Product Description

Ron Davidson's 50 fundamental hockey skills and tactics will empower players to excel individually at this team game.

At last! A book that focuses on the development of individual hockey skills and promotes a mastery of body positioning, skating and stick work. Learning these skills gives players a strong fundamental understanding of how to move effectively on the ice in any gameplay situation.

The skills are organized in four sections: Fundamentals, Skating Techniques, Stick Work, and Dekeing and Deception. As the reader progresses through a chapter, the level of difficulty of each skill increases, ultimately covering every fundamental move and technique needed for an outstanding and total comprehension of the play. Davidson's progressive-learning approach teaches beginners the proper techniques, hones the skills of intermediate-level players and challenges elite players with the additional skills they need.

Among the 50 critical skills presented in this eye-opening collection are:

• Forward stride
  
• Backward crossunder
  
• Drive and delay
  
• Heel-to-heel turns
  
• Tight turns
  
• Extending your reach
  
• Receiving off-target shooting
  
• The Forsberg deke
  
• The Datsyuk deke

Product Description
Springfield has a dynamic hockey history that dates back 80 years, beginning with the Springfield Indians. One of the first professional hockey teams in the United States, the Indians were an inaugural member of the Canadian-American Hockey League. The Indians helped form the American Hockey League, where Springfield won seven Calder Cups, including a record three in a row from 1960 through 1962. Major-league hockey followed in the mid-1970s, when the New England Whalers came to town. Today, the Springfield Falcons carry on the city's great hockey legacy. Several hall of famers have skated for Springfield-based teams over the years, including Gordie Howe, Brian Kilrea, Chuck Rayner, Earl Seibert, Eddie Shore, Billy Smith, and Lorne Gump Worsley. Hockey in Springfield is the story of the teams, players, and coaches who make up one of the richest hockey traditions in all of North America. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hockey in Springfield
Brought back many good and fond memories. No more Indians, but at least there is hockey in Springfield.
... Read more

Product Description
Great goaltending wins hockey games. Hockey Goaltending covers everything a goalie needs to stone the competition, including:

• the best goaltending styles to adopt;• techniques and tactics for every shooting situation;• 46 exercises for strength, flexibility, speed, andquickness;• tips and strategies for mental toughness; and• the latest advice on equipment.

The best goalies are in the right place at the right time to stop the puck.They know the angles and have mastered the fundamentals to perform at a consistently high level. Hockey Goaltending is the complete guide for both ice and in-line hockey players to excel at the game’s toughest position.With this book, even spectacular saves will seem easy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Comprehensive Goaltending Knowledge for Ice and Inline!
I purchased this book when I first got into hockey roughly 4 years ago.It's complete with conditioning drills, information on equipment, positioning stances, and what to do in key situations.In fact, the only reason that I've given it 4 stars out of 5 is simply because the information at this point could stand to be revised.Yet it covers both butterfly goaltending (which is the standard across ice hockey today) and stand-up goaltending (less common in ice hockey, but still very necessary for inline play.)

If you're starting to play hockey and want to be a goalie, I'll tell you right now that this book is very useful to get yourself going.

A high school coach's opinion
This book along with The Hockey Goalies Handbook by Corsi and Hannon will provide enough information and differences of opinion for anyone from beginner to the high school level. Chaptes 2 and 3 on exercises and stretching are something that every goalie needs to consider.I can't recommend one book over the other because they complement each other so well.

Love, it's the best!!!!!!!!!!
A great comprehensive goaltending book.Stretching, taking care of your equipment, practicing, playing, and visualizing...this book has got tons of information and is very helpful. I'd love to see some follow-ups going even further indepth!

This book helped an aspiring goaltender
I'm 30, never played a minunte of hockey, and want to play goalie. This is the book I bought. I loved it, because of the general all around information it provides. From stretching, eqiupment, technique , to mental toughness. It also does not talk down to you, as you were ten years old.
My only complaint is the lack of depth in the equipment chapters. If it was an all encompassing book, I would have liked more information on kinds of different pads, masks, gloves, ect.
I recomend this book, they tried to help all areas, and I think it worked on me. And I now play goalie twice a week.

Hockey Goaltending is an outstanding starting book.
Offering a well writen and condensed description of both Ice and Roller/Street hockey for a person wishing to learn the How To's of Hockey Goaltending.It has great descriptions backed up with photo's to truely give the reader an idea of what is being described.

I am in my first year of a Roller Hockey league and have found this book to be outstanding for my level of play.My game has drastically improved and my understanding of the position has too.

I would recomend this book for any and beginner to intermediate levels of players. ... Read more

Product Description

Eddie Shore was the Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb of hockey, a brilliant player with an unmatched temper. Emerging from the Canadian prairie to become a member of the Boston Bruins in 1926, the man from Saskatchewan invaded every circuit in the NHL like a runaway locomotive on a downgrade. Hostile fans turned out in droves with a wish to see him killed, but in Boston he could do no wrong.

During his twenty-year professional career, the controversial Shore personified "that old time hockey" like no other, playing the game with complete disregard for his own safety. Shore was one of the most penalized men in the NHL, and also a perennial member of its All Star Team. A dedicated athlete, Shore won the Hart Trophy for the league’s most valuable player four times — a record for a defenseman not since matched — and led Boston to two Stanley Cups in 1929 and 1939. In 1933, Shore was the instigator of hockey’s most infamous event, the tragic "Ace Bailey Incident," and during his subsequent sixteen-game suspension the fans chanted, "We want Shore!" After retiring from the NHL in 1940, Shore’s passion for the game remained undiminished, and as owner and tyrant of the AHL Springfield Indians, he won championship after championship.

This is an action-packed and full-throated celebration of the "mighty Eddie Shore" — and also of the sport of hockey as it was gloriously played in a bygone age.

Product Description
What do Wayne Gretzky and thermodynamics have in common? A lot morethan you might think. The game the National Hockey League calls " the coolest game on earth" isalso a fast-paced, dynamic display of physics in action.

In The Physics of Hockey, physicist and amateur hockey player Alain Haché examinessome of the physical principles behind the world's most popular winter team sport. What makesice so slippery you can skate on it?How can you skate backwards most rapidly?How canphysics improve your slapshot? Why do some collisions cause injuries but not others? How doesa Zamboni work? And how do you prepare a pure, smooth ice surface in Dallas when it's90 degrees outside and there are twenty thousand people inside?

This is physics by a hockey fan for the hockey fan.Haché investigates the properties of the icesurface, the science of skating and of skates, the odds of winning and losing streaks, and theprinciples behind shooting, hitting, and goaltending. Touching on topics such as solid-statephysics, statistical physics elasticity, probability, thermodynamics, and mechanics, Haché usesscience to enhance our appreciation and understanding of the game. The book is illustrated withphotos and graphs and punctuated with anecdotes to show how famous players, past and present,are really physicists on skates.

A thought-provoking, fun, and gentle introduction to some basic issues in physics, ThePhysics of Hockey is a truly unique book worthy of the shelf of every hockey fan and physicsenthusiast. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

INSIDE HOCKEY Book Review
Alain Haché's The Physics of Hockey an extremely interesting book. As fans, we watch NHL players do some pretty incredible things, but don't really understand how they do them. Mr Haché uses his tremendous knowledge of physics to explain "how hockey happens".

The book explains just about every imaginable aspect of ice hockey. It explains how the ice rink is created and maintained. It tells us why players skate the way they do, why goalies move the way they do, why the players manipulate their sticks in certain ways, why the bodily protection is needed and how it works and how the game generally proceeds.

Haché's style is quite readable, though the idea of applying physics to hockey seems on the surface to be dry. He clearly loves the game and that comes through in his writing. He is both a scientist and a player, and he skillfully combines both of these talents in one very well-written volume.

For a scientist the book is much more meaningful; however, the book has plenty to offer for non-technical hockey fans. The book mixes very technical analyses and diagrams demonstrating physical principles with very down-to-earth prose that general hockey fans should gain a lot from and really enjoy.

The book's one flaw is the way in which the content was organized. The book starts off with a lot of scientific content before moving into the down-to-earth, non-technical prose. In fact, the first topic treated, the physics of the ice itself, is so esoteric, that even I, an engineer, was almost discouraged from moving past it. I was glad I made it through.

If there's a second edition, I suggest that Haché revise the structure of the book. He should write a version that deals with the physics in a way that demonstrates principles without detailed equations and diagrams. Then he should complete each chapter or section with his more technical treatment of each topic, which the non-technical person can bypass without really losing anything in the translation.

The physics is mainly what is called "mechanics". It involves the forces on skates that propel the players and the effects of friction with the ice. It also explains the movement of a puck, both sliding on ice and soaring through the air, and the impact of players on each other or on the boards in body contact. Haché also discusses ice quality and how it affects the play, and how the design of hockey skates achieves maximum usefulness. We also learn how figure skates and speed skates differ from hockey skates.

The difficulty of getting a puck past a goalie is explained in diagrams showing the effective open area of the net, why a goalie moves as he does in order to minimize this area, and why his equipment is designed as it is. Lots of interesting statistics are presented, such as typical puck speeds, both in standard shooting and slap shots, skating speeds and acceleration rates, and sizes of hockey players as it affects their play. The explanation of how a Zamboni works and what ice maintenance is about in general is also extremely interesting.

The Physics of Hockey is an excellent book. Alain Haché's explanations are current (using many current NHL stars) and very interesting (most hockey fans really have no idea how everything happens on the ice from a scientific standpoint). This is a very engaging book for a technical person, but I think Haché missed an opportunity to achieve a broader appeal with a somewhat different organization of the material.

Brillaintly Written, Fun Applied Science
If you like ice hockey and got a B or better in high school physics (and you remember how it happened), this book is a must-have.

Alain Haché is an amateur-league goalie, and a professional physicist. His book analyses all aspects of the game, from the coefficient of friction of ice at different temperatures to the effects of air and gravity on a flying puck after a slapshot.

The book includes references to hockey biographies, medical and physiological papers, and player technique books like "Speed on Skates".

Some reviewers might fault the book for not explaining hockey with only physics; the author uses statistics (to explain witing and losing streaks), and geometry (to explain why goalies come out of the net) in his analysis.

Haché's explanations are well written, and as far as I can tell, technically correct. The author is a student of the game and his reference for it is obvious. For the math hobbyist or amateur physicist who is also interested in hockey, this is a fantastic book. ... Read more

Product Description
In his diverse, exciting, and very active forty-five-year legal career, spent mainly in the world of professional sports, attorney Robert O. Swados has worn many hats—owner, league executive, counsel, and franchise builder. In this wide-ranging and good-humored memoir, Swados offers many behind-the-scenes insights into the players, coaches, executives, and owners who have created today’s sports entertainment industry.Swados describes his early involvement in professional sports through his efforts in the 1960s to bring a Major League Baseball franchise to his hometown of Buffalo, NY. The deal was so close that a New York Daily News headline announced (Swados still owns a copy) that new franchises would go to San Diego and Buffalo. But things really got interesting when in 1969 Swados helped Seymour Knox III and Northrup Knox to establish the Buffalo Sabres. Thus began an exciting thirty-year journey through the ups and downs of the National Hockey League. As part owner, vice chairman, and counsel of the Sabres, Swados has had many opportunities to "score from the crease," and sometimes the action behind the scenes is just as rough and tumble as that on the ice. He tells many fascinating tales about his dealings with winning coaches including Scotty Bowman, with General Managers Punch Imlach and John Muckler, with owner John Mcmullen, and Commissioners John Ziegler and Gary Bettman, among others. He also talks frankly about the impact of Adelphia’s bankruptcy on the fate of the Sabres and about the obsessions and frustrations of the 2004 NHL lockout. Perhaps no one in professional sports has had such an engaging and productive view.

For hockey fans in the U.S. and Canada, especially Buffalo Sabres fans, and anyone interested in the business of bigtime sports, Robert Swados’s entertaining and informative story is a must read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Enjoyable and informative reading
I loved this book.It was not only entertaining, but it gave a lot of insight into the workings of the legal field in pro sports as well as television and entertainment.I found myself thinking "I'd forgotten all about that" or "Is that how that came about?", and the hockey names from the past that I'd long since forgotten were brought back to the present by the writing of Mr. Swados.This was well worth the time it took to read it!

A strong memoir of his encounters with coaches, players, and owners alike
Hockey fans who are avid followers of the sport will surely recognize the name of Robert O. Swados, who has been a league owner, executive, and franchise builder in the professional hockey world for over forth years. Counsel In The Grease: A Big League Player In The Hockey Wars provides a strong memoir of his encounters with coaches, players, and owners alike, describing the many changes he's observed in the sport since his initial involvement in the 1960s, and his up and down years with the National Hockey League. A lively set of insights on the sports world as a whole makes Counsel In The Grease a highly recommended pick indeed.

Where'sThe Fact Checker???
Good grief Robert, who was your fact checker?? Understandably this book was written by an aging old employee of the Sabres so a pass is given to him on his recollection of facts but GEEZ somebody at the publishing company should have checked this over before releasing this. Where do I begin? OK, Joe Daley was NOT traded for Roger Crozier...that was Tom Webster, Pat Lafontaine did not suffer his concussion against the Bruins, it was the Penguins, the Atlanta Flames entered the NHL in 1972 not 1974, the Capitals entered in 1974 not 1972, Floyd Smith was not the coach when Tony McKegney was drafted, Swados says he attended a game at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton in 1981 and then in the next paragraph he says the building didn't exist in the early 1990's, which is it? Gil Perreault was not drafted in the Fall of 1969, Willie O'Ree was long out of the NHL (1960-61) when the Knox's had Oakland Seals ties, the Sabres did not play their first game in 1969, Dave Forman died in 1987 so how did you call him and ask for advice in the 1990's? The Buffalo Braves did not make the playoffs in the first 3 years etc. Facts like this should have been checked by SOMEBODY! All this and I'm only half way through the book. I'm all for telling the TRUE story of the Buffalo Sabres but find somebody who knows what's going on. What's Paul Wieland doing these days? John B. ... Read more

Product Description
Hockey is breathtakingly fast and fascinating. Ice Time: The Story of Hockey (Temps de glace: l’histoire du hockey) traces the sport from its hotly contested origins to the present day’s first-ever lockout of players by the one remaining league. It covers the sport’s surge in popularity after 1875, when it moved to inside rinks; the rise and fall, and rise again, of women’s hockey; the sagas of long-lost leagues, such as the Pacific Coast Hockey Association; and more recently the World Hockey Association. Through its lavishly illustrated pages skate the players, the coaches, and the almost forgotten legends who are the reason why we love the game.

Although the book stands alone, it is based on Hockey: A People’s History, a ten-part CBC/Radio Canada series airing in fall 2006. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hockey book
Very disappointed....I do not recall seeing anywhere that this book was written only in French.It is a useless gift that I had hoped to give to my grandsons that play hockey. ... Read more

Product Description
When hockey fan Christina Mackey prevents a murder attempt aimed at her idol Jason Petersen, the hockey scene she'd always worshiped from the outside suddenly surrounds her. She's not sure she wants to be part of that world - too much testosterone - but her attraction for Jason is too strong.Jason is shocked to discover his girlfriend Sheila is behind the attempt on his life and quickly breaks off their relationship. But vengeance has no greater weapon than a woman scorned. As Jason's feelings grow toward the widow who saved him, his past threatens not only their happiness, but Christina's innocent daughter as well. ... Read more

Product Description
Profiles of the best players of all time plus the up-and-coming new stars.

Hockey fans everywhere are always hungry for more information on the game. Hockey's Greatest Stars profiles hockey's greatest players, the all-stars and the promising young lions. Fans will enjoy the book's lively and incisive commentary combined with memorable quotes and insider tales of trades and off-ice antics.

The book profiles 60 of the greatest NHL players of all time plus the 20 top players today. Each profile is illustrated with action-packed photographs.

The legends include:- Wayne Gretzky- Maurice Rocket Richard- Bobby Hull- Tim Horton- Gordie Howe.

While the young lions include:- Joe Thornton- Scott Gomez- Jay Bouwmeester- Rick DiPietro- Henrik Zetterberg.

Sure to be as popular as the first edition, this updated edition of Hockey's Greatest Stars is an entertaining and informative book for every hockey fan. ... Read more

Product Description
A biography of the Swedish skater who scored the gold medal-winning goal in the 1994 Olympics and went on to play in the NHL for the Quebec Nordiques, later the Colorado Avalanche. ... Read more

Product Description
"An amazing read. The history behind the rules gave me an insight into how we arrived at where we are today, and I've been enforcing these rules for over twenty-five years! A must for every serious hockey fan."--Ron Finn, former NHL linesman

"The evolution and intent of the rules presented in this book are not only factual and easy to understand, but a very interesting read. The stories that accompany many of the rules enable the reader to better grasp the role of the official."-Bryan Lewis, director of officiating, National Hockey League

This book is an illustrated, anecdotal history and guide to the rules of the world's fastest game. Stocked with fascinating stories and over fifty action-packed photographs, The Official Rules of Hockey draws more than a century of the sport into sharp focus for fans of today's international NHL game-from a referee's decision in 1900 to disallow a goal after the puck split in half to Marty McSorley's illegal stick that could have cost the Los Angeles Kings their shot at the 1993 Stanley Cup.

The Official Rules of Hockey also includes helpful rink diagrams, illustrations of officials' signals, and a compendium of milestone moments chronicling the sport's evolving rules of play.

As an invaluable, insightful reference for players and fans alike, this book is the bible. All rule changes for the 2000-2001 season are included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Provides a history and illustrated guide
James DuPlacey's Official Rules Of Hockey provides a history and illustrated guide to the rules of hockey, blending in case history stories and photos with surveys of equipment, changing rules, and teams. Hockey players will find this a lively account which packs in fun, involving stories of the sport.

Educational and Strikingly Interesting Read
The Annotated Rules of Hockey breaks down every rule in effect in the NHL and describes the events leading up to them.Being both fascinating and humorous, any fan of the game (or fans of any game) will love it.Thisbook is a great way to learn about famous players, coaches, teams,officials, and rinks.It also offers detailed game photographs ofpenalties, fights, and goals, including hand signals.It's perfect for newfans, or long-time followers of hockey.I was very satisfied with thesimplicity of the format, unlike other books describing the rules.It's agreat way to impress your friends by telling them why we have things likeblue lines in the greatest game on earth. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Herb Brooks Hockey Mastermind
Herb Brooks Legend Lives on A classic. Book in excellent condition, delivery on time. no problems whatsover. If you have seen the movie, read the accouts. this is a must have. If you love hocket get this book.

Well Written by a Good Friend of Brooks
I am from Minnesota and appreciate this excellent bio of Herbie as we called him.The book is indeed an "inside story" and is well written.It shows how Herb really understood the psychology of champions and how to motivate them.

The Herb Brooks Story is truly remarkable!
The book "Herb Brooks: The Inside Story of a Hockey Mastermind, is an incredible story of a man that changed so many peoples lives! He took a group of kids and turned them into a team that no one could reckon with! It truly took the talent of Herb Brooks to bring the talent inside this incredible kids out to the surface, and turn them into a team. This book is a must read for anyone who enjoy`s a true and inspirational story!How the Game Is Played is a true story of twin brothers in their inspirational story about hockey, baseball, military careers, and their medical careers and family lives. A must see for people of all ages! ... Read more

Product Description
This explosive book, by the most recent past president of the NHL, reveals what really goes on behind the scenes in professional hockey. Filled with entertaining anecdotes and personal vignettes written with total candor, Power Plays is as exciting as winning the Stanley Cup. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

From a hockey management freak...
This book has been slammed by others, but I have to say, it is one of the must read books on this time period in the NHL. In my opinion, read this, along with Game Misconduct by Russ Conway andCracked Ice by Stan Fischler. The three books will give you a pretty good idea of what really went on. This book is well written, and interesting from beginning to end. It goes fast, but you will enjoy it.

The Wackiest of Sports Leagues- EXPOSED!
BY DAN MORELAND

Of the four major sports, the most volatile when it comes to it's management is the National Hockey League.

"Power Plays" is the first book I can think of to truly expose the inner workings of the NHL. Told from an insider's point of view, this is a must for any fan of the sport. Especially enjoyable were the retellings of the NHL-WHA merger and the referee walkout during the NJ-Boston playoff game.

Most of the book is hard to put down, but there are two chapters that make it drag. One is how Clarence Campbell was overthrown as NHL Prez in the 1970s. Stein then uses the final chapter to defend the Hall of Fame's decision to induct him while still President in 1993, a read that seems to drag on forever.

Nonetheless, "Power Plays" is the only recent insider's look into the wackiest of the 4 big leagues. Plus, the first few chapters about the Broad Street Bullies are priceless!

Since the book was written in 1997, the crazy goings on with the Islanders, Coyotes, Hurricanes, and Penguins franchises of the last few years is not included. Nor are other great hockey tales such as Eric Lindros and other players battles with management; or the Marty McSorely incident.

Al Stracken? Al Morganti? Possible books, guys? . . . .

An absorbing account of a dangerous sport and its owners.
Gil Stein has written an absorbing account of a dangerous sport, not of its playing action, but of the violent skirmishes of its owners as they meet behind the closed doors of the NHL's Board of Governors executive sessions.They make the game on ice look like Sunday afternoon croquet on the lawn of the Baptist Church.This is a wonderful behind-the-scenes book; but it is not all disillusioning.A number of the original clubowners were real sportsmen devoted to the game of ice hockey and its glorious action, although some can no longer afford the financial losses and have had to sell their teams to extremely wealthy patrons or to corporate monoliths, both with a bottom-line myopia. In the 1996-97 season, almost 200 players received guaranteed salaries of over a million dollars; "but money has not spoiled hockey players.They still play the game with zeal and ferocity and NHL hockey is more exciting today than ever.The players may have lots of money, but deep inside they are the same kids who learned to skate on frozen ponds and dreamed every night of their lives that someday they would hoist the Stanley Cup above their heads while skating a victory lap before their fans." It is this excitement that Gil Stein captures in his book and the ferocity too of owners warring with each other out of the view of the public.It is all there and all fun to read. Just as Gil Stein has enjoyed the game of hockey, he has enjoyed writing this book, and you too will enjoy its reading.Don't miss the splendid introduction on pages xi to xv. John L. Dusseau (gilbi@msn.com) Gladwyne, Pennsylvania ... Read more

Product Description
To some, March 23, 1996 may have been just another Saturday. But for 26 National Hockey League teams, more than 600 professional hockey players, countless men and women behind the scenes, and millions of fans, March 23 will be remembered as A Day in the Life of NHL. With over 200 color and b&w photos, this book is for anyone who appreciates the real life drama and detail of hockey. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Nice Picture Book
This is a neat coffee table book for hockey fans. Because it's compiled under the supervision of the NHL, it isn't going to reveal anything that Gary Bettman doesn't want you to know. I did find some interesting content in it, though. It's loaded with some great photos and short essays on the daily doings of the NHL as they happened on March 23, 1996. What I mainly liked about it was that it didn't just stick with a few teams, but almost all of them appear in one part, or another. It also talks about travel, workouts, pre-game prep (including what equipment crew are doing when ESPN and Fox Sports Net aren't around), ice rink conversion, press, fans, games, coaches, the dressing room, hotels, broadcasters, Gretzky, Keenan, St. Michael's, kids, arena crews, and trainers. It doesn't give the whole picture on everything, but it's an adequate scratch at the surface.

Is this book out there?
I have been trying to find this book for sale for about a year without any luck.Maybe this note will bring this book to my possession.I am just your average Joe looking for a book that has my picture in it next to theStanley Cup.I would love to purchase this book if anybody has it.

Excellent But.........
I find this book to be really interesting.What makes it the most interesting is that the person on the front cover of this book is me.I found this out by just happening to be in a book store and looking athockey books. I looked under the Tampa Bay Lightning and their was mypicture with my name by it.I really made me mad.No one told me theywere going to put my picture in a book or my name.I don't even have abook for myself.I wish they still made them so I could have one.I feelthey should have sent me a book or at least told me I was on the cover andmy name was inside the book.Don't you think.

A great book about the NHL
The photos and the stories in this book are amazing.So much more goes on in the NHL then I ever realized.This book is a great read if you're a Hockey fan.

Spectacular photographs!Must have for the hockey enthusiast!
This book has the most spectacular photographs of the NHL that have ever been amassed.The book not only captures the energy of the game that is played on the ice, but also the drama that occurs behind the scenes.Experience firsthand how much preperation goes on as a hockey team of 25 players plays two games on back to back nights in cities that are hundreds of miles apart.If you ever wanted to lace up the skates and live the life of an NHL hockey player for a day, this is the book you MUST EXPERIENCE ... Read more

Product Description
Describing all aspects of playing and coaching, Coaching Girls' Ice Hockey was written because most women's hockey books are too simple or too basic. This book has detailed all aspects of the game, including the mental game.The book is divided into the following topics: Section I, INDIVIDUAL SKILLS: Skating, Puck control and Goaltending; Section II, PHYSICAL CONDITIONING: Fitness, Injuries and Medical; Section III, MENTAL SKILLS; Section IV, COACHING DUTIES: Practice planning, Statistics, Coaching aids, Scouting, Communications, Leadership and Decision Making; Section V, TEAM SKILL AND STRATEGY: Basic Strategies, Breakout Play, Three-two System, Box Strategies, and Other Strategies.No matter what level of play, coaches will benefit from the Walfords' expertise and team preparation techniques. ... Read more

Product Description
Serious hockey players and coaches make a 12-month commitment to the sport. How they prepare physically during the off-season directly affects their performance during the season. 52-Week Hockey Training provides a four-phase annual conditioning plan that is proven to get players in shape to excel technically and withstand the physical rigors on the ice.

The book presents a wide selection of workouts containing specific exercises and drills designed to improve flexibility, muscle strength and endurance, aerobic endurance, speed, and power and quickness. Detailed descriptions explain and accompanying photographs and illustrations show the proper form and technique for each drill and exercise. Goals and plans for developing each of these performance features are outlined for each phase of training: preseason, in-season, postseason, and off-season.

52-Week Hockey Training has everything you need to get in shape—and stay in shape—for top-level hockey. It’s a proven full-year training approach that gets players in peak form for the competitive season. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Well Structured, a Good Guide to Success
52-Week Hockey Training is a very complete book that, if followed properly, will help immensely in improving your overall fitness as well as getting you into great "hockey" shape. The book overall is very satisfactory and achieves its purpose, but I think that some improvements can be made. Some of the photos do not give a good picture of the exersice and all of the pictures are in black and white. A foreword by an NHL star was lacking and would have been a nice compliment. One thing I thought very useful however, was the breakdown of the four main training periods from off-season to postseason.

This book is a great training guide that covers everything from flexibility to power and quickness. There are countless exercises, drills, procedures and schedules that will make attaining your goals much easier. A very complete book that is a bit rough around the edges. ... Read more

Product Description
During the 1980s, the geography of minor-league professional hockey changed radically, moving from its roots in the Maritime provinces and in the New England and midwestern states into the American south. In addition to cities like Oklahoma City, Dallas, Charlotte and Norfolk, which had long traditions of minor-league hockey, unlikely places such as Biloxi, Baton Rouge, Little Rock and Augusta hosted teams. Over an 18-year period, minor-league hockey was played in 72 different southern cities, and at one point there were more minor-league teams in Texas than in all of Canada. Yet the players—and owners—have always been predominantly Canadian.

Hockey Night in Dixie examines this phenomenon with an historical overview of the period, including interviews with people involved in the founding and early years of each of the 13 leagues. There are also in-depth portraits of four teams, one from each of the four lower minor leagues that played during the 2005–06 season. These portraits feature interviews with owners, coaches, players, officials, fans and reporters. Amply illustrated with photographs, Hockey Night in Dixie paints a vivid picture of this extraordinary development in minor-league sports. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent summary of Southern hockey
The book did an excellent job of explaining the 1990's-2000's phenominom of minor league hockey in the Southern United States. However, the one thing missing was explaining why some markets had long been established as hubs for hockey in the South, and not just by-products of the rapid expansion that took place. Also goes into detail of one team in each of the four surviving leagues (ECHL, UHL, CHL, SPHL), describing the daily life of the players, coaches, management, owners, and fans of these teams.

Hockey night in Dixie
If you are a fan of minor pro hockey read this book. It offers a great insight into the game both on and off the ice. Thanks for the great book! ... Read more

Product Description

Published Under the Garamond Imprint

Hockey Night in Canada will appeal to all readers interested in the wider implications of sport in our society. The authors look at the roots of the modern game. They discuss such elements as the everyday working world of professional hockey, hockey in small communities, violence in professional and minor leagues, and issues of Canadian identity. The book examines the profound changes and pressures on hockey within a growing global marketplace for commercial spectacle. 

Customer Reviews (2)

The Political Economy of Hockey
Lucid, critical insights into a ubiquitous Canadian pastime.

A sociological investigation into the development of hockey
The authors offer many interesting insights into the development of Canadia's beloved game. However, there is a lack of first hand data on issues such as hockey violence where ethnographic reseach is highly needed. All in all, a good read as there is no other sociological investigation of hockey out there. ... Read more

Product Description
The first full-scale biography of a legendary and award-winning NHL goalie who transformed the game.

“There are a lot of very good goalies, there are even a fair number of great goalies. But there aren’t many important goalies. And Jacques Plante was an important goalie.” Ken Dryden

On and off the ice Jacques Plante was a true original; he was extremely talented, boastful, defiant, mysterious, and complex. Throughout his tumultuous career as a goalie, he played for Montreal, New York, St. Louis, Toronto, Boston, and Edmonton. His contributions to and impact on the game were extensive and are reflected in today’s rules, equipment, and style of play. Thoroughly investigated through archival and primary research, and including interviews with figures such as Jean Béliveau, Henri Richard, Dickie Moore, and Scotty Bowman, this biography sheds light on one of the most pivotal figures in the history of hockey.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Shakey Facts, Stilted Writing
Jacques Plante was, unquestionably, one of the most important athletes in the history of sport. He was ahead of his time in many ways as detailed by author Todd Denault. He was the first goalie to take a stand for the mask ( he did not invent the mask; the scholarship is still out on that but he deserves most of the credit nonetheless ), was the first to make roaming from the net acceptable, approached off-ice training differently, lobbied for deferred-payment contracts, advocated positional coaching, etc. Also, indisputably, he was great. Great. His record and longevity speak for themselves. Having a modern era bio of Plante on the bookshelves was a crying need in the world of hockey literature, and Dennault's effort is game here, but does fall short in key areas.

While the book has several factual mistakes ( Eddie Johnston did not start his career with expansion; he was an established NHL starter in the early 60's...Tony Esposito did not wear a Fibrosport mask...Plante is extremely over-credited for the successes of goalies he coached )including one that, along with some noteworthy omissions, betrays the author's agenda. ( Please undertsand that I find it wholly acceptable to hold a point of view and advocate for it in your wrtiting, but you do need to present and face the facts head on. )

One revealing mistake is in the description of Plante's remarkable comeback with St. Louis after a 3 year retirement. His first game back was not a shutout. His first game back was a 4-3 loss to Chicago in Chicago. The author says Plante partner and long-time rival Glenn Hall was in goal for that game. Wrong. The author also elects not to document what Plante said in his first press conference when St.L drafted him. He stated that Hall would be the best back-up goalie he ever had. Stl management quickly made him apologize for that statement.

The author skirts around the difference between what the Vezina stood for when Plante was winning it consecutively for the Canadiens, and what it means today. Today, it goes to the best goalie in the league. It is an individual award. Then, it went to the team with the least amount of goals against, a virtual team award. When Plante was winning Vezinas, he was NOT the league's First Team All Star goalie...most of the time Hall ( who played on the defensively challenged Blackhawks ) was. The author does not acknowledge the signficance of the fact that when Plante was dealt from the Habs to the downtrodden Rangers, his successor in net, Charlie Hodge, won the Vezina continuing the Canadien tradition of defensive excellence. Simply stated, the author gives Plante too much of a pass on his weaknesses as a player and as a person far too often.

The book is also written as if the author gets a percentage for using the word "unfortunately" when any of Plante's teams lost. That's a little "homer-ish" for my tastes. The foreward by Jean Beliveau is basically a reprint from Le Gros Bill's autobiography, and the photos chosen for the book are the most-often seen of any. Nothing new or rare here.

Plante did not need the author to whitewash his deficiencies. His place in history is secure. This book is good, but it is not as special as its subject was.

Great Man - Great Read
I am a cursory hockey fan at best. somewhere i read that this was a very good book -- so i figured I would expand my horizons.
not only is this a keen insight into plante's life and how he changed hockey, but it's also a great look into the history and growth of the NHL.
written very well. i thoroughly enjoyed it.

Virtuoso
The mid to late 1950's spawned an era in hockey that could have been called the Golden Age of Goalies.Terry Sawchuck, Glenn Hall, Johnny Bower and Roger Crozier all patrolled the nets into the mid-1960's and beyond, but none achieved the heights and glory of Jacques Plante.

Later additions of padded greatness included Tony Esposito, Ken Dryden, Grant Fuhr, and Dominek Hasek.All lay claim as the best that ever was, but Plante stays in the argument.

He was meticulous, eccentric, detached, and offbeat, but he was undeniably great.He played until he was 46 years old and took a studied, professorial approach to his craft.He was also a winner, whose ambition fueled him to seven Vezina's, five Stanley Cups and the admiration and respect of a generation of hockey fans, coaches and players.

This a crisply researched and well documented biography.It looks into the psyche of its subject in hard depth, and takes in not only biographical material of other hockey bios, but also interviews many of those who knew Jacques Plante.

Often inscrutable, Plante lived through his achievements both on the ice, and later, as a mentor.His monastic pursuit of hockey excellence is unmatched.

This is an excellent read on a highly interesting subject.It is recommended highly for any serious hockey fan.

Old time hockey
As a hockey fan and an even bigger fan of the history of the game and it's great players it was great to read about all the old time hockey players opinion of the game in that era and about one of the greatest innovators in the sport of hockey. Mr. Plante revolutionized the position of goaltender, and the game has never been the same.

A Character Study into the Man Behind the Mask
This is an excellent book about one of hockey's greatest netminders Jacques Plante.He reinvented how a goalkeeper played the game with his unique style and the advent of the mask.The book shares a portrait of the man behind the mask and it reflects his devotion to the game through his continuous study on how other goalkeepers played the game, and it also brought forth his character as a man.Too often athletes are not viewed for their human qualities.This book provides a perspective on how Jacques Plante faced all that life threw at him on and off the ice.His analytical qualities as per the game are well-noted and as a fan who grew up watching him play as a kid, I still remain in awe of him as a hockey player and a person. ... Read more