troy Treasure.
Treasure starts out by giving the
reader a rundown of the history of professional sports in Kansas City up to the
point where the NHL awards a franchise to a group of investors known as Kansas
City Hockey Associates. Right from the
start, the franchise was plagued with problems – their original choice for a
team name, the Mo-Hawks, was rejected as it was believed to be too close to the
same as the Chicago Blackhawks. Arena issues almost kept the franchise from
being awarded until the Kemper Arena was approved for construction. Their cash
flow, tenuous at the start, would continue to be an issue as the team suffered
from poor performance on both the ice and the turnstiles.
There are many colorful stories
about important people in the two years of the Scouts. The reader will get to
learn more about people like the first coach and general manager of the Scouts,
Bep Guidolin and Sid Abel respectively.
Many Scouts players are profiled throughout the book, including some
colorful characters such as Steve Durbano and the most successful player
drafted by the team, Wilf Paiment. The story of his parents arriving at games
in what could best be described as colorful clothing is one of the better
stories involving players.
Something present in this book that
is not common in many books about specific teams is player profiles are written
for players on other teams. While many of these are interesting and fans of
other teams may enjoy them, these interrupted the flow of the reading about the
Scouts. The bulk of the material written
were recaps, stories and issued affecting the Scouts and even just through
these, fans who followed hockey during this time, whether they were fans of the
Scouts or not, will enjoy reliving some memories.
However, those memories were not
great for the Scouts as they suffered through what many expansion teams went
through in their early years at the time when there were very few quality
players available through the expansion draft.
The Scouts did set a dubious record near the end of their second season
by playing 25 consecutive games without a victory, a record that has since been
broken. But that inglorious achievement is a proper reflection of the struggles
of the team that was mercifully allowed to move to Denver. While the franchise
had much of the same struggles in Colorado as the Rockies and in their early
years after relocating yet again in New Jersey, those bad times didn’t last
forever as the New Jersey Devils, winning three Stanley Cups in a nine year
period in the mid to late 90’s and early 2000s.
While it was nice to finally see the franchise enjoy some success in New Jersey, this book was also a nice tribute to the rough but colorful beginning of the franchise that hockey fans of this time period will be sure to enjoy.
I wish to thank Mr. Treasure for
providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
Paperback
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