Rink of Dreams

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.

For 13-year-old Gary MacDonald of Charlottetown, P.E.I., hockey season
brings both on- and off-ice problems. Although Gary has made the roster
of the Bantam AAA Abbies, the team’s coach, a former NHLer, is worried
that Gary’s small stature cannot absorb bodychecking, a concern that
gains validity when Gary is concussed during his second game. Another
concussion could end Gary’s hockey dreams. In additional, Gary is
subjected to the continuing physical and verbal bullying of an older,
bigger teammate, Justin Johnston, who is jealous that Gary has replaced
him on the top forward line.

At home, Gary’s parents have recently separated, and Gary and his
sister, Maggie, 16, are living with their father. While Maggie has
accepted the family’s new reality, Gary, while “punishing” his
mother by being aloof, hopes, nevertheless, that his parents will
reconcile. Gary’s home situation deteriorates, however, when both
parents acquire new love interests and his father announces his
intention to sell their home. A further plot line involves the
relocation of the AHL Snow Dogs to Charlottetown, an event that brings
Gary and his family into contact with the Snow Dogs’s sensational
Russian rookie, Dmitri Rushkov, an 18-year-old top-10 draft pick. Later,
when Dmitri is called up to the NHL, he becomes duped by a player agent
with ties to the Russian mafia who then blackmails Dmitri by threatening
his family in Russia. Gary’s lawyer father comes to Dmitri’s rescue
by facilitating the family’s speedy immigration to Canada.

Though somewhat burdened by its many plot lines, Rink of Dreams will
still find a readership among middle-grade boys. Recommended.