Hockey Biographies
99 Gretzky: His Game, His Story by Al Strachan
Best Quote: “In the earlier stages of his career, before Gretzky became an elder statesman, opponents did not take a run at him for two reasons. One was Dave Semenko; the other was Marty McSorley”
Summary: No other sports reporter had access to the Great One like Al Strachan. His writings on #99 come from years of conversations that ranged from formal interviews to chatting it up over a couple beers. Strachan uses these conversations to paint the picture of #99s relationship to the game of hockey, and how #99 was not only the greatest player on the ice, but had more impact on the game off the ice than any other player. The modern NHL, with teams throughout North America can thank Gretzky for setting the conditions with his mind-blowing statistics and the celebrity that came with it. His move to L.A. paved the way for expansion into the American South. One of the more interesting aspects the author describes is how #99 understood from an early age the burden he would carry throughout his lifetime as an ambassador of the game. #99 never shied away from the public, and carried himself with dignity, even when he had personal confrontations with various coaches and front offices.
Father Bauer and the Great Experiment: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey by Greg Oliver and Jim Gregory
Best Quote: “There were many things that we wanted to do . . . and maybe part of that was Father Bauer’s idea that you can get more out of life than if you’re simply a hockey player.”
Summary: A biography of Father Bauer, the man who built Canadian National Hockey. Before NHL and other professional hockey players were allowed to compete in international tournaments including the Olympics, the Canadian National Team was led by Father Bauer. But more than a hockey coach, Father Bauer stressed hockey as a means and ways for young men to develop into a more holistic person. Bauer stressed education, spiritual development, and clean but still hard hitting hockey. Bauer’s success isn’t judged by the number of championship trophies, but rather by the lives his players went on to live when hockey was no longer central to their being.
Herb Brooks: The Inside Story of a Hockey Mastermind by John Gilbert
Best Quote: “having the best play the best can accelerate the development of a small group, but it also leads to self-fulfilling prophecy in which merely identifying elite players can be mistaken for developing them.”
A nice biography of Herb Brooks, who although famous for coaching the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team to Olympic Gold was brilliant in his other coaching endeavors. Brooks turned around high school teams, the University of Minnesota Hockey Team, coached reasonably well in Europe, and had a winning record as coach of the New York Rangers (a team that played in the same Division of the NY Islanders during their dynasty years). Brooks was a leader and an innovator, and a true champion of USA Hockey
The Lives of Conn Smythe: From the Battlefield to Maple Leaf Gardens by Kelly McParland
Best Quote: “He saw the battlefield and hockey rink as symbiotic: both depended for success on shared habits and attitudes. Hockey players needed to play as a team, be constantly vigilant, but ready to attack on all fronts.”
The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player of the NHL playoffs. This fantastic book is a biography of Conn Smythe where one can learn about his service to his nation in the military and in its national sport. During his service in the First World War, Smythe was present at four of the major battles of the war including Ypres, Vimy, the Somme, and Passchendaele. He would volunteer again in WWII, landing at Normandy (albeit not on D-Day). His WWII service was cut short when he was wounded two weeks after landing in France. On the hockey front, Smythe was paramount in the rise and development of the National Hockey League. He was the original owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and brought them into the modern era of hockey.
Larionov by Igor Larionov
Best Quote: “Playing as a unit means the pass is your language”
Summary: A short autobiography by one of the greatest hockey players to emerge from the Soviet Union and find his way to the NHL. The book provides some great insights into the day-to-day life of a hockey player in the Soviet Union. Larionov describes how Soviet hockey separated itself from North American hockey, while also finding room for criticism of the Soviet way. Indeed, Larionov made a name for himself through open criticism of Coach Tikhonov. Larionov tells the reader that when he left to play in North America, he wasn’t so much fleeing Soviet hockey, but rather fleeing Tikhonov himself. Moreover, Larionov describes the spartan conditions that athletes had to endure, from military style barracks to the isolation of players from their families. Winning became an expectation and not an accomplishment in the Soviet system, which had the effect of taking joy out of the game.
Grant Fuhr: The Story of a Hockey Legend by Grant Fuhr and Bruce Dowbiggin
Best Quote: “Winning the first championship is hard, harder the second year because everybody wants to beat the defending champions, you play 82 playoff games, then the real playoffs begin”
Summary: Grant Fuhr, the fist black goaltender in the NHL tells his story on what it was like playing goal in the NHL for one of the greatest teams ever assembled. Fuhr structures the book around ten critical games from his legendary career, but expands to include his complete life story from the time he was adopted as a young child in Alberta, through his rise in the ranks of junior hockey to his historic NHL career that included five Stanley Cups. Important throughout is understanding that Fuhr’s rise in the NHL is of historic significance, as the first black goaltender in the NHL, and first black player to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. The book also discusses the personal demons Fuhr battles throughout his playing career, which led to his suspension in 1990 for cocaine abuse (the suspension came after he had become clean and sober). Fuhr’s statistics don’t raise him to a level of goaltenders who came before or afterwards, but in an era of high octane offenses, Fuhr understood his assignment was to win games, and Fuhr came up big when the games meant the most.
Ken Morrow: Miracle Gold, Four Stanley Cups, and Lifetime of Islanders Hockey by Ken Morrow
Best Quote: “Just because you become captain doesn’t mean you have to change. Sometimes people make the mistake of trying to change. But the reason you were chosen is the person you are. Be yourself.”
Summary: Ken Morrow is perhaps the most consistent and reliable defenseman from the 1980 U.S. Hockey team and from the 1980-1983 New York Islanders Stanley Cup Dynasty run. The title of the book comes from Kenny Morrow becoming the first player to win a Stanely Cup and Olympic Gold Medal in the same year, a feat he accomplished in his rookie season. The book walks the reader through Morrow’s childhood in Flint, Michigan to his time playing NCAA hockey at Bowling Green, through his time with the U.S. Olympic Team, and his career with the New York Islanders. Morrow’s themes are less tales of the locker room and inside gossip, and more focused on what it took to achieve his personal and team accomplishments.
Playing With Fire by Theoren Fleury
Best Quote: “I remembered being at an AA meeting in Malibu on a Sunday morning just a few months earlier. A guy with sixteen years of sobriety got up and said eight words—“You are only as sick as your secrets”—and then left the podium.”
Summary: This book is a raw but honest autobiography. More than discussing his hockey career, Theo Fleury takes the time to discuss the abuse he experienced as a youth hockey player and his battles with substance abuse over the course of his playing career. In the former, Fleury describes what Graham James did to him (and his friend and NHL player Ray Sheppard). Fleury held enormous talent, and earned his way into the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup in his rookie year in Calgary. Fleury discusses his NHL playing years, and his consistent use of alcohol and drugs during that time; strangely enough, the way he describes his substance abuse and his on ice play, he performed better when he was using. This substance abuse did have a dark side, costing the author relationships, millions of dollars, and years of absence from the league. The bright side is that Fleury was able to turn his life around, through a long and slow recovery. The book stands out as it exposed that darker side not only of professional sports, but on junior or youth hockey as well.
Lou Vairo: The Godfather of US Hockey by Lou Vairo and Michael McKinley
Best Quote: “I don’t want a general handyman to build my home. Why would you want a general handyman type player to build your team? I have players who are great on the attack, and I have great defensemen. So do you want to build a team of highly skilled specialists or a team of general handymen?”
Summary: An autobiography by one of the key architects of USA hockey over the past 40 years. Vairo takes the reader on a journey through his hockey career which includes trips to the Soviet Union where he befriended Anatoli Tarasov, the godfather of Soviet hockey. Vairo used this relationship to learn, and to take ideas from the Soviet system and incorporate them into his teams and organizations. This book is a course on how to learn from the best and from those who come before you, and from those around you. In addition to Tarasov, Vairo took many lessons from Coach Fred Shero, the man who himself studied Soviet hockey and guided the Flyers to consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1970s.
Shero: The Man Behind the System by Fred Shero
Best Quote: “Sports has to be fun, even at the professional level, life as an athlete is brief, if you can't have fun while playing the sport, what good is it?”
Summary: A short book where Fred Shero, the architect of the tow-time Stanley Cup Champion, 1970s Flyers. Where about half the book focuses on his childhood and upbringing, Shero does share with the reader his experiences learning the game of hockey, in particular his trips to the Soviet Union and long discussions with Anatoli Tarasov. Shero’s passion for the game of hockey is clear through his writing, as is his ability to learn about the game from multiple angles, including international coaching styles, which were generally looked down upon in North America at the time. The book was published in 1975, just as the Flyers completed their back-to-back championship runs, thus the book can feel incomplete (no mention of the famous 1976 Super Series game against the Soviets, and nothing on his time as head coach of the New York Rangers).
Earned by Chris Pronger
Best Quote: “That’s when it clicked. These guys weren’t gods. They were human. Better than me, sure. More experienced, absolutely. But the gap? It wasn’t the Grand Canyon I’d built up in my head. It was jumpable.”
Summary: Hall of Fame Defenseman Chris Pronger tells his story from the time he was a junior to his culmination in winning a Stanley Cup and entering the Hockey Hall of Fame. Pronger describes how he gained confidence as a player, how he made commitments to himself in how he would prepare his mind and body for competition at the highest levels.
Perhaps the best insight in this book is Pronger’s realization that everyone must have standards distinct from preferences. To be the best, to win, are goals, but standards are a way of living that you don’t sacrifice for immediate satisfaction.
All Roads Home: A Life On and Off the Ice by Brian Trottier
Best Quote: “You can always come home.” -Brian Trottier’s Father
Summary: Brian Trottier is perhaps one of the more underrated great players of his time. He is recognized as a Hall of Fame Player (inducted in 1997), one who earned six Stanley Cup Rings as a player, played in seven finals, and earned another ring as an assistant coach. During his time as an Islander, he earned the Calder, Art Ross, Conn Smythe, and King Clancey trophies. After retiring following his stint with the Penguins, he totaled 1,425 career points. His autobiography shares with the reader his time growing up in rural Saskatchewan, the value he places on family, and what he learned that led him to the hockey career he experienced. Trottier describes some of the relationships he built over the years through hockey, particularly his relationship with Tiger Williams, a fellow player who helped keep Trottier’s rising career on track.
Home and Away by Mats Sundin
Best Quote: Unlucky bounces happen in hockey all the time. A good team needs to control the game so that the unlucky bounces don’t decide your fate for you.
Summary: This book spans the life and career of Mats Sundin, from his childhood growing up in Sweden to his career in the NHL, most of which was spent as a member and captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sundin would be the first overall draft pick in 1989, and as such he was the first European picked at #1. He began his career with the Quebec Nordiques, and would later spend 13 years with the Leafs, 11 as the captain following the departure of Wendall Clark. Throughout his book, Sundin describes some famous personalities he came across to include Ed Belfour, Alexander Mogilny, Curtis Joseph, Gary Roberts, and famous fighter Tie Domi. Sundin further tells us about his relationship with coaches Pat Burns and Pat Quinn.
My Last Fight: The True Story of a Hockey Rock Star by Darren McCarty
Best Quote: “I have faith that my life will eventually work out, as long as I continue to fight against my addiction. I know I can't give in because this disease has fatal consequences. That's why this is my last fight, and why it's the most important fight I have ever had.”
Summary: The book chronicles Darren McCarty’s 15-year NHL career as a member of the famous “Grind Line” of the Detroit Red Wings. The book, while discussing memorable moments such has his revenge against Claude Lemieux and his Stanley Cup clinching goal in 1997, focuses more on his struggles and battles off the ice. These include battles with alcoholism, substance abuse, multi-million dollar bankruptcy, toxic divorces, and the devastating death of his father. It’s an honest book where McCarty takes responsibility for the choices he made, and provides a nice look behind the scenes of the 1990s and 2000s Red Wings.
Tough Guy: My Life on the Edge by Bob Probert with Kirstie McLellan Day
Best Quote: "Don't cry, be tough."
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Shift Work by Tie Domi
Best Quote: “Playing other sports—and believe me, I played every sport I could—made me a better hockey player.”
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Over the Boards: Lessons from the Ice by Hayley Wickenheiser
Best Quote: “"I didn't want to be the best girl on the ice. I just wanted to be the best player on the ice, period.”
Summary: Written by someone who is often considered the best woman to ever play hockey. Wickenheiser tells her story from her youth spent in skating in a backyard rink in Saskatchewan and dressing in boiler rooms due to the dearth of women’s locker rooms at local rinks and her capture of multiple Olympic Gold Medals, and her transition into a medical career. These experiences, along with the challenge of playing in men’s professional leagues provided Wickenheiser physical and mental strength to rise to the top of the Women’s Hockey World. Within the book, Haley provides a handbook of sorts to achieve success. She discusses the value of failing, as her and her team did in the 1998 Olympics, and how that failure can teach lessons about one’s self. Haley then talks about her leadership role on Team Canada, and what she needed to do to push her teammates to higher levels of performance. Finally, as she transitions to a life in medicine, she discusses the parallels between sports and medicine. Example of the latter include rapid decision making under pressure, and the necessity for emotional control in critical moments.
As Fast As Her: Dream Big, Break Barriers, Achieve Success by Kendall Coyne
Best Quote: "People love to tell you what you can’t do based on what they can see. They saw my height, but they couldn't see my motor, my work ethic, or my speed. Never let someone else’s tape measure define your potential."
Summary: The fastest woman to ever lace up a pair of hockey skates uses her performance in the 2019 NHL All-Star Skills Competition as a backdrop to tell her life story. The book is motivational, and Coyne uses her stature (5’2”) as a way to document her ability to overcome adversity. She was able to use what is perceived as a weakness as a strength, leading to a hockey career where she dominated the college ranks, and earned an Olympic Gold Medal at PyeongChang in 2018. The structure of the book lends itself more towards young readers looking for inspiration from a generational athlete, with the ultimate lesson that one must capitalize on the opportunities one is given.
Dreamer: My Life on the Edge by Nazem Kadri
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Hammered: The Fight of My Life by Dave Schultz
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