I, Wayne Gretzky : Short Stories by

Sep 08, Brenda rated it really liked it Shelves: I really loved learning about the beginning of the NHL. It has been an exciting 99 years and with that the hockey greats are always present. The stories of the players as well as the teams building into what they are now was definitely exciting to read. I could put this book down and pick it up and a new story in each chapter did not puzzle me. I could hear Wayne Gretzky speaking as I read.

It was like I was listening to him talk. A great book for any hockey fan. Dec 30, Boni rated it it was amazing. I've always loved the game, and as an 8-yr old was absolutely thrilled to read about heroes I never even saw play, replicating their greatest exploits on the local pond. These stars were as romantic to Canadians as the Duke and the Cartwrights were to Americans. I thought I'd read and heard locker room gossip about everything there was in hockey, but was very pleasantly surprised to discover new anecdotes of this book, typically ringing the bell of those values, ethics, or whatever that draws I've always loved the game, and as an 8-yr old was absolutely thrilled to read about heroes I never even saw play, replicating their greatest exploits on the local pond.

I thought I'd read and heard locker room gossip about everything there was in hockey, but was very pleasantly surprised to discover new anecdotes of this book, typically ringing the bell of those values, ethics, or whatever that draws many fans to the sport. Gretzky's historical vignettes add much to understanding the hockey cultures that flow towards this common passion. It also made me crave for a sequel book that further opens the door to other countries' perspectives like Finland and Sweden, Germany and Switzerland, Korea and Japan Jan 03, David rated it it was amazing.

Wasn't really sure what to expect going into this one. Thought it might be just a chronicle of some of his most memorable career moments. That likely would have been great, too, coming right from the man himself. However, the book delves into the NHL's deep history quite a bit. Gretzky's reflections on the NHL were not the usual, same old-same old stories that I'd heard a thousand times before Some of them were familiar, yes, but if they were, there was always Very enjoyable read!

I, Wayne Gretzky

Some of them were familiar, yes, but if they were, there was always something new added that I hadn't heard before. Or Gretzky put his own perspective on it that made the story unique. Adding to this, he nicely wove in some stories from his own career that related to many of the topics he was writing about.

It's a great, fun, entertaining read. For a book of stories about the NHL's history, I can't think of one that is better. Nov 06, Kim rated it really liked it. Gretzky's love for the game, and the people who play it, shows throughout this book. I listened to the audio version, and would sometimes lose track of the evolution of the teams during the early chapters devoted to pre-NHL times.

When I listen to it again I will take a break in between chapters to help avoid the "this team begat that team" fatigue. My son said that worked well for him; and as he is even more of a hockey fan than I am he has cats named Gretzky and Kariya I'll take his suggesti Gretzky's love for the game, and the people who play it, shows throughout this book. My son said that worked well for him; and as he is even more of a hockey fan than I am he has cats named Gretzky and Kariya I'll take his suggestion: Dec 27, Dynah Thirst rated it really liked it. I listened to the audiobook so it was a bit hard to keep track of all the names but the stories were interesting as was listening to how the NHL developed.

I wasn't crazy about the narrator but he was better when I had him on 1. Mar 18, Matt Graupman rated it it was amazing. With its breakneck pace, controlled violence, and fluid creativity, I think ice hockey is much more deserving of the moniker. So, as the best professional league in hockey, the NHL, prepares to celebrate its one hundredth year of existence, who better than its best player to look back on its first century of history, characters, and controversies?

Hockey may lag behind the other major sports in terms of viewership and ticket sales but hockey fans are a crazy bunch. Dec 21, Carey P. The book is told from Gretzky's point of view.

I am g Intro: I am going to take you through some of the most important stories Wayne Gretzky tells us. The first hockey superstar: The first hockey superstar as told by Wayne Gretzky was Howie Morenz. Howie Morenz put up goals and points in games. Morenz played from to , the year he died. He grew up playing shinny on a frozen pond with his brothers. The pond usually had rocks frozen twigs and branches making it harder to skate on it. However, that only made Howie better.

Since he had to avoid the twigs branches and the rocks it made him stronger on his skates. The Montreal Canadiens signed Morenz July 7, This chapter tells us how Howie Morenz was the first ambassador for the game of hockey. Wayne tells us how the days of the Original 6 might not seem competitive, but it was probably some of the most competitive hockey ever played.

They all grew up together and all would go on to play for the Bruins. However, like most hockey players in that era, all three of those guys would go on to take part in the Second World War. One of the reasons the Original 6 was so competitive was all the rivalries. Some of the best rivalries were the Leafs and Habs and the Habs and Bruins. Notice how both those rivalries include the Habs. The Canadiens at the time were a very successful franchise making them the team everyone wanted to beat. This chapter in the book tells us about the days of the Original 6 and some of the rivalries. The greatest of them all: Wayne tells us how he grew up admiring the late Gordie Howe.

And how much of an impact he had on his life. Growing up Wayne would always imagine being Howe in the Stanley Cup finals scoring the game winning goal. Gordie was a strong Saskatchewan boy who learned to play hockey on a frozen pond. The first team to scout Howe was the New York Rangers, but he would never play for them, instead he would go on to play for the Detroit Red Wings. Gordie Howe, the so called greatest player in history had a slow start to his professional hockey career, putting up only seven goals and fifteen assists.

But we all know what Gordie would go on to do after this season in his prestigious hockey career. This phase in the book is completely dedicated to Wayne's childhood hero Gordie Howe. The Russians and the Canadians have had a lot of fierce battles over the years.

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The Summit Series was an eight game series that would take place in Canada and Russia in The Russians would go to win two games out of the four games held in Canada. Game three ended in a tie. After the Canadians were booed at the end of game 4, Phil Esposito gave a speech that would turn the mood around in the Canadian dressing room. The Canadians were down in the series heading into Russia for the final four games of the series.

99: Stories of the Game

The Canadians would once again lose in game 5 but they would go on to win the next three games winning the series 4 games to 3. Gretzky said he believes that one of the main reasons Canada won that series was because they matched skill on skill with Russia. The Summit Series would be the start of a new way the game was played. It wasn't just playing the game with grit, now you also needed skill. In this chapter, Wayne tells us the history of the Stanley Cup. Lord Stanley watched his first hockey game at the Montreal Winter Carnival. His daughter would go on to play shinny in the first women's hockey game ever.

His two sons would also play hockey for the Ottawa Rideau Rebels. The letter stated Lord Stanley's idea of having a challenge cup that the teams in the league could compete for. That fall a 7. Wayne then tells the reader how hard winning the Stanley Cup can really be. There are 16 teams and you have to go through 4 best of seven series. For instance, the Washington Capitals have a franchise player in Alex Ovechkin but they have never even made it out of the second round.

Gretzky also talks about the Rangers team that went on to win the Stanley Cup and how captain Mark Messier guaranteed a win in game 6 of the eastern conference finals. This chapter is completely dedicated to the hardest trophy to win in professional sports, the Stanley Cup. Still being very young, most if not all the stories told in the book all took place before I was born. Kirstie McLellan and Wayne Gretzky both do an excellent job in telling these stories. All the stories told in the book are important parts of hockey history.

I really enjoyed reading this book because I learned about a lot of new events and players that helped shape the game of hockey today. Even the events that I already had tons of knowledge about like the Miracle on ice, I still managed to learn a couple of fun facts, like how the game took place five hours before it was aired in the United States. With all of its pros, the book does have a couple of cons. The biggest con for me was the length of the book. However, I think that this problem is almost unfixable because the book has a lot of information and taking some of it out would seem incomplete.

Nov 22, Brad McKenna rated it really liked it Shelves: This was essentially a series of essays. So this review will fall under the pattern of my short story collection reviews: A dentist from Michigan created the first professional league aka officially paid. Given the stereotypically gap-toothed hockey players, this seems self-serving! He talks about Howe and Orr the most but he also talks about m This was essentially a series of essays.

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He talks about Howe and Orr the most but he also talks about my favorite Bruin of all time: He split time with Grant Fuhr. It was also great to learn that Moog was a fan of my the man who got me into The Blues: Vernon told him to force a trade. Did Roy throw that game to accomplish this? True Tremblay could have pulled him earlier but would that have mattered? And was that even an options, Tremblay liked Roy as much as Roy liked him, that is not a all. Gretzky thinks Hextall and Billy Smith are the two best goalies he ever played against, though he thinks Grant Fuhr was the best goalie of all time.

I got a surprising amount of info about goalies from the man who terrorized them. Keeping in that trend, I found out that Georges Vezina was the first goalie to ever record a shutout; Feb 18, The Canada cups continue that rivalry. Reading this book was dangerous. Probably my own fault, but I definitely misread what this book would mainly be about. Gretzky attempts to give a sort of overview of the history of hockey in this, rather than sticking to his own story, which I don't think he manages to carry off particularly well.

The most interesting parts of it are, of course, the personal anecdotes that he shares about being in the room or about things that he remembers. I found long recitations of the history of some of the teams in the NHL--especially the Probably my own fault, but I definitely misread what this book would mainly be about. I found long recitations of the history of some of the teams in the NHL--especially the defunct ones--really interrupted the flow of the story. Plunking a chapter about the history of the Golden Seals in the middle of the book definitely didn't help me and I honestly remember very little about what I read.

I felt that way about a lot of what Gretzky chooses to address, mostly because I think he believes that it's important to the history of the game, which he genuinely seems to love. And it is important to the history of the game, but I'm not really a hockey historian, so I found it pretty fucking boring. Also, when Gretzky chooses to include chapters about the and American gold medal teams, it struck me as very strange.

I get that those are milestone moments in the history of USA Hockey, but here's the thing. Gretzky didn't play at either, and he's not an American, so what you get is a sort of performative retelling of why this event is important for USA Hockey. Again, for hockey historians this is probably great, but I have to believe that majority of the readers of this book are not hockey historians and probably could have done without a dry recitation of scores and a slew of player names. In short, I feel that this book really suffers from trying to be more than it is.

I, and I'm sure others, bought it with the expectation that it was a sort of biography of Gretzky. Gretzky tried to write a biography of hockey and I don't think he was entirely successful , but had I known that was the plan, I probably would have taken a pass. Jul 15, Aaron Carpenter rated it really liked it. OK, it's not the most well-written book I've ever read - more like listening to a grizzled old veteran and "Did I ever tell you about the time?

And despite its rambling nature, the book manages to construct a fairly coherent narrative of professional hockey in North America from Lord Stanley and Lady Byng to the Original Six and the first expansion to the Miracle and the fall of the Iron Curtain. Even more amazing is the way OK, it's not the most well-written book I've ever read - more like listening to a grizzled old veteran and "Did I ever tell you about the time?

Even more amazing is the way "The Great One" tells the whole story and makes himself sound like a bystander. He is impressed with everyone else, and that's refreshing. So refreshing, in fact, that it makes me feel like I need to read another book NOT written by him in order to get the full picture. They're in here, but you're far, far more likely to come across stories of Gordie Howe and other foundational players I honestly hadn't heard of till I read this.

And Gretzky's admiration for them is just as strong whether they played a hundred years ago or just last season. This was a fun book. Unfortunately, if you've never watched a hockey game in your life, you'll be lost from the outset. But if you've only ever watched one, you'll want to watch more. Oct 28, Debra rated it really liked it Shelves: My family were Toronto Maple Leafs fans, so many Saturday evenings were spent watching the Leafs play.

I love the fact that Gretzky mentions players from those times. In fact, he shares fascinating stories about many teams throughout the decades, people I knew nothing about or had long since forgotten. Written with Kirstie McLellan Day, the stories are told in a smooth, informal style. Instead, he focuses on insights about the team in general and how they felt about their opponents. The diplomacy and careful word choices are understandable, although some readers might prefer a little more grit and color in the retelling.

The stories have changed my perspective about the game and put many of my hockey memories in context. Jan 27, Michael Blackmer rated it it was amazing Shelves: This is a must read for anyone that is a Gretzky fan, an Oilers fan or for that matter a hockey fan. I grew up in an area that did not have hockey of any kind.

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3. The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 13 (Mammoth Books).
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5. Review: Wayne Gretzky writes hockey’s history in 99!

We may have played field hockey in PE one day. There was no in door ice and the ponds in our area were not often safe for skating. On top of that very few of us even had skates. I vaguely remember the "Miracle on Ice" during the Olympics. A cousin took me to my first hockey game when I started college as a U. It was a This is a must read for anyone that is a Gretzky fan, an Oilers fan or for that matter a hockey fan.

It was a Red Deer Rebels game. I enjoyed it a great deal even though I spent most of the game learning the basic rules. After that I only really watched the Oilers from I cheer for both Canada and the U. And I have become a fan of the Camrose Kodiaks Jr. But my favorite NHL player has always been, by far, Wayne Gretzky because of the way he handles himself on and off the ice.

Sep 30, Logan rated it it was amazing. Stories of the Game is a great read whether you are a fan of hockey or not. Wayne Gretzky's passion for the game makes this book hard to put down. His knowledge of the game and the history of the game, not to mention his stellar career, makes him the perfect author of a book that is all about the history of the NHL and the game itself.

He was nodding in my direction when Janet started screaming. Their son had just hit his first professional home run and Wayne had missed it while I reminisced. It has been 17 years since Gretzky waved goodbye to fans at Madison Square Garden. But he has never really left us. Even if he hasn't lived in Canada since "The Trade. Now, he has a new book — Stories of the Game — one of the most anticipated of the season. Hockey books sell better than most in this country, which explains why, every year, there emerges a new book about one of the game's biggest stars.

Two years have passed since the last Gretzky book came out. It had a similar title — 99 Gretzky: But this latest book by Gretzky isn't just a retelling of the familiar legend. This is Gretzky like he hasn't been seen before — playing the historian's game, exchanging his old Jofa and Easton for spectacles and a library pass. The National Hockey League is 99 years old. So who better to write the game's history than No. There's much in 99 that even ardent hockey fans won't know. The game was originally played in two minute halves, but changed so that owners could make more money on concessions.

Conn Smythe was a war hero who stopped a German advance with only a revolver. The ref at the first Rangers game was told to use a dinner bell instead of a whistle. Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts , illustrated program covers for the Oakland Seals. And another for Fred Sasakamoose — "a short, speedy centre with great skills … the first native Canadian player with treaty status to make the NHL. Perhaps the most remarkable story of all is the book's premise, that Gretzky could possibly know all this history.

Liebling's The Sweet Science , regarded as the best sports book ever written. Liebling wrote, "I trace my rapport with the historic past through the laying-on of hands," while Gretzky says, "Pretty much everything is connected to everything else in the history of the NHL. He reminds readers that his first faceoff was against Stan Mikita and that he once got to play alongside Howe and developed such a friendship with Maurice Richard that the only trophy Gretzky has in his house is the one the Rocket gave him. Gretzky may be somewhat of a player-historian, but many of the stories in 99 are perhaps assisted by his co-author, Kirstie McLellan Day, who has worked on some of the biggest hockey books of the past decade, including Theo Fleury's Playing with Fire.

Readers more interested in a Gretzky memoir will still find what they're looking for.

I, Wayne Gretzky-Short Stories by Rob Gordon

Many chapters end with him linking himself to whatever historic character or event he's talking about. The result is a book peppered with personal anecdotes. Such as that he used to mould his skates to his feet in a hot tub. Or that his dad's friend once stood outside the trophy room at the family home, keeping KGB agents away while Gretzky handed out beers to visiting Soviet players at a barbecue during the Canada Cup.

For all the insights, details of what it was like for the Great One to be relegated to fourth-line plugger at the Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, aren't quite as emotional to read as they were to watch. As are anecdotes of opposing players warning him to get out of the way during his final season when no one wanted to be the one to end his career. The most interesting athletes are never the stars on the ascent or the gods at the top of the game, but rather the humans on the other side.

For all he was in his prime, 99, and the stories he shares, are about as human as they get. Brett Popplewell is co-author of The Escapist. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff.