Hockey Biographies

In 1958, Willie O'Ree was a lot like any other player toiling in the minors. He was good. Good enough to have been signed by the Boston Bruins. Just not quite good enough to play in the NHL. Until January 18 of that year. O'Ree was finally called up, and when he stepped out onto the ice against the Montreal Canadiens, not only did he fulfill the childhood dream he shared with so many other Canadian kids, he did something that had never been done before. He broke hockey's color barrier. Just as his hero, Jackie Robinson, had done for baseball.

Scotty Bowman est une légende. Il a remporté plus de matches et de coupes Stanley que n'importe quel autre entraîneur dans l'histoire de la Ligue nationale de hockey. Il s'est maintenu au sommet du hockey professionnel pendant près de trois décennies: vingt-neuf années sépa­­rent sa première et sa dernière coupe! Ses talents de stratège et de meneur d'hommes ont fait de lui le meilleur entraîneur de l'histoire du sport professionnel, toutes disciplines confondues.

Hockey forms the backdrop of our lives. For many Canadians, the big moments - births, deaths, marriages, moves - are all mixed up with the wins and losses of our teams. The voices of Hockey Night in Canada sportscasters are our soundtrack, and visions of skates scraping across the ice lull us to sleep. George Bowering, Canada's former poet laureate, is no different.

In the early 2000s, 16-year-old Todd Davison and his older brother Wade were living the Canadian hockey dream—playing together in the Western Hockey League, a stepping-stone for many future NHL stars. Todd seemed destined to be one of them. But after facing off against Sidney Crosby at the Canada Winter Games in 2003, that dream became a nightmare when Todd's mysterious shoulder pain led to a devastating cancer diagnosis. His Last Shift: The Playbook of Todd Davison recounts the journey of an incredible young man as he comes to terms with his death long before his time.

In this jaw-dropping, darkly comedic memoir, a young woman comes of age in a dysfunctional Asian family whose members blamed their woes on ghosts and demons when in fact they should have been on antipsychotic meds.

Quand mon père, le coach de l'équipe bordelaise de hockey sur glace, a recruté deux Américains, frères et talentueux de surcroît, et les a invités à séjourner chez nous durant leur période d'essai, j'ai tout misé sur eux. En tout cas, jusqu'à ce que les frères Winters débarquent chez nous et que l'un d'eux me rappelle quelqu'un… Et pas n'importe qui : le call boy auquel j'ai fait appel un an plus tôt pour venir à bout de ce problème de virginité.

Gordie Howe may have been the greatest player in the history of hockey, but greatness was never defined by goals or assists in the Howe household. Greatness meant being the best person you could be, not the best player on the ice. Unlike his two brothers, Murray Howe failed in his attempt to follow in his father's footsteps to become a professional athlete. Yet his failure brought him to the realization that his dream wasn't really to be a pro hockey player. His dream was to be his father. To be amazing at something, but humble and gracious. To be a hero.

Millie and Cameron grew up as close as any two friends could be, playing together on the same hockey team and hanging out together after school. However, when the hockey team was split between boys and girls, their friendship began to change, and not for the better. Now, Millie and Cameron are rivals, playing against each other to finally settle who has the best hockey team, boys or girls?

Jed West is Mr. Hockey: the captain of the NHL’s latest winning team and the hottest player on the ice—at least, according to Breezy Angel, who’s been drooling over Jed at games for years. He plays a starring role in her most toe-curling fantasies. But dirty dreams don’t come true, right? Everything changes when Jed saunters through the doors of Breezy’s library as a last-minute special guest for a summer reading event. Their chemistry is immediate and hot enough to thaw an entire rink in record time.

It’s been 85 years since Brian McFarlane first laced a pair of skates and tested the black ice on a tiny pond. And then he discovered the joy of hockey. Ultimately, there would be grade school hockey, high school hockey, junior hockey, college hockey, and, miraculously, two decades with the NHL Oldtimers anchoring his life. Now, in this revealing autobiography, he remembers it all. For Brian McFarlane, it has been a helluva life in hockey.

Men's hockey in Canada may hog the limelight, but interest in women's hockey has never been higher. The Role I Played is a memoir of Sami Jo Small's 10 years with Canada's National Women's Hockey Team. Beginning with her experience as a rookie at the first-ever women's Olympic hockey tournament in Nagano in 1998 and culminating with Canada's third straight Olympic gold medal in Vancouver in 2010, the veteran goaltender gives the listener behind-the-scenes insight into one of the most successful teams in sports history.

This is a story about my hockey odyssey and passion for the game. My compelling journey starts on a schoolyard rink in Kitchener, Ontario. Filled with inspiring memories, people, relationships, players and coaches, including chance childhood meetings with Darryl Sittler and Wayne Gretzky. Along the way, young dreams turn to reality as I play my first NHL game at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, starting on a line with Dale Hunter and John Druce.

Qui était l'homme derrière le numéro 3 ?Pourquoi le retrait de son chandail est-il devenu un devoir de mémoire ? Émile « Butch » Bouchard, l'un des meilleurs défenseurs de la LNH et le premier capitaine francophone du Canadien de Montréal à s'imposer à ce titre, est un personnage iconique : joueur chevronné, certes, mais aussi apiculteur, homme d'affaires, restaurateur célèbre, père de famille et bon citoyen.

Près de cent ans après la mort de Georges Vézina, son nom est toujours connu des amateurs : malgré la quantité de grands joueurs qui ont défilé après lui, la Ligue nationale de hockey n’a jamais changé le nom du trophée Vézina, attribué annuellement au meilleur gardien de but. C’est dire à quel point il a marqué son époque. Avec lui, le Canadien a remporté ses deux premières coupes Stanley et conquis le cœur de milliers de spectateurs partout au pays

There are Leafs fans - and there’s the Ultimate Leafs Fan. No one had the time, money, or energy to follow their favorite team to every game of the season until Mike Wilson took a journey most fans can only dream about. These are the humorous, historical, and heart-wrenching stories of Leafs Nation.

To most Canadians, the Molson name is part of the very fabric of Canada. Since 1786, when John Molson founded his first brewery in Montreal, it has become synonymous with beer, hockey, and philanthropy. Few realize, however, how close the family came in recent years to losing control of the enterprise. Back to Beer...and Hockey offers intimate details of the life and work of Eric Molson, who not only saved the company, but positioned it to thrive as a global brewery into the 21st century.

The original Broad Street Bully has secrets to reveal. Before there was Bob Probert, Tie Domi, or Stu Grimson, there was Dave Schultz. The original enforcer changed the face of the NHL for decades to come, and helped bring the Philadephia Flyers their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, by...

The Aldens’ favorite hockey star, Kevin Reynolds, is coaching a girls’ hockey team and build a new skating rink right in Greenfield. But when team practices begin, equipment is missing and Kevin’s plans for the new rink are almost ruined. Is someone trying to stop Kevin?

In the four biggest American sports leagues, 124 franchises vie for the crown of greatest of all. Only one can sit atop the throne. Now for the first time ever, Got Your Legends ranks all of the franchises and explains which teams are legendary, or unique, or exciting, or tragic . . . or laughable.

Hilary Knight started skating when she was five. Fifteen years later, she was the youngest member on Team USA at the 2010 Olympics. The next 10 years of her career have only gotten more impressive. Discover more about Knight's highlights on and off the ice in this thrilling biography in the Stars of Sports series.