HOLIDAY READING: Our Annual Stocking-Stuffer Guide For The Hockey Fan – Toronto Sun

These are turbulent times in the world and the national past-time is no longer a convenient escape.

That’s reflected in some of the entries in Postmedia’s annual Christmas hockey book review. But chopping a hole in the ice and sticking our heads in won’t make the related issues go away.

There is still room for the people and events that made the game great and those who’ll bring us new stories to keep the faith. With all that in mind, here are some hockey-stocking stuffers

Over The Boards —

Lessons From The Ice

by Hayley Wickenheiser

Penguin Canada, 232 pages, $29.95

Wickenheiser recalls losing it after one game when Canadian women barely beat a weak Swedish side, berating shocked coaches and sluggish teammates, hurling her equipment everywhere until down to a sports bra and spandex.

But the rare tantrum was therapeutic for her and timely for a team that would soon win Olympic gold at Salt Lake City. This is filled with such anecdotes and advice that the highly accomplished Hall Of Famer culled from playing, becoming the first female NHL director of player development, as well as her M.D. studies and motherhood.

No One Wins Alone

by Mark Messier

Simon & Schuster, 396 pages

$39.99

Not the first book on Messier’s extraordinary life and times, but he definitely wears the ‘C’ in this one, recounting aspects of leadership that brought him to prominence amid the Oilers’ galaxy of stars and the only Cup the New York Rangers have won in 80 years.

There’s renewed interest in Mess, especially south of the border in a new broadcasting career — and perhaps this book is a peek at his plans to be an NHL exec.

Fighting My Way To The Top

by Shawn Thornton

with Dale Arnold

Triumph, 252 pages, $38.00

The blue-collar kid from Oshawa thought slamming opponents hard enough to create some goals and carve himself a spot on a pro team would be rewarding enough.

But as he travelled the minor league circuit, got an NHL break, won a couple of Cups and in civilian life became a team liaison after the Boston Marathon bombings and the Stoneman Douglas high school shootings in Florida, he found greater career purpose.

Game Misconduct — Hockey’s Toxic Culture And How To Fix It

by Evan F. Moore

and Jashvina Shah

Triumph, 256 pages, $38.00

Just perusing the chapters will make some uncomfortable — Racism, Sexism and Sexual Violence, Bullying, Hazing, Abuse, Ableism, Homophobia, Biphobia, Transphobia.

But that’s where this study wanted to shine a light, even before the most recent tales of the game’s troubled side, such as Kyle Beach, began emerging. The authors are to be commended for going down this road; now let’s hope we all find a way out.

Shut Out: The Game Did Not Love Me Black

by Bernie Saunders

Harper/Collins 352 pages

$33.99

Montreal-born Saunders’ NHL career was brief, 10 games with the Quebec Nordiques, but like many Black players, his encounters with racism in their chosen sport were not.

They flew under the radar in the minors where Saunders, who’d been a prolific scorer at Western Michigan, endured them on and off the ice, trying to concentrate on goals, assists and team success. High-profile tragedies in the U.S. the past few years, such as George Floyd and coaching his own kids through some of the abuse he’d already been through prompted Saunders to write. He’s the brother of late sportscaster John Saunders.

A Helluva Life In Hockey

by Brian McFarlane

ECW, 352 pages, $24.95

Comfy-couch familiar to an earlier TV generation and through a plethora of his puck publications, the 90-year-old McFarlane usually tells everyone else’s story.

Here are his own memories of getting into the media game in an age when people in the business could be close and personal with the big names on ice.

Gold

by Tim Wharnsby

Triumph Books, 231 pages, $38.00

The 2002 Canadian Olympic men’s team didn’t have the drama of a late-game Paul Henderson or Wayne Gretzky-to-Mario Lemieux moment. Still, it did overcome some early tournament adversity to end a 50-year Winter Games drought in Salt Lake.

This was a much-needed victory for Canadian hockey, which had suffered heartbreak at the ’96 World Cup and ’98 Olympics. Nothing came easy for this talented group that has produced 14 Hall of Famers and included the successful comeback of captain Lemieux.

Former Sun sports writer Wharnsby details how Gretzky became the team’s executive director, the twist that made Pat Quinn head coach and goes inside the dressing room, on the bench and in team meetings, illuminating the quiet leadership of Joe Sakic and others. On bookshelves later this winter on the 20th anniversary of the medal.

1971 — A Hockey Story

by Michael E. Moore

Tellwell, 178 pages, $28.00

Some teams miss the playoffs one year and it turns into a drought. The Canadiens, like the Leafs, were at a crossroads when sidelined in the spring of ‘70, but the former had Sam Pollock in charge to usher in new talent such as Guy Lapointe, Rejean Houle, Marc Tardif and late in the schedule, Ken Dryden. It became an unlikely championship season and a farewell Cup for Jean Beliveau. A timely 50-year retrospective in what has been a wild 2021 for Montreal.

Mosienko: The Man Who Caught Lightning In A Bottle

by Ty Dilello

Great Plains, 192 pages, $24.95

Todd Denault and our friends in the Society for International Hockey Research once more come through with their top picks from members who often don’t get money or exposure for their dedicated writing efforts.

Dilello, a historian with the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame, delves into Mosienko as so much more than his record 21-second hat trick for Chicago in 1952. The son of poor Russian immigrants in Winnipeg, he played strictly for fun, ranked by some as the league’s fastest man in his decade, as well as a prolific all-star scorer.

Voices in Blue and White: Pride and Passion

for the Maple Leafs

by Kevin Shea

Self-published, 356 pages, $25.00

There has to be at least one Leafs coffee table book at Christmas and no one better than Shea to create it. He lets a number of past and current Leafs tell what playing under the NHL’s biggest tent meant and there’s some interesting celebrity observations about connections to their favourite team.

Hockey 365:

The Second Period

by Mike Commito

Dundurn Press, 416 pages, $23.75

I’m a big fan of this format and appreciate the challenge of unearthing something noteworthy that happened every day in hockey, even the dry summer months. Commito has now managed it twice, finding more curious backstories to events that will keep readers engaged, as he jokes in the library or the bathroom.

Dear Red Light: Some Seasons In The Life Of An NHL Goalkeeper

by Wilfred Cude

Self-published, 284 pages, $17.50

Long before David Ayres made the local EBUG a heroic figure, Wilf Cude filled in during the early 1930s for any NHL team that needed a spare. He played net on five different clubs, from the disastrous Philadelphia Quakers, who won four of 44 games, to a long stint with the Canadiens. To Wilfred Cude, he was an amazing father whose experiences had to be told.

Hockey Hall Of Fame Heroes — Second Edition

by Eric Zweig

Firefly, 160 pages, $16.95

Give the younger set a great hockey history lesson with pop art of past and present stars. Older fans can’t resist a read, either.

To Hold It High: Four Generations of Hockey’s Most Storied Franchise

by Danny Geoffrion

and Paul Deepan

Self-published, 250 pages, $13.00

We start a hat trick of tomes about the Habs with this look at the NHL’s most historically successful team through four generations of family players. Howie Morenz, son-in-law Boom Boom, his son Danny and offspring Blake span 90 years and many amazing moments. But with the glory comes pain, Howie and Blake’s career-ending injuries and Morenz’s subsequent death.

Hockey Doc: 50 Years Of Medical Care To The Canadiens

by Dr. David S. Mulder,

Dr. Douglas G. Kinnear

Friesen Press, 148 pages, $44.76

The medical staff was important as defence and goaltending and these noted M.D.s treated many stars for scars and sent them back to win a bevy of Cups. They worked out of Montreal General where it’s said injured players could put on skate guards and walk from the Forum to the admitting department. If only today’s team docs could fix everything else with this battered team.

The NHL’s Mistake By The Lake: A History of the Cleveland Barons

by Gary Webster

McFarland and Co.,

223 pages, $44.50

Cleveland rocks! But not as an 1970s NHL city. Another SIHR special, a detailed account of where California Golden Seals go to die as the Barons in a barren arena.

Over-Time

by Bob Falconi

Friesen Press, 112 pages, $25.99

We meant to recommend this one a lot earlier, the tale of what keeps a good ‘ole beer league team, the Rebels, together long enough to celebrate 50 years in 2019. Through all those winters, they won, had fun, grew up and grew old — and kept coming back while the hockey world went through major upheaval around them. York U. English grad Falconi is a proud Rebel.