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Game Change
- The Life and Death of Steve Montador, and the Future of Hockey
- Narrated by: Ken Dryden
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
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The Game
- 20th Anniversary Edition
- Written by: Ken Dryden
- Narrated by: Ken Dryden
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Widely acknowledged as the best hockey book ever written and lauded by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 10 Sports Books of All Time, The Game is a reflective and thought-provoking look at a life in hockey. Intelligent and insightful, former Montreal Canadiens goalie and former President of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ken Dryden captures the essence of the sport and what it means to all hockey fans.
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Loved it!
- By Stephanie on 2022-07-16
Written by: Ken Dryden
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Scotty
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In Scotty, Dryden has given his coach a new test: Tell us about all these players and teams you've seen, but imagine yourself as their coach. Tell us about their weaknesses, not just their strengths. Tell us how you would coach them and coach against them. And then choose the top eight teams of all time, match them up against one another in a playoff series, and, separating the near-great from the great, tell us who would win. And why.
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great Insight
- By N C Griffiths on 2022-09-13
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Murphy’s life didn’t begin on a track that would lead to homelessness. He was smart, dedicated to hockey, and was a key player for the Oilers, Red Wings, and Blackhawks, among other teams. But one vicious body check changed his life forever. Despite being shaken by the hit, Murphy was cleared to return to the game. Soon after, his entire life seemed to change. Murphy became a journeyman, moving from team to team. Along the way, other NHLers said they noticed something different about him, too.
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Brian Burke is one of the biggest hockey personalities - no, personalities full-stop - in the hockey media landscape. His brashness makes him a magnet for attention, and he does nothing to shy away from it. Most famous for advocating "pugnacity, truculence, testosterone, and belligerence" during his tenure at the helm of the Maple Leafs, Burke has lived and breathed hockey his whole life.
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NHL tough guys all tell the same story. They all grew up dreaming of skating in the big league as stars. Then one day, a coach tells them the only way to make it is to drop the gloves. And every guy says the same thing: I'll do whatever it takes to play in the NHL. Not Stu Grimson, though. When he was offered a contract to patrol the ice for the Calgary Flames, he said no thanks, and went to university instead. And that's the way Grimson has approached his career and his life: on his own terms.
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truly enjoyable story
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SEPTEMBER 2, 1972, MONTREAL FORUM, GAME ONE: The best against the best for the first time. Canada, the country that had created the game; the Soviet Union, having taken it up only twenty-six years earlier. On the line: more than the players, more than the fans, more than Canadians and Russians knew. So began an entirely improbable, near-month-long series of games that became more and more riveting, until, for the eighth, and final, and deciding game - on a weekday, during work and school hours all across the country - the nation stopped.
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Good
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Written by: Ken Dryden
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The Game
- 20th Anniversary Edition
- Written by: Ken Dryden
- Narrated by: Ken Dryden
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
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Story
Widely acknowledged as the best hockey book ever written and lauded by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 10 Sports Books of All Time, The Game is a reflective and thought-provoking look at a life in hockey. Intelligent and insightful, former Montreal Canadiens goalie and former President of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ken Dryden captures the essence of the sport and what it means to all hockey fans.
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Loved it!
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Scotty
- A Hockey Life Like No Other
- Written by: Ken Dryden
- Narrated by: Ken Dryden
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Scotty, Dryden has given his coach a new test: Tell us about all these players and teams you've seen, but imagine yourself as their coach. Tell us about their weaknesses, not just their strengths. Tell us how you would coach them and coach against them. And then choose the top eight teams of all time, match them up against one another in a playoff series, and, separating the near-great from the great, tell us who would win. And why.
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great Insight
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Startling tale
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Burke's Law
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Wow
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NHL tough guys all tell the same story. They all grew up dreaming of skating in the big league as stars. Then one day, a coach tells them the only way to make it is to drop the gloves. And every guy says the same thing: I'll do whatever it takes to play in the NHL. Not Stu Grimson, though. When he was offered a contract to patrol the ice for the Calgary Flames, he said no thanks, and went to university instead. And that's the way Grimson has approached his career and his life: on his own terms.
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truly enjoyable story
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SEPTEMBER 2, 1972, MONTREAL FORUM, GAME ONE: The best against the best for the first time. Canada, the country that had created the game; the Soviet Union, having taken it up only twenty-six years earlier. On the line: more than the players, more than the fans, more than Canadians and Russians knew. So began an entirely improbable, near-month-long series of games that became more and more riveting, until, for the eighth, and final, and deciding game - on a weekday, during work and school hours all across the country - the nation stopped.
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Good
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They are motivators, key strategists, tough bosses, and choreographers. They can be branded as heroes, ousted as scapegoats, quietly valued as friends, and everything in between. It's all in the job description for an NHL head coach. In Behind the Bench, Craig Custance sits down for film sessions and candid conversations with some of the game's most notable modern luminaries - names like Mike Babcock, Joel Quenneville, Dan Bylsma, Ken Hitchcock, and Claude Julien - all of whom share their singular views on topics ranging from leadership secrets to on-ice game plans.
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GET A DIFFERENT NARRATOR
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Publisher's Summary
From the best-selling author and Hall of Famer Ken Dryden, this is the story of NHLer Steve Montador - who was diagnosed with CTE after his death in 2015 - the remarkable evolution of hockey itself, and a passionate prescriptive to counter its greatest risk in the future: head injuries.
Ken Dryden's The Game is acknowledged as the best book about hockey and one of the best books about sports ever written. Then came Home Game (with Roy MacGregor), also a major TV series, in which he explored hockey's significance and what it means to Canada and Canadians. Now, in his most powerful and important book yet, Game Change, Ken Dryden tells the riveting story of one player's life, examines the intersection between science and sport, and expertly documents the progression of the game of hockey - where it began, how it got to where it is, where it can go from here, and, just as exciting to play and watch, how it can get there.
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What listeners say about Game Change
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Dwayne
- 2017-11-14
Ken Dryden is a great orator
Hearing a former hockey player emotively read his own words about the game gives more flavour and context to the work. The words rise from the page.
3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2018-04-02
Compelling story that demands change from the NHL
Dryden tells a compelling story that his voice truly brings to life. He knows intimately of what he speaks because he has been there and done that. His love for the game, the players, the tradition is what drives him to tell a story that demands change in hockey. Every time I turn on the TV to watch the leafs or habs, I contemplate the storytelling and ponder what everlasting damage is being done each game night.
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2022-03-11
Hard but good book
Really felt for Steve, his family and friends. Hope this can be avoided in the future.
Thanks Ken for the book
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- Amazon Customer
- 2022-03-06
An important message
An important read for anyone in hockey. Excellent depiction of the evolution of the game, which we all should make an effort to understand. Makes you think about what you love about the game and why, and how it really can be played well without sacrificing a person's well-being.
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- Elaine Stirk
- 2021-02-20
Must Read for All
This book hit every emotion I had. Have such a better understanding of hockey. You first read it and feel sad, but by the end, at least for me, you feel empowered to learn and help change the problem. This should be the go to book in every organisation!
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- Travis
- 2021-02-11
Incredible!
Well written, well read, full of information. The Game is a great read I recommend to anyone, not just for hockey enthusiasts.
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- Anonymous User
- 2021-01-22
Ken Dryden is a Genius
This book so clearly illustrates Dryden’s intelligence and understanding of the game of hockey. He takes the reader through the history of hockey, and the life of Steve Montador, Steve’s is a sad story, but an important one to hockey, and all sports. Although Dryden is anti-fighting in hockey and I disagree with that, I agree with every other point he makes in the book with respect to hitting, interference and concussions. One of the most important books a hockey fan could read
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- Julie leblanc
- 2018-09-18
Great book
This is a great book! Very interesting and educational on not only hockey but some of the struggles some players go through after the hockey life!
#Audible1
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- lpj63
- 2018-07-13
Interesting read.
Long time hockey fan here.This book has definitely change the way I perceive the game.
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- Mark
- 2018-06-02
A Better Read than Listen
I listened to the audio book, however, I think I would have preferred to read this one. The reason being is that Dryden overuses a lot of description to make his point. (I could have skimmed that if I was reading the book). It is written like a legal argument where he builds his case supported by facts and testimony before finally getting to his closing arguments. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it even though I quite often said to myself, 'get to the point, Ken,' while listening to it.
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- Benedetto Manzella
- 2018-11-24
Thinking Time
It’s difficult to describe how important this book is to me. As a lifelong hockey fan, former player, and as someone currently recovering from a concussion; this has allowed me to hear perspective on my favorite sport and allow me to feel a level of comfort about my condition that I didn’t think was possible. Mr. Dryden is an impressive author and his narration is incredibly engaging.
2 people found this helpful
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- vn
- 2019-08-22
read it
Compelling story, worth a go. I need fifteen words, so you should get it right now.
1 person found this helpful
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- Phil
- 2018-01-01
Great Book!
Must read for Hockey fans. Ken does awesome job as narrator. Ken’s knowledge of hockey and the NHL was great to learn.
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2017-11-03
insightful
Hockey fans will love this book. Everyone who reads this will learn about the passion and motivation that drives the players. You will also see that the league is working to prevent brain injury. Hopefully anyone who has assumptions about the sport will read this.
1 person found this helpful
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- Mastiff Enthusiast
- 2022-02-12
looks at the personal side
you've heard the science behind CTE, you know it exists. you've seen the sad stories of football. but this takes it to another level. it shows the effects of head injuries and concussion more personally. it shows how the game of hockey has developed over time. how it could be fixed to make it safer, in ways that football cannot. it asks the question is why.. why does it need to put players at such risk? it shows how effects build up over time. if you want a really good illustrating of how concussion impacts plays, this is the one to read. I'm sure it's have gotten more out of our of I knew hockey, knew the players he's referencing . but not knowing them, I still got a lot out of the book.
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- Osprey
- 2020-10-19
An Important Examination of Brain Injury
Although the story starts slowly, Dryden does an excellent job of recounting the details of Steve Montador’s life in and out of hockey. The interviews with many of Steve’s closest friends and family members bring Montador’s triumphs and struggles to life in poignant fashion. Ultimately, Dryden pivots in the end to an insistence that Gary Bettman address the issue of head trauma in hockey, something Bettman has been stonewalling to date. Steve Montador’s story is not an isolated incident. Dryden succeeds in making the reader feel the loss of a fine human being while exhorting those in power to make the changes to the game that will minimize future issues with brain injury in hockey. Hockey is the greatest game on earth, but it needs to address this critical issue now.
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- Sarah Eloi Lambert
- 2020-04-13
You Will Think About Hockey Differently
Ken Dryden is a master! This is my third book by him and I can say no one can articulate an understanding of Hockey better than him. In this book he draws you into the life of Steve Montador so much that you feel so much about his ups and downs. Dryden mixes science behind brain injury and lessons of Steve’s life to make you realize the issue, who it affects, and why things should and need to change.
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- Joseph Kucharski III
- 2020-03-17
Change is good
Hockey, for the casual fan – the guy who catches the highlights while at the bowling alley bar or tunes in for a period when the local team hits the playoffs – can be defined by one all-encompassing element of play: the fight.
That diehard fan? Fighting, save for the occasional benches-clearing melee that lasts the entire third period (like that unforgettable Flyers/Senators brawl from 2004), is passé and even a time waster. For the diehard, it’s all about the speed, the slapshot, the butterfly save, the hat trick. The play and the score are what truly matters. And Ken Dryden, former Montreal Canadiens goalie and Maple Leafs president, now author, would agree. With his latest, Game Change, Dryden skates deep into another issue: concussions that come as a result of body checking, and yes, fighting.
Game Change is an entertaining, enlightening read. The book is also an important one, and topically so. In Game Change, Dryden explores the life and career of Steve Montador, an everyman defenseman who played for six NHL teams and whose career ended as a result of multiple concussions. Montador died in 2015 after suffering from the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease commonly known as CTE, an acronym anyone who saw the Will Smith movie Concussion should recall.
Dryden cleverly disguises his treatise with an enjoyable look into hockey history, how the game started, and how it has evolved. Within is also Montador’s story: how he played, how he trained, and most importantly, how he loved the game. Yet, similar to the fighters and goons of the game, Dryden does not pull any punches as he throws down his gloves to present his call to arms: no hits to the head. No excuses.
Dryden writes like a hockey player. His sentences are short and clipped, he often repeats highlights he finds important to ensure the reader takes notice. He is also passionate, writing from the heart, even when he is talking about the mind. To do so, he presents interviews not only from scientists and doctors who share his philosophy of changing – and only slightly at that – the game of hockey to preserve the quality of life for the player, but also talks to players. Former Bruin Marc Savard, Flyers captain Keith Primeau, and someone named Sidney Crosby all share their stories and fears and recovery from post-concussion syndrome, how it has changed their play, and their lives.
Game Change is written for the casual fan, but the diehard will enjoy the deep cuts. More importantly, and even more important than hockey, the respect for life offered within is shown as a universal constant. That players, with their athleticism, their passion, their talent, are much more than just a product. Theirs is a life that should be cherished and celebrated. Dryden believes that is a constant on which everyone can agree. Unless, of course, you are NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
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- kennylcx
- 2020-01-13
Sad but true
Ken Dryden my favorite writer, narrator by far. A subject that needs further investigation and financial backing. Gary Bettman needs to be pioneer on this subject or investigation to ignoring the health of this awesome sport of hockey....
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- D J Hayes
- 2019-11-23
Compelling Story
Ken Dryden's "Game Change" deals with CTE and it's devastating impacts. Insightful and heartbreaking. Mr Dryden's narration is excellent and his perspectives and prospective solutions very much worth hearing. Exceptional!