Hockey Superstars: All-Time Greats

Liz Dennett is a public service librarian in the Science and Technology
Library at the University of Alberta.

Paul Romanuk introduces the next generation of hockey fans to his
favourite Canadian hockey heroes. The book celebrates players who
started playing in the 1920s, such as the “first great superstar of
hockey,” Howie Morenz, to those retiring in the 2000s, such as Mario
Lemieux, Patrick Roy, Ray Bourque, and Paul Coffey. Of course it also
includes Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Maurice Richard, Gordie Howe, and
many others. For each player featured, a one-page biography outlines
their career, accomplishments, and contributions to the game, and a
little about their personal lives and struggles. On the facing page,
there are photographs, career statistics, and a list of awards and
Stanley Cups won. While these biographies are short, they manage to
convey both the character and essence of each star, as well as his
career statistics. The players’ entries are arranged in alphabetical
order by last name, which is useful since there is no table of contents
or index.

Included at the back of the book are descriptions and pictures of each
of the major NHL awards, and lists of the most frequent winners. To
compare the greatest of the greats, the book also lists the NHL top 10
all-time goal scoring leaders, point leaders, shutout leaders, and win
leaders.

This book is likely to be a hit with young sports fans who want to
learn about the hockey greats that their coaches, parents, and
grandparents are always talking about. Recommended.