Review of "The Original Six"

Okay, back to sports books.  With the NHL playoffs in full swing, I am watching more hockey than I did for most of the regular season (despite my favorite team, the Minnesota Wild, getting eliminated).  Most hockey fans know who the Original Six teams are, but many may not know their history during that time frame.  This book is a good look back at that era. 

Title/Author:

“The Original Six: How the Canadiens, Bruins, Rangers, Blackhawks, Maple Leafs, and Red Wings Laid the Groundwork for Today’s National Hockey League” by Lew Freedman

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

From 1942 to 1967, the National Hockey League consisted of six teams – Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. While these six teams were not all part of the NHL when it was organized in 1917, these six were the franchises who were able to survive the chaos the league went through in World War II and created what many considered to be a golden age of hockey.  The history and most notable people for each team is chronicled in this book by Lew Freedman.

The format for each chapter is the same – the team’s history up to the 1966-67 season, stories about key players, front office staff and coaches during that time frame, and what the team has done since 1967.  That year is key because it was the year of the “Great Expansion” when the NHL doubled in size from 6 teams to 12.  If a player, coach or executive started their time with the team during the Original Six era but had most of his success after the Great Expansion, he will still warrant a mention in this book.

The depth of the stories depends on the star power of the person.  A player like Gordie Howe (Red Wings) or Maurice Richard (Canadiens) garnered a lot more ink in this book than someone like Camile Henry (Rangers) or Jimmy Thomson (Maple Leafs).  While that was to be expected, it was nice to see some not-so-well-known players get mentioned in this book. It’s especially nice to see this for readers like me to learn about these players who played for small salaries in a league that had limited exposure.

Each club in that era has a colorful history and Freeman does an admirable job of bringing that to life in this time of 32 NHL teams (although there were 30 at the time of the book’s publication in 2016.) Avid hockey fans like me always enjoy matchups of these teams and this book brings the colorful history of that era to life.

Link: Original Six: How the Canadiens, Bruins, Rangers, Blackhawks, Maple Leafs, and Red Wings Laid the Groundwork for Today's National Hockey League: Freedman, Lew: 9781613219492: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "Life in Two Worlds"

Knowing I would be in my car for a few hours when I drove to New Hampshire, I decided to download a book for the trip.  This one has been on my TBR for a while, so figuring it was time to take it off that pile, I listened to it and finished over the weekend trip.  Here is my review of Ted Nolan's memoir. 

 

Title/Author:

“Life in Two Worlds: A Coach’s Journey from the Reserve to the NHL and Back” by Ted Nolan with Meg Masters, narrated by James Malloch

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

In 1997, Ted Nolan was named the Jack Adams Award winner which goes to the Coach of the Year in the NHL.  He guided the Buffalo Sabres to a surprise division title and made it to the second round of that year’s playoffs.  But in the offseason, the team offered a contract that he (and everyone else) felt was an insult and he did not return to the team.  His story of his life in the NHL as both a player and a coach, as well as his life growing up in a First Nation reserve, is told in this great memoir narrated by James Malloch.

I usually prefer memoirs narrated by the author/subject, but in this case, Malloch gave a strong performance and while I knew this was not Nolan speaking, it certainly felt like it was Nolan describing not only the cruelty and racism (some subtle, some not so subtle) while playing or coaching hockey, but also of the pride he had in his heritage.  While this did include some well-known bad treatment of students at schools on reserves, this only strengthened his resolve to live his life the way his heritage taught him and to show that he and other indigenous people belonged in the world of hockey.

Nolan frequently mentions that it is important for those who have been affected by racism to tell their stories and it is just as important for those who haven’t been affected to listen. This was the biggest takeaway of the book for me, as he did this without the same type of stories that other activists share.  Instead, he blended this with his hockey career.  First with his playing days for the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (where he later coached after the NHL and was very happy with that job) and later the NHL Detroit Red Wings, then in his coaching career where he had two stints with the Sabres sandwiched around a stint with the New York Islanders, Nolan’s message never was far away. 

This was one of the better hockey memoirs that I have read or listened to, and I do recommend this for any hockey fan.  From outposts like Glens Falls, New York to the bright lights of cities like New York and Detroit, Ted Nolan (and his two sons who also played in the NHL) have brought pride and hockey schools to the First Nation in efforts to bring the game to underserved populations. 

Link: Amazon.com: Life in Two Worlds: A Coach's Journey from the Reserve to the NHL and Back (Audible Audio Edition): Ted Nolan, Meg Masters - contributor, James Malloch, Viking: Books

Review of "Turk"

As all book lovers know, an avid reader has many books that he or she has "meant" to read but it always seemed to be set aside.  This book fit that category for me and realizing that I had to soon download it or lose to the cloud forever, I downloaded it and it was a quick read, so I made the deadline.  Here is my review of "Turk"

Title/Author:

“Turk: One of the NHL’s Great Coaches from Summerside to Madison Square Garden” by Fred MacDonald with Glenda Jenkins

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review:

Gerard “Turk” Gallant could be what one calls a hockey “lifer.”  Between playing the game and coaching, he has been involved in the game for over 5 decades.  His life in hockey is captured in this book by Fred MacDonald.

Note that the last sentence stated the book is about his life in hockey. That makes up the bulk of this book.  Whether the chapters are about his youth and the hockey he was playing then, his time in junior hockey and the NHL (mainly with the Detroit Red Wings) or his coaching career, the book concentrates on his hockey life and little else.  While there is some material on his charitable work and golf tourney, there is very little material on his personal life.  I felt this was a shame, for not only would I have liked to learn more about Gallant the person, but one of the best chapters in the book is about how he met and courted his future wife, Pam.  The couple is still married to this day.

However, if a reader wants to learn more about Gallant as a player and coach (especially the latter), then this book contains a lot of good information. There isn’t great detail about either his playing time or coaching time but instead a summarization of how his seasons went, big highlights or what became of him after a release or trade during his playing days or his termination while a coach. The coaching sections, as one might expect given the title, are more plentiful in the book. This starts when he was a coach for junior hockey in his home province of Prince Edward Island to his time with the New York Rangers.  Again, nothing spectacular or detailed about these coaching jobs, but a decent recap of his time with each team.  This is especially true for his time with not only the Rangers, but also the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights.  His first season with the latter, which was also the franchise’s first season, was special in that not only did he win the Jack Adams trophy as the coach of the year (and he was a finalist for both the Panthers and Rangers) but he led the Golden Knights to the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals, the 4^th franchise to reach that far in their first season.

At 186 pages, this is a quick read and because it recapped Gallant’s interesting career in a summarization format, it isn’t one for a reader who knows Gallant’s accomplishments well.  But if a reader wants to see what makes Gallant one of the more accomplished coaches in the game today, then this book is one to read.

I wish to thank Acorn Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Amazon.com: Turk: One of the NHL's Great Coaches: From Summerside to Madison Square Garden: 9781773661155: MacDonald, Fred, Jenkins, Glenna: 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 "Nicklas Lidstrom" - final review of 2020

Rather than stating some obvious observations about 2020, I will just start this post with the thought that it was yet another year with some great sports books published. This blog will end 2020 with a review of a 2019 book that was okay, but considering the subject is one of the greatest hockey players in NHL history, it was a bit disappointing.  Here is my review of "Nicklas Lidstrom." 

 Title/Author:

“Nicklas Lidstrom: The Pursuit of Perfection" by Nicklas Lidstrom with Gunnar Nordstrom and Bob Duff

Tags:

Ice Hockey, professional, memoir, Red Wings, championship

Publish date:

October 1, 2019

Length:

288 pages

Rating:

3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review:

Nicklas Lidstrom is universally considered one of the greatest hockey players to lace up the skates.  Over a 20-year career with the Detroit Red Wings, his accomplishments include contributing to four Stanley Cup championships, seven Norris Trophies (awarded to the best defenseman in the NHL), 12 all-star selections and gold medals representing his native Sweden in the Olympics and World Championships.  With such an outstanding resume, one would think that a book about him would strive to be as good.  While this memoir/biography co-written with Gunnar Nordstrom and Bob Duff is engrossing at times, overall, it doesn't match his play on the ice.

The bulk of the book is a chronological study of his Red Wings career, with some text about his play in Sweden where the Red Wings couldn't believe their luck to find a defenseman with his skill set being under the radar of most scouts. This is mainly because at that time in the 1990's, there was still a misconception that European players couldn't excel in North America. Even though there were stars from Europe previous such Borje Salming (who is mentioned in the book), that mindset allowed Detroit scouts to draft Lidstrom in a lower round that really didn't reflect his greatness.

Because the book concentrates heavily into his Red Wings career, the reader will only gain minimal information on other aspects of Lidstrom's other experience and also his personal life.  The most that is covered is the last 10% of the book when his family headed back to Sweden after he retired from the Red Wings.  Even that isn't described in great detail – at least nothing close to his time in Detroit.

There is a LOT of praise for Lidstrom throughout the book and numerous quotes from many different people in the NHL.  Not only Detroit teammates, but coaches, general managers, fans – just about anyone who saw him play and would be willing to speak to the authors were quoted.  While there is no question he was worthy of praise, it was almost too much.  He was often called "perfect" as in the perfect player, the perfect person, and such.  About the only person who refuted this reputation was Lidstrom himself, who would often remember imperfections he would exhibit.  The best example of this was his memory of the last shot of game 7 in the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals that a Pittsburgh Penguins defender blocked and thereby denied the Red Wings a second straight championship.

Overall, this book is fine to read if one is a big fan of the Red Wings or Lidstrom.  However, if a reader wants to learn more about him outside of the Red Wings, there won't be a lot of material.  Decent book for a quick read. 

Book Format Read:

E-book (PDF)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Nicklas-Lidstrom-Fantastic-Gunnar-Nordstrom-ebook/dp/B07BB2Y4L5/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "City of Champions"

When I picked up this book from the publisher, I expected a collection of stories from the championships for Detroit teams.  It turned out to be something far different, and far better, than any type of book like that.  Here is my review of "City of Champions"

Title/Author:

“City of Champions: A History of Triumph and Defeat in Detroit" by Stefan Szymanski and Silke-Maria Weineck

Tags:

Baseball, football (American), basketball, ice hockey, boxing, Tigers, Red Wings, Lions, Pistons, race, social issues

Publish date:

October 13, 2020

Length:

416 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

Detroit has a very interesting and rich history, both in sports and in political, racial and social contexts. Some of it is very uplifting, some is very unflattering but all of it is worth discussing as these two authors do in this very informing and extensive book about the connection between the city's sports and its track record for various political and social issues.

The format of the book is the first clue that this will not be a typical sports book that mingles a few political or social issues into the discussion of what happened on the field and the athletes that accomplished those feats. The book goes in reverse chronological order, starting in 2017 with the opening of the new home for the Red Wings and Pistons and goes all the way back to the 18^th century when the city was settled.  Through each chapter the connection between a significant sporting event and the issues of the day in Detroit are covered completely and with impeccable research.

Selection of the events was a good cross between significant events in Detroit sports history. The Pistons' "Malice at the Palace" in 2004, the Lions' last playoff victory in 1970, the Tigers' 1945 pennant in the last year when "4Fs" were the majority of major league players and Joe Louis' victory over Max Schmeling in 1936 are just a few of the major sports events involving Detroit are covered.  They are complemented by events that shaped Detroit's image and explained how they tied in with the systemic racism and economic inequality that plagued the city.  The 1967 riots, the struggle for union workers despite the presence of a large union (that tied in nicely with a chapter on Red Wings' star Ted Lindsey) and the fate of the automobile industry are just a small sampling of those issues in which the research and writing are even better than the sports coverage.

For readers who want to get a good picture of how intertwined sports and social issues can be within a population, this is the best source for that kind of information that one can find. Whit it wasn't a topic for which I was seeking more material, it certainly was a book that I could call an education for history in both sports and the city of Detroit.

I wish to thank The New Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/City-Champions-History-Triumph-Detroit/dp/1620974428/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/city-of-champions-stefan-szymanski/1136204408?ean=9781620974421

Review of "Tough Guy"

When it comes to hockey, I am not one who is a big fan of fighting.  I believe it has its place, but I prefer my hockey games to be fight-free.  However, I do realize that enforcers have their place in the sport and often times they become one of the more popular players on their team.  Such was the case with Bob Probert during his time with the Detroit Red Wings and his book is his chance to tell his story the way he wanted it told.  While he wasn't completely done with the project when he died too soon in 2010, it was finished and fans of his should read this if they have not already done so.  Here is my review of "Tough Guy"

Title/Author:

“Tough Guy: My Life on the Edge” by Bob Probert with Kirstie McClellen Day

Tags:

Ice hockey, professional, memoir, Red Wings, Blackhawks

Publish date:

October 1, 2010

Length:

272 pages

Rating:

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Bob Probert was the type of hockey player called an enforcer. His game was more about intimidation, protecting his teammates and fighting. He played the game hard during his career with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks and lived life off the ice just as hard.  His memoir, written with hockey author Kirstie McClellen Day, was nearly complete when he suddenly died in the summer of 2010 from a heart attack.  Fortunately for hockey fans, the book was eventually finished and Probert’s story was told.

The book starts off on that fateful summer day when Bob was doing something he loved, boating on the lake with his wife Dani and her parents when he suffered that heart attack. Dani’s frantic cries really set the tone for Bob’s story as he was always making others scramble, whether it was Dani, teammates, Red Wings front office personnel or his lawyers.

His early life and hockey career isn’t much different than that of many other young Canadians who are looking for a path to the NHL through the Canadian junior leagues.  That he discovered he was going to need to use his fists to advance in the ranks was also not unusual as there are many players who do that as well.  What makes his story a little different is the twists and turns his life took once he made to the NHL with the Red Wings.

Here is where the book gets as crazy as Probert’s life. While he was very popular with Red Wings fans, he was in a constant state of trying to get more ice time.  While many enforcers have this issue as part of their career, what made more difficult for Probert was not only his injuries but also his penchant for alcohol and drugs off the ice.  He was in rehab, whether voluntary or mandated by either team officials, NHL officials or law enforcement, a total of 10 times. He was essentially deported from the US, as there was a long period where he could not play games with his team in Canada as he would not be allowed back into the US.  He gave Red Wings staff not only headaches but he also played hardball for contract negotiations, which eventually led him to become a free agent and sign with the Chicago Blackhawks where he ended his hockey career.

Probert writes the book in a manner and language that he is talking with the guys in either the locker room or at a bar in one of the many late nights he had during his career. While that lends an air of authenticity to his story, it also sounds immature and complaint-filled at times – which again, leads to its authenticity.  Probert wanted to write this to tell his version of what happened without the judgement that he felt would be shown from only reports of his issues with substance abuse and encounters with law enforcement.  On that front, he does a good job with a book that fans of the Red Wings or of Probert himself will enjoy.

                                                                       

Book Format Read:

E-book (PDF)                                                                                                                                   

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Tough-Guy-My-Life-Edge-ebook/dp/B0049P1LWS/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tough-guy-bob-probert/1102044117?ean=9781617493102  

Review of "Grim Reaper"

As a huge hockey fan, I am one who doesn't enjoy fighting in the game. I believe it has its place but I don't get as pumped up for a fight at a game as other fans.  That said, some of the better hockey memoirs/biographies I have read are about those players who make a living in the game with their fists.  This is another good book written by a player who was an enforcer, Stu Grimson.  Here is my review of "Grim Reaper"

Title/Author:

“The Grim Reaper: The Life and Career of a Reluctant Warrior” by Stu Grimson

Tags:

Ice Hockey, memoir, professional, Blackhawks, Red Wings, Ducks, Kings, Flames, Whalers, Predators

Publish date:

October 15, 2019

Length:

324 pages

Rating:

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

The life of a hockey player who is called an “enforcer”, a “fighter” or a “goon” is quite different than the life of other hockey players. They play fewer minutes, are asked to perform a duty in which they face great risk of injury, their careers can be much shorter than those of other players, they can play in relative anonymity and they also switch teams frequently.  Aside from a short career, this is pretty accurate for Stu Grimson who has written a very good memoir about his time as an enforcer.

Having read good books on other enforcers such as Bob Probert and Derek Boogardt, I picked this one up with high expectations and it did not disappoint.  It did not follow the usual format from youth to college or junior hockey to the pros to life after hockey. While all of these life cycle events are covered by Grimson with many great stories, the book does skip around at times, especially when he is discussing his life after hockey. 

Despite that, reading about important events in his life other than hockey was very enjoyable, something that usually isn’t the case with sports memoirs. His time working as an attorney for the NHL Players Association was very intriguing, especially when he was fired from the position by the person whom he helped attain the director position of the union. He also talks about meeting his birth parents (he and his sister were adopted) and the fact that his birth father was also a professional athlete (played football in the Canadian Football League) and became a lawyer after his playing days were over is just an amazing coincidence.

Readers who prefer to read about his hockey career will also be happy as he shares many stories of his fights on the ice, his trouble with rules during junior hockey and through it all, he always wondered if this was the best path to make a career in the sport. He repeatedly states at every stop in his professional career (there were many, as he played for seven different NHL teams, including two stints with the Anaheim Ducks) he states he would do whatever he needed to do in order to contribute to the success of his team.  From the descriptions of some of his actions, there was no reason to believe otherwise.

His description of fights, especially one in which Dave Brown broke the orbital bone of Grimson early in his career when he played on the Blackhawks. It was almost gruesome to read the details of not only the injury but how Brown threw the punches.  However, there was no hard feelings between the two players and Brown did show concern.  That is part of the code present among enforcers in the NHL and Grimson talks often about that and displays much respect for his fellow fighters who obey these unwritten rules.

Whether or not one enjoys fighting as part of the game, hockey fans should pick up this book and get a very good perspective into the life and mind of those players whose main job is not to score goals or keep the puck out of the net, but instead have to use their fists to provide value to their teams.

I wish to thank Penguin Random House Canada 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/gp/product/0735237247/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0735237247&linkCode=as2&tag=netg01-20