World Hockey

Growing up on a First Nation reserve, young Ted Nolan built his own backyard hockey rink and wore skates many sizes too big. But poverty wasn’t his biggest challenge. Playing the game meant spending his life in two worlds: one in which he was loved and accepted and one where he was often told he didn’t belong. Ted proved he had what it took, joining the Detroit Red Wings in 1978. But when his on-ice career ended, he discovered his true passion wasn’t playing; it was coaching.

Sean McIndoe of Down Goes Brown, one of hockey's favorite and funniest writers, takes aim at the game's most memorable moments - especially if they're memorable for the wrong reasons - in this warts-and-all history of the NHL.

In 1980 the Soviet Union had dominated the world of hockey for nearly 30 years. Nobody thought the USSR's hockey team could be beaten in the Winter Olympics. But US Hockey coach Herb Brooks didn't believe that. He pulled together a ragtag team of amateur hockey players and molded them into a team that could compete with the best teams in the world.

In 2015, Russia’s Anti-Doping Centre was suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) following revelations of an elaborate state-sponsored doping programme. Involving a nearly undetectable steroid delivery system known as ‘Duchesse cocktail’, tampering and switching of urine samples and a complex state-sanctioned cover-up, the programme was masterminded by Grigory Rodchenkov. The Rodchenkov Affair tells the full, unadulterated story that was first glimpsed in Bryan Fogel’s award-winning documentary and still continues to captivate and shock the world.

Auf Lena, Max und Lars wartet ein großes Abenteuer, auch wenn es im grauen Herbst und an ihrer neuen Schule erst einmal nicht danach aussieht ... Doch ehe sie es sich versehen, hat es schon begonnen - und ihr seid ebenfalls mittendrin, denn immer wieder heißt es: "Und jetzt DU!" Schnappt euch also gleich euren Hockeyschläger und probiert die vielen tollen Tricks, die die Hockey-Kids in diesem Buch lernen, gleich gemeinsam mit ihnen aus.

In Open Net, George Plimpton takes to the ice as goalie for his beloved Boston Bruins. After signing a release holding the Bruins blameless if he should meet with injury or death, he survives a harrowing, seemingly eternal five minutes in an exhibition game against the always-tough Philadelphia Flyers.

After breaking or tying more than 60 records in hockey, it's no wonder that Wayne Gretzky is known as "The Great One". Born in Brantford, Ontario, on January 26, 1961, in a nation obsessed with the sport, he threw himself into the game practically from the time he first laced up a pair of skates. When he retired from the NHL in 1999, he had led several teams to Stanley Cup victories, competed in the Olympics, and changed the way hockey was played forever.

It was one night trapped with a hockey god due to a hurricane. We shared one bed too. I also ignored the little fact that Vaughn has always been my brother's rival on the ice. And when the storm cleared, so did Vaughn. Months later, he shows up in my hospital room in Lake Spark where it only takes one look at me and the man is counting back in his head, or maybe it's my face that explains it all. He's going to be a dad. And I didn't tell him.

The Fastest Game in the World is a global history of a global sport, drawing upon research conducted around the world in a variety of languages. From Canadian prairies to Swiss mountain resorts, Soviet housing blocks to American suburbs, Bruce Berglund takes listeners on an international tour, seamlessly weaving in hockey’s local, national, and international trends.

Running into your brother's billionaire ex-hockey-playing best friend at a special kind of party should have been a red flag. Pulling one another's names from a bowl at said party was a coincidence. Having a wild night together that we said we'd forget was probably our mistake. Especially when Declan shows up weeks later as the new owner of the hockey team that practices in Lake Spark, and he has an offer for me. Meet him every day in his hotel room for a week to enjoy a little fling while he passes through town.

Showing up to a small town for an author retreat began with a bad arrival at the inn. Stone Madden, the cocky retired hockey star with a tight jawline, and my opposite? He's actually the man behind a writer I assumed was a recluse. And he's ready to make my day miserable due to our apparent lack of enthusiasm for one another. But it doesn't take long to discover we click with an inflammable instant attraction. The fire I thought I'd lost inside of me begins to return.

For our son. That's the explanation my hockey-playing ex gave as to why we needed to spend time as a family at his lake house in the small town where it all began. What I didn't expect was to show up and discover our son is spending another week at camp, and we are all alone. Oh, and fake a relationship to fulfill an old lady's wish, too. I realize Ford is on the mission I always feared: win me back.

Wally McDoogle, klutz-extraordinaire, has stumbled his way into sports stardom. But only Wally could end up playing hockey goalie against the monstrous Mad Dog Miller while being trapped in a chicken suit. Before his misadventures end, Wally finally learns the real dangers of jealousy and envy, and the true value of aspirin.