McGonigle Scores!

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.

Leslie McFarlane takes readers back to the days of the NHL’s
“Original Six,” when every little town had an outdoor ice rink and
future NHLers could be found by enterprising hockey scouts scouring the
backwoods for “naturals,” those young players blessed with God-given
hockey talent.

When the NHL teams all receive a letter telling them about the skills
of Tim Beckett, 17, who plays centre for the Snowshoe Lake team in the
obscure Mines League in Northern Ontario, Skates McGonigle, a former
defenceman for the Blueshirts (think Leafs) who scored a Stanley
Cup-winning goal a decade ago, is sent to check out Beckett and sign him
if he’s as good as the letter suggests. Now a Blueshirt scout and
roving team ambassador, but more into drinking and gambling than
actually scouting, McGonigle is told he’ll be fired if he loses this
prospect to another team. Blackjack Snead, who has outsmarted McGonigle
on several other occasions, is also out to do whatever it takes, fair or
foul, to sign Beckett with the Bears (think Bruins). Lots of fun ensues
as the rival pair try to out-trick each other, with Snead initially
gaining the more advantageous position.

The book has two principal weaknesses. The first is that it’s told
almost entirely from an adult perspective, with adult motivations; and
the second is that the book’s historical setting is inadequately
developed for today’s young readers. Adults of a certain age will
enjoy McGonigle Scores!, but it will likely work better as a read-to
book for juveniles, as opposed to an independent read. Not a
first-choice purchase.