Hockey Superstars: Great Goalies

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Like 1000 Point Players, this second book in the Hockey Superstars
series is a “hockey-zine,” a short, profusely illustrated
magazine-sized work with a particular hockey theme. Duplacey, the Hockey
Hall of Fame’s former curator, focuses here on goaltenders and has
selected 45 of them who, for a variety of reasons, he believes merit the
appellation “great.” Duplacey uses a topical approach to group two
to five goalies on each pair of facing pages. For instance, “Masked
Marvels” unites Gerry Cheevers and Tony Esposito, while “Remarkable
Rookies” teams Frank Brimsek with Ed Balfour. Only four goalies,
Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden, Jacques Plante, and Grant Fuhr, merit their own
double-page spreads. While National Hockey League goalies, past and
present, predominate, Duplacey also includes Soviet Olympian Vladislav
Tretiak and Manon Rhéaume, the first woman to play professional hockey.
The 40- to 280-word texts for each goalie vary considerably in scope,
with the “topical” title determining each entry’s contents.
Consequently, the text for the five goalies labeled “Famous Firsts”
deals only with the equipment innovations each introduced and ignores
the rest of their careers. On the other hand, “New Stars” Curtis
Joseph and Felix Potvin receive fuller treatments. One or more color
action photos, plus a “characterizing” quote by or about the goalie,
complete each entry.

While juvenile hockey aficionados would want a more developed treatment
of the subject, Great Goalies will still appeal to the reluctant reader,
who will appreciate its inviting format and nondemanding text.
Recommended.