Smith - Puckstruck: distracted, delighted, and distressed by Canadas hockey obsession

If youre going to read all the hockey books and then write about them, youre going to need an eminently enthusiastic and very patient publisher. I did, anyway, and I was lucky enough to find him in Rob Sanders. Without him and the wise and unfailingly encouraging Jan Walter, Puckstruck would be languishing still on my desk.

For meeting and talking, for answering questions both small and not-so small, and/or for their general willingness to help, my thanks go to: Dave Bidini, Craig Campbell, Lloyd Davis, Stan Fischler, Martin Levin, Roy MacGregor, Ron MacLean, Roy McMurtry, James Milks, Stephen Osborne, Phil Pritchard, Dr. Vern Stenlund, Dianna Symonds, and Jane Winton.

I met Bill Fitsell long ago in the newsroom of the Kingston Whig-Standard and he continues to inspire me with his good-humoured and tireless hockey scholarship. Thank you, Bill.

Its a pleasure to work with the dedicated team at Greystone: Jennifer Croll and Jessica Sullivan, Andrea Damiani, Lesley Cameron, Ingrid Paulson, Peter Norman, and Beverly Dunne.

Without George Powell, there would have been no rink at Indian Hill.

Thanks to Dr. Mike Evans and Steve Thuringer for picking me for their teams.

Im grateful to Chris Dennis for his many years of watching my back, even if thats meant taking a penalty now and again, and to James Darling for his steadfast love of Habs.

Hail to Andy Heintzman, Mike McGowan, Miles Kronby, and Nick de Pencier for getting me down all those (terrifying) rapids and for the laughter and unwavering support. Also to Sarah Atkinson, Ian Spears, Roz Heintzman, Shelagh McNulty, Jennifer Baichwal, and Tammy Quinn: thank you.

Evan Solomon helped shape this book with his insight and literary instincts as much as with his wholehearted passionate self and unapologetic drop-passes.

Dawn and Denis Smith, Alastair and Andrea: abrazos.

Thank you, and loveall of itto Sarah and Zac and Ruairi, who believe.

Angus, Charlie. Les Costello: Canadas Flying Father. Toronto: Novalis, 2005.

Arnold, Ed. Hockey Town: Life Before the Pros. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2004.

Atwood, Margaret. Survival. Toronto: House of Anansi, 1972.

Barbour, Ralph Henry. Guarding His Goal. New York: D. Appleton, 1926.

Batten, Jack. The Leafs in Autumn. Toronto: Macmillan, 1975.

Beardsley, Doug. Country on Ice. Winlaw: Polestar, 1988.

Beers, William. Lacrosse: Canadas National Game. Montreal, 1869.

Bernstein, Ross. The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL. Chicago: Triumph, 2006.

Bidini, Dave. Tropic of Hockey. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2000.

. A Wild Stab for It: This Is Game Eight from Russia. Toronto: ECW, 2012.

Birdwell, Cleo. Amazons. New York: Holt, Reinhart and Winston, 1980.

Bowlsby, Craig. 1913: The Year They Invented the Future of Hockey. Vancouver: Knights of Winter, 2013.

Carrier, Roch (illustrated by Sheldon Cohen). The Hockey Sweater. Toronto: House of Anansi, 1979.

Cosentino, Frank. Hockey Gods at the Summit: How the 1972 Team Canada-Soviet Series Became a September to Remember. Renfrew: General Store, 2011.

Craig, John. Power Play. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1968.

Drackett, Phil. Flashing Blades: The Story of British Ice Hockey. Ramsbury: Crowood Press, 1987.

Dryden, Ken (with Mark Mulvoy). Face-Off at the Summit. Toronto: Little, Brown, 1973.

Dryden, Ken. The Game: A Thoughtful and Provocative Look at a Life in Hockey. Toronto: Macmillan, 1983.

Duplacey, James. The Rules of Hockey. Toronto: Dan Diamond, 1996.

Dutton, Meryvn. Hockey: The Fastest Game on Earth. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1938.

Eskenazi, Gerald. A Thinking Mans Guide to Pro Hockey. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1972.

Esposito, Phil (with Peter Golenbock). Thunder and Lightning: A No-B.S. Hockey Memoir. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2003.

Farrell, Arthur. Hockey: Canadas Royal Winter Game. Montreal: C.R. Corneil, 1899.

Faulkner, William. Essays, Speeches and Public Letters. New York: Random House, 1965.

Ferguson, Donald. The Chums of Scranton High at Ice Hockey. Cleveland: World Syndicate, 1919.

Fischler, Stan. Those Were the Days: The Lore of Hockey. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1976.

Fitkin, Ed. Max Bentley: Hockeys Dipsy-Doodle Dandy. Toronto: Castle, 1951.

Fitsell, J.W. (Bill). Hockeys Captains, Colonels & Kings. Erin: Boston Mills Press, 1987.

. How Hockey Happened. Kingston: Quarry Heritage, 2007.

Fitzsimmons, Cortland. Crimson Ice: A Hockey Mystery. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1935.

Frayne, Trent. The Mad Men of Hockey. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1974.

Fyffe, Iain. On His Side of the Puck: The Early History of Hockey Rules. Fredericton: Blurb. 2014.

Gaston, Bill. The Good Body. Dunvegan: Cormorant, 2000.

Gidn, Carl, Patrick Houda, and Jean-Patrice Martel. On The Origin of Hockey. Stockholm and Chambly: Hockey Origin, 2014.

Gitler, Ira. Blood On The Ice: Hockeys Most Violent Moments. Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1974.

Gopnik, Adam. Winter: Five Windows on the Season. Toronto: House of Anansi, 2011.

Gzowski, Peter. The Game of Our Lives. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1981.

Harper, Stephen J. A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & The Rise of Professional Hockey. Toronto: Simon & Schuster, 2013.

Harrison, Richard. Hero of the Play. Toronto: Wolsak and Wynn, 1994.

Hood, Hugh. Strength Down Centre: The Jean Bliveau Story. Scarborough: Prentice-Hall, 1970.

Howe, Gordie, and Colleen Howe (with Tom Delisle). and... Howe! Traverse City: Power Play, 1995.

Hull, Bobby. Hockey Is My Game. Don Mills: Longmans, 1968.

Jagr, Jaromir (with Jan Smid). Jagr: An Autobiography. Pittsburgh: 68 Productions, 1997.

Jarman, Mark Anthony. Salvage King, Ya! Vancouver, Anvil Press, 1997.

Johnston, Wayne. The Divine Ryans. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1990.

Kidd, Bruce, and John Macfarlane. The Death of Hockey. Toronto: New Press, 1972.

Klein, Jeff Z., and Karl-Eric Reif. The Death of Hockey: or, How a Bunch of Guys with Too Much Money and Too Little Sense Are Killing the Greatest Game on Earth. Toronto: Macmillan, 1998.

Larionov, Igor (with Jim Taylor and Leonid Reizer). Larionov. Winnipeg: Codner, 1990.

Ludwig, Jack. Hockey Night in Moscow. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1972.

MacGregor, Roy. The Last Season. Toronto: Macmillan, 1983.

MacSkimming, Roy. Cold War. Vancouver: Greystone, 1996.

Maggs, Randall. Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems. London: Brick Books, 2008.

Martin, Lawrence. The Red Machine: The Soviet Quest to Dominate Canadas Game. Toronto: Doubleday, 1990.

McCormack, Pete. Understanding Ken. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1998.

McIlhone, Quinn. Trade Rumours. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1985.

McMurtry, William R. Investigation and Inquiry into Violence in Amateur Hockey. Toronto: Ministry of Community and Social Services, 1974.

Meeker, Howie. Howie Meekers Hockey Basics. Scarborough: Prentice-Hall, 1973.

Moffatt, James. Blue Line Murder. North Hollywood: Leisure, 1970.

Muller, Charles Geoffrey. Puck Chasers Incorporated. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1927.