From The Point: The Hockey Book Review

As the title suggests one of the best seats in a hockey arena is the end of the bench where the backup goaltender sits. Jamie McLennan was a long time stalwart backup and sometimes starting goaltender in the NHL over 11 seasons in the NHL, this book is his stories of the moments and personalities that made his career a great time. It's another great hockey story but more importantly told with a fun style only Noodles can bring.

Do you remember the feeling of ripping open a wax pack of cards and searching through them for your favorite players? Ken Reid does and in this book not only brings you back to that feeling, but he tells you the stories behind some of those great cards from the players themselves. It's hockey gold through the lens of a hobby we all remember and love!

Kaleb Dahlgren was like many young players across Canada in Junior hockey chasing his dream of playing hockey at a high level when tragedy struck. Kaleb's road to get to that point, during, and after are a great story and go well beyond the game. It's a book that makes you think, cheer, and feel while you see Kaleb make it through his life and the crash.

Steve Montador's death at age 35 in 2015 was a shock to the hockey world. The revelation that he had CTÉ was even more of a shock as it forced hockey to take a look at why a young man such as Steve would have developed the neurological disease. Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden asks the tough questions as to why it happened and how things need to change to prevent it in the future.

Gordie Howe's youngest son Murray wanted to be the best hockey player in the world like his dad. But as time went on he realized he wanted to be just like his dad and being the greatest of them all had little to do with hockey. We discuss Murray's homage to his dad and the legend that is Mr. Hockey and why his 9 lessons are so important.

On the 2018 US Women's Olympic team a set of identical twins from North Dakota Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux capture led the imagination of the country as they helped win Gold in Peyongchang. Still the road to get there was a really the biggest story as they grew in hockey and took on the US Hockey institution for the equity they deserved.

Hockey Hall of Famer Haley Wickenheiser is perhaps the most successful women ever to strap on skates. Her 4 Olympic Gold Medals speak for themselves, but in this account centered around the lead up to and the run in the 2010 Olympics you learn not only about that time but what motivated Haley to be such a great player and so much more.

The 1998 US Olympic Team won the first Gold Medal handed out in Women's Ice Hockey. The team's performance on the ice was only part of the story though. The women who made up the team and how they changed sports forever is the rest of it. We discuss how and why through the lens of Mary Turco's book.

Author Ken Reid tells you the quick stories of players who only scored one goal in the NHL. It's an eclectic mix of great short stories of so many different roads before and after that these player traveled to get to one NHL goal.

Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr spent 19 seasons in the NHL winning 5 Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers. He is the most successful black player in the history of the NHL. His story is one of ups and downs that shaped the man into one of best ever.

January 18th 1958 Willie O'Ree changed the face and course of the NHL and hockey forever when he donned a Bruins sweater as the first black player in NHL history. But that's not all of the story. What happened to get him there and what happened afterwards is the real story of Willie. We discuss what happened to Willie and how his determination and positive attitude made him truly great.

Before Willie O'Ree broke in to the NHL, Herb Carnegie was one of the best players of 1940s and early 1950s. Because he was black he faced a ton of challenges to try and make it to the NHL just like many other Canadian kids dreamed of. While he didn't make the NHL his life and story stand as an inspiration and are integral to fabric of hockey and society. His was a great life and we discuss why it was and what his place should be in history.

Over an almost two year period, reporter Craig Custance interviewed 10 of hockey's best coaches in 2015 to 2017. His formula was simple sit down and watch one of greatest games that coach ever coached and there you have it pure hockey gold. We discuss the lessons of the book and the things that make these coaches great.

Brian Burke is one most influential members of the hockey community over last three plus decades. His blunt and honest assessments make this book an outstanding look at some of the biggest issues in hockey in recent times. We examine the man who he is, his track record, and his legacy.

Jeremy Roenick was one of the best players in the NHL during the 1990s and 2000s. In his 20 seasons it could be said that his scoring and physical play wasn't the only thing he was he was known for...his mouth was legendary as well. We discuss his words in the book and his place in hockey history in this Episode.

15 year NHL veteran and Stanley Cup winner Joe Murphy is now homeless and living on the streets. TSN reporter Rick Westhead chronicles his rise and fall in the hockey world, and offers a tragic story of a broken man who now finds himself on the streets unable to beat his toughest opponent brain injury.

The WHA was formed in the early 1970s to directly rival the NHL as the top professional hockey league in North America. It lasted for 7 crazy seasons and left a unmistakable mark on the NHL and hockey forever.

Barry Melrose has been on air with ESPN for 26 years. His life as a player and coach are awesome and unique which help to build an awesome story and lessons/thoughts on the game that Barry shares with reader. We discuss his life and some of those lessons in this episode.

Bobby Orr not only played hockey well he changed the game forever. In his 12 NHL seasons Orr revolutionized the way the defensemen position was played. His humility makes it that much more of a great read. In this episode we'll crack open all the facets of the man to include a quick overtime to discuss his latest headline.

In the mid 2000s there was no one more feared in the NHL than The Boogeyman, Derek Boogaard. But his tragic death in 2011 would shed a light on the issues of brain injury and the price of fighting in hockey. In this episode we hear directly from author John Branch as he answers a few questions to better understand the book and Derek's life and death.

Bobby Hull is perhaps the best Blackhawk ever to put on the team's sweater and is largely thought to be one of the best shooters in the history of the game. So why is so distant from the game today as his star dims. Gare Joyce shows how Hull's destructive behavior off the ice have kept him from the reverence many of the games other greats enjoy.

On New Years Eve 1975 the Canadiens and Central Red Army skated to a 3-3 tie in a game that has been called the greatest hockey game ever played. The skilled slugfest between the two teams showed the world that pure hockey wasn't dead and that the game was not doomed to become a violent sideshow.

Val James was the first Black American to play in the NHL when he debuted with the Sabers in 1982. It was an accomplishment that was largely ignored then but shouldn't be now. His story of determination and grit is one that will inspire anyone inside or out of hockey.

Doug Gilmour was a force in the NHL for 20 years from 1983 to 2003. His gritty style of play was truly some of the best two-way play in the history of the game. Killer: My Life in Hockey is an examination of the grit and determination that made Gilmour a Hall of Famer.

In the first episode of From The Point, we're taking a look at the life of a hockey legend Gordie Howe. His book Mr. Hockey is a great journey that every hockey fan needs to take. In this episode we take a look at the book and Howe's career that spanned from the 1940s to the 1980s.