1. Crossing the Line
"The outrageous story of a hockey original" seems like a suitable tagline for this book, but that wouldn't even do justice to explain the legend of Derek Michael Sanderson. In an absolute must-read book, Sanderson gives you a first-hand view of his wild life on and off the ice that made him one of the most polarizing figures in professional sports history. Whether it's his stories about Bobby Orr and the Bruins, his brief stint as the world's richest athlete in the WHA, or his bar partnership with Joe Namath, it's one of those books that you will pick up and can't put down. It remains my favourite hockey book and it's the first one I recommend to anyone asking.
Author: Derek Sanderson (with Kevin Shea)
Pages: 400
Year Published: 2012
2. Behind the Bench: Inside the Minds of Hockey's Greatest Coaches
This was the first hockey book I read during my recovery, and it's the book that really re-ignited my passion for reading. Author Craig Custance does such a brilliant job putting us in the minds of some of the best coaches in NHL history, each one listed in the book has their own story/habits that makes this book impossible to put down. The concept has Craig sitting down with these coaches and watching an old important game that they coached (often for the 1st time for that coach) and watching them analyze the game and simultaneously asking them questions (ex/ Mike Babcock watching the Gold Medal Game from the 2010 Olympics and taking notes/yelling at the TV like was on the bench!). Any big hockey fan will enjoy the brilliance of this book and I can't recommend it enough.
Author: Craig Custance
Pages: 256
Year Published: 2017
3. The Crazy Game: How I Survived in the Crease and Beyond
I bought this book for $5 at Indigo when I was looking for a different book, and it ended up being one of the best hockey books I've read. Most hockey fans should be familiar with the Malarchuk skate incident where his throat was cut, and I knew that the nature of this book might be a little bit darker then some of the other hockey books I had read, but Clint's story is absolutely eye-opening and it's one that every hockey fan should read. Without going into further detail, some of the other stories in this book might be tough to read but I think that's what makes it such a brilliant book, and the mental health tie-in is something that's crucial for all to read.
Author: Clint Malarchuk (with Dan Robson)
Pages: 272
Year Published: 2014
4. Facing Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky has dozens of hockey books about him, and that's fitting for the best player in hockey history, but there's something that "Facing Wayne Gretzky" does that stands above all the rest of them. The book features first-hand stories about the Great One from a diverse group of different people within the hockey world; teammates, opponents, referees, coaches, GMs, owners etc. What was striking to me was not how many stories there were that showed Wayne's brilliance, but the wide range of different stories that show just how good #99 was in every aspect of the game, on and off the ice. It's one of those books that would be great for the younger generation who maybe didn't get to see #99 play in his career.
Author: Brian Kennedy
Pages: 240
Year Published: 2014
5. All The Way: My Life on Ice
As someone who's a huge fan of the World Juniors and has been since I was a kid (Tootoo was one of my first hockey heroes back when he played for Canada in 2003), I was very excited to read this book back when it came out in 2014 (read it before I started officially keeping track). Tootoo tells the story of growing up in Nunavut and the importance of family and community in his life, one that helped shape his hockey career en route becoming the first player of Inuit descent to play an NHL game. He continues to be a huge role model after retiring from the NHL and his story is an important one to read if you haven't already.
Author: Jordin Tootoo (with Stephen Brunt)
Pages: 240
Year Published: 2014
6. Beauties: Hockey's Greatest Untold Stories
The last book I completed to reach #100 also happened to be one of the newest hockey books on the market, and let me tell you Duthie does not disappoint in this instant classic. Both of Duthie's first 2 books are great reads, as he has the ability to mix his own humour with such a strong storytelling capacity. What makes "Beauties" so unique is that the book is full of stories largely untold before; some funny, some about perseverance, others just straight up strange. If you are looking for a holiday gift for a hockey fan this would make an excellent stocking stuffer.
Author: James Duthie
Pages: 320
Year Published: 2020
7. Fighting Back
As I started to read more and more books on the journey to #100, I found myself particularly drawn to books by enforcers as often times they had the best stories to tell. There are a ton of good fighting stories from Chris "Knuckles" Nilan in this book, but much like in both Derek Sanderson and Clint Malarchuk's books that I mentioned above, it's the stories off the ice in this book that leave you with your jaw wide open. Knuckles Nilan was a popular player in Montreal/New York/Boston, three original six teams, so there are a wide range of hockey fans that would enjoy this book as I did.
Author: Chris Nilan
Pages: 352
Year Published: 2013
8. The Best Seat in the House: Stories from the NHL - Inside the Room, on the Ice..and on the Bench
Jamie "Noodles" McLennan is one of the funniest hockey personalities on TV today, but beyond what you see on TV did you ever wonder how he got his nickname or his sense of humour? In this book Noodles tells the tale of being a long-time NHL backup goaltender and some of the lighter moments he experienced during his 11-year NHL career, and it's the type of book with stories that any NHL fan would love. The name "Best Seat in the House" is perfect as Jamie really makes you feel like you are on an NHL bench with some of his stories.
Author: Jamie McLennan (with Ian Mendes)
Pages: 256
Year Published: 2012
9. The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL: The World's Most Beautiful Sport, the World's Most Ridiculous League
There are 100s of history of the NHL books, a few I've read could have easily made this list, but none do justice the same as author Sean "Down Goes Brown" McIndoe does in this book. McIndoe shares with readers a wide range of crazy, ridiculous, and downright absurd stories about history of the NHL and it's one of those books you just can't put down. It has a bunch of lesser-known hockey stories that even big hockey fans might not know, and without question is one of the best hockey books released within the past few years. I highly, highly recommend this book.
Author: Sean McIndoe
Pages: 272
Year Published: 2018
10. Hockey Confidential
As I'm writing this article, I am currently waiting for Bob's new book to come in the mail (Everyday Hockey Heroes 2, his 4th book). The Bobfather is one of the most famous personalities in all of hockey and I'd highly recommend reading each of his first 3 books (and guessing his 4th when I read it), but Hockey Confidentiality just has so many quality stories and remains one of my favourite books to this day. Bob doesn't have the title of hockey's #1 insider for no reason, and this book is full of great stories that hockey fans of all generations would enjoy.
Author: Bob McKenzie
Pages: 320
Year Published: 2014
There's probably at least 10 more books that could have made this list, a few notable books that I haven't read yet in my queue in particular (Ken Dryden - The Game, Nicklas Lindstrom - The Pursuit of Perfection, Brian Burke - Burkie's Law). I'll probably follow it up with a second list #11-20 in the near future. For any hockey readers out there, let me know if you have any suggestions for hockey books you enjoyed!
Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff
