Bad Boys 2: More Legends of Hockey's Toughest, Meanest, Most-Feared Players!

Glynn A. Leyshon is a professor of physical education at the University
of Western Ontario, a former weekly columnist for the London Free Press,
and author of 18 Sporting Stories.

Most critics of the game of hockey point to its violence as its biggest
drawback. Supporters of the game decry the violence. Even the superstars
of the game such as Gretzky have expounded at length on the detraction
violence offers their sport. And what is this book about? It extols the
efforts of the “goons” of hockey.

The purpose of literature is to inform, to amuse, and also to inspire
and uplift. While Bad Boys 2 may give some information (e.g., to punch,
and take a punch, you must have your weight properly set over your
skates), it is hardly inspiring to any hopeful young player to know that
some of these “heroes” take boxing lessons to make them more
valuable to their teams. It is even less uplifting to parents to know
that their offspring who hope to play the game will have to face this
aspect both accepted and condoned by the powers that be and exalted in
this book.

How anyone with a conscience could actively set out to produce a
publication devoted completely to 27 men who deliberately flout the
rules, and to set these athletes up as examples by virtue of this
exposure, is beyond me.

This book belongs with such titles as “How To Make Your Own Terrorist
Bomb” and “How to Manufacture Illegal Drugs.” It has no place on
the bookshelf of anyone with decency.