Everybody has value and should be made to feel that way. That was one of our fundamental tenets, and we all bough into it completely. We believed that if you've built the right culture-a culture of inclusion-then an important contribution could just as likely come from a guy who says he's keeping his fingers crossed to hang on with the team as from one of the stars. Book jacket.

Wearing the C insignia on the uniforma badge of honor reserved for team captainsis professional hockey's highest honor, and this study discusses how many of the NHL's all-time greatest players were captains. This exciting new bookan entertaining and enlightening blend of hockey stories and leadership lessonsreveals the secrets of hockey's greatest captains by asking questions such as What does it take to lead a team to championship? What are the keys to overcoming unexpected adversity? and How does a captain manage strong egos from diverse backgrounds into a unified, focused team? To get the inside story, author Ross Bernstein interviewed more than 100 of the all-time greatest captains, assistant captains, and head coaches, including Wayne Gretzky, Scotty Bowman, Phil Esposito, and Joe Sakic. An ideal book for any hockey fan, this work recounts some of the greatest moments in NHL history.

In this sports memoir, Wayne Gretzky weaves memories of his legendary career with an inside look at professional hockey and the heroes and stories that inspired him. From minor-hockey phenomenon to Hall of Fame sensation, Wayne Gretzky rewrote the record books, his accomplishments becoming the stuff of legend. Dubbed “The Great One,” he is considered by many to be the greatest hockey player who ever lived. No one has seen more of the game than he has—but he has never discussed in depth just what it was he saw. For the first time, Gretzky discusses candidly what the game looks like to him and introduces us to the people who inspired and motivated him: mentors, teammates, rivals, the famous and the lesser known. Weaving together lives and moments from an extraordinary career, he reflects on the players who inflamed his imagination when he was a kid, the way he himself figured in the dreams of so many who came after; takes us onto the ice and into the dressing rooms to meet the friends who stood by him and the rivals who spurred him to greater heights; shows us some of the famous moments in hockey history through the eyes of someone who regularly made that history. Warm, direct, and revelatory, it is a book that gives us number 99, the man and the player, like never before.

Throughout his extraordinary career, Mark Messier has set a new standard of hockey excellence. A pillar of the incredible Edmonton Oilers dynasty that won five Stanley Cups and dominated the sport in the 1980’s, a fierce competitor for Team Canada in international competition, and later the driving force behind the New York Rangers’ return to championship glory, Messier’s remarkable achievements on the ice, combined with his near-magical (and at times menacing) charisma have made him one of hockey’s most commanding and intriguing personalities. Now, New York Times Magazine writer Jeff Z. Klein takes readers behind the headlines and statistics for a revealing look at a hockey legend. Drawing on his incisive understanding of the game of hockey, and his sources within the NHL, Klein gives us an intimate look at the man who may be the most fascinating player in hockey and the greatest leader in all sport.

Terry Ryan was poised to take the hockey world by storm when he was selected eighth overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1995 NHL draft, their highest draft pick in a decade. Expected to go on to become a hockey star, Ryan played a total of eight NHL games for the Canadiens, scoring no goals and no assists: not exactly the career he, or anyone else, was expecting. Though Terry's NHL career wasn't long, he experienced a lot and has no shortage of hilarious and fascinating revelations about life in pro hockey on and off the ice. In Tales of a First-Round Nothing, he recounts fighting with Tie Domi, partying with rock stars, and everything in between. Ryan tells it like it is, detailing his rocky relationship with Michel Therrien, head coach of the Canadiens, and explaining what life is like for a man who was unprepared to have his career over so soon.

**One of Sports Illustrated's Best Sports Books of 2017** Controversial hockey star Sean Avery's no-holds-barred memoir of high living and bad behavior in the NHL—coupled with the behind-the-scenes glitter of celebrity and media nightlife in New York and LA. As one of the NHL’s most polarizing players, Sean Avery turned the rules of professional hockey on its head. For thirteen seasons, Avery played for some of the toughest, most storied franchises in the league, including the Detroit Red Wings, the Los Angeles Kings, and the New York Rangers, making his mark in each city as a player that was sometimes loved, often despised, but always controversial. In Ice Capades, Avery takes his trademark candidness about the world of pro hockey and does for it what Jim Bouton's game-changing Ball Four did for baseball. Avery goes deep inside the sport to reveal every aspect of an athlete’s life, from what they do with their money and nights off to how they stay sharp and competitive in the league. While playing the talented villain in the NHL, Avery broke far away from his on-ice character in the off-season, and Ice Capades takes the reader inside the other unexpected and unprecedented roles that Avery inhabited—Vogue intern, fashion model, advertising executive, restauranteur, gay rights advocate, and many more. Love him or hate him, Sean Avery changed the way professional hockey is played today. Rollickingly honest and compelling throughout, Ice Capades transcends the “sports book” genre and offers a rare, unvarnished glimpse into the world of 21st century hockey through the eyes of one of its most original and memorable players.

When a young girl helps tend to her grandmother’s garden, she begins to notice things that make her curious. Why does her grandmother have long, braided hair and beautifully coloured clothing? Why does she speak another language and spend so much time with her family? As she asks her grandmother about these things, she is told about life in a residential school a long time ago, where all of these things were taken away. When We Were Alone is a story about a difficult time in history, and, ultimately, one of empowerment and strength. Also available in a bilingual Swampy Cree/English edition. When We Were Alone won the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award in the Young People's Literature (Illustrated Books) category, and was nominated for the TD Canadian's Children's Literature Award.

Looking back on a memorable career, Darren McCarty recounts his time as one of the most visible and beloved members of the Detroit Red Wings as well as his personal struggles with addiction, finances, and women and his daily battles to overcome them. As a member of four Red Wings' Stanley Cup&–winning teams, McCarty played the role of enforcer from 1993 to 2004 and returning again in 2008 and 2009. His “Grind Line” with teammates Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby physically overmatched some of the best offensive lines in the NHL, but he was more than just a brawler: his 127 career goals included several of the highlight variety, including an inside-out move against Philadelphia in the clinching game of the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals. As colorful a character as any NHL player, he has arms adorned with tattoos, and he was the lead singer in the hard rock band Grinder during the offseason. Yet this autobiography details what may have endeared him most to his fans: the honest, open way he has dealt with his struggles in life off the ice. Whether dealing with substance abuse, bankruptcy, divorce, or the death of his father, Darren McCarty has always seemed to persevere.

FINALIST FOR THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE & A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOK OF 2021 WINNER OF THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE “A book that reads like a prose poem, at once sublime, profane, intimate, philosophical, witty and, eventually, deeply moving.” —New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice “Wow. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much reading a book. What an inventive and startling writer…I’m so glad I read this. I really think this book is remarkable.” —David Sedaris From "a formidably gifted writer" (The New York Times Book Review), a book that asks: Is there life after the internet? As this urgent, genre-defying book opens, a woman who has recently been elevated to prominence for her social media posts travels around the world to meet her adoring fans. She is overwhelmed by navigating the new language and etiquette of what she terms "the portal," where she grapples with an unshakable conviction that a vast chorus of voices is now dictating her thoughts. When existential threats--from climate change and economic precariousness to the rise of an unnamed dictator and an epidemic of loneliness--begin to loom, she posts her way deeper into the portal's void. An avalanche of images, details, and references accumulate to form a landscape that is post-sense, post-irony, post-everything. "Are we in hell?" the people of the portal ask themselves. "Are we all just going to keep doing this until we die?" Suddenly, two texts from her mother pierce the fray: "Something has gone wrong," and "How soon can you get here?" As real life and its stakes collide with the increasingly absurd antics of the portal, the woman confronts a world that seems to contain both an abundance of proof that there is goodness, empathy, and justice in the universe, and a deluge of evidence to the contrary. Fragmentary and omniscient, incisive and sincere, No One Is Talking About This is at once a love letter to the endless scroll and a profound, modern meditation on love, language, and human connection from a singular voice in American literature.

Ryan Minkoff was blessed with athleticism, perseverance, and an unquenchable passion for playing hockey. His journey to the pros against lofty odds was, as he says, “unconventional.” Minkoff’s love for the game began in Minnesota, the State of Hockey, where his youth and high-school experiences were anything but ordinary. His suitcase always packed, he played for seven different hockey programs in a fourteen-year span. While Minkoff’s confidence wavered and was often challenged, his determination and passion stayed strong, and he found his way to the University of Washington to play in the unfamiliar world of club hockey. Despite discouraging circumstances, such as games in empty arenas starting well after midnight to hitchhiking home after a long road trip, Minkoff not only set records, captained the squad, and ran the club as the president, he also formed strong bonds with his coaches and teammates. Following an illustrious club career, Minkoff landed in the professional ranks of Finland, where—in the midst of nearly crashing a Zamboni, acting as the town’s Santa Claus, and sleeping at the rink—he truly discovered his gift of a lifetime in the game of hockey. Thin Ice is an honest, witty, inspirational coming-of-age story. Ryan Minkoff’s debut memoir is for anyone who roots for an underdog whose dreams will not fade no matter the obstacles.