Hilarious and touching personal stories of being great in the shadow of greatness, with a foreword by Wayne Gretzky.Did you ever wonder what it would be like to have hockey legend Gordie Howe as your dad? If you're like thousands of Canadians who grew up in the 1960s and '70s, you need look no further than Mark Howe's funny, intimate account of being a Howe.As a boy, Mark played ball hockey with the kids of other Detroit Red Wings on the stairs of the Olymp...

Legendary Canadien and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Larry Robinson takes readers rink-side in this highly anticipated and poignantly told memoir.Larry Robinson spent 20 seasons playing in the NHL -- seventeen with the Montreal Canadiens and retiring from the game after his final 3 seasons with the LA Kings. His great size gave his teams an incredible presence on the blue line and a tremendous defender in front of their net. But he was more than just big. He was agil...

From his start as an owner in the World Hockey Association at the age of 28 (“slim and none” was a Boston sportswriter’s assessment of Howard’s chances when he was first awarded the New England Whalers franchise), to winning the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins and then on to Hollywood success, sports entrepreneur and film producer Howard Baldwin recounts his spirited and hugely entertaining life story.Howard Baldwin has lived his life according to his beli...

Hockey legend Gordie Howe once said there were two superstars in the Hull family: Bobby, the Golden Jet and one of the greatest players ever to tie up a pair of skates, and his brother Dennis, who had a solid career with the Chicago Blackhawks, and is now one of the most sought-after public speakers in North America. In The Third Best Hull. Dennis Hull outlines his life in hockey with humorous anecdotes, insights, and stories. Not just another sports autobiography, this book provides insig...

The life and times of the eight-time Stanley Cup winnerWhen Boston coach Lynn Patrick was asked who he’d pick between Rocket Richard or Gordie Howe he answered, “Neither! I’ll take Red Kelly!” The only player to have won eight Stanley Cups without playing for Montreal, Red began his life in hockey on the cedar swamps near Port Dover, Ontario, and went on to win accolades and championships as a Detroit Red Wing and Toronto Maple Leaf.Go back in time...

Jim Harrison grew up on the prairies, played Junior in Saskatchewan, and pro with the Bruins, Leafs, Hawks, and Oilers. Three years before a former teammate equaled the mark, Harrison set one of the most enduring and seemingly unreachable records in professional hockey with three goals and seven helpers on January 30, 1973. And almost nobody remembers.This is Harrison’s story: the games he played, the agent who stole from him, the woman he mourned, the fights he fought, and the friends he ...

A fresh, analytical, and entertaining take on hockey’s tough guysIn professional hockey, enforcers are often as popular with fans as the stars who cash the big paycheques. Called upon to duke it out with a fellow troublemaker, or to shadow (and bruise) an opponent’s top scorer, these men get the crowds out of their seats, the sports-radio shows buzzing, and the TV audience spilling their beers in excitement. Don’t Call Me Goon gives the mayhem-makers their...

NHL legend Pierre Pilote brings readers rinkside in this compelling biography from the defensive great himself. The longtime Chicago Blackhawks captain of the 1960s tells his story in this no-holds-barred tale that mimics his famously rough-and-tumble playing style. From his upbringing in northern Quebec in which he played in a Monday night beer league, to captain of the Blackhawks, his captivating story of success has it all. Any sports fan will enjoy the stories of Pilote teaming up with...

The National Hockey League saw the birth of a new dynasty in 1980. The New York Islanders had been an expansion franchise in 1972 in the New York City suburbs of Long Island. For years they played in the long shadow of the big-city New York Rangers and were considered the league’s laughingstock during their first season. Miraculously, eight years later, they were champions. Despite their mercurial rise in the 1970s’-which included a first-place overall finish in the 1978-79 season’-the Isl...

A tribute to the larger than life story of a hockey icon and hero.The hockey world mourned when Pat Quinn died in November 2014.Tough guys sobbed. Networks carried montages of Quinn's rugged hits, his steely-eyed glare, and his famous victories. Quinn made a few enemies over the years, but there was no one who didn't respect the tough working-class kid who had fought his way to the very top of the hockey world.He had butted heads with superstars, with management, and w...

Hockey is the lens through which we see our lives—how we measure right and wrong, how we understand our hopes and fears. So it was for Dave Bidini in 1974, the last year Dave Keon played in Toronto. In a new grade in a new school, Bidini found himself the victim of a bully—a depredation he could understand only by thinking about what the Leafs dauntless captain went through game after game.Throughout his twenty-two-year career, Keon was only in one hockey fight, in his last game as...

Whether wearing his Edmonton oil-drop, the black and silver colours of L.A., or the famous Rangers sweater from New York, all hockey fans agree that Wayne Gretzky was the best hockey player of all time. His point totals, his puck control, and the manner in which he conducted himself both on and off the ice reflected the very best of the game.You can't talk about Gretzky without talking about his records and achievements: 50 goals in just 39 games, 9 Hart Trophies, 10 Art Ross Trophi...