Into the Empty Net: Tales of Big League Hockey

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.

This sequel to Brewitt’s Last Minute of Play introduces serious hockey
fans to 19 former National Hockey League players (each is the subject of
a single chapter). All but Tim Horton and Jean Béliveau were
interviewed by Brewitt on one or more occasions, and were personally
known to him through his long association with the NHL. With the
exception of Béliveau, the book’s subjects began their NHL careers in
the 1960s or 1970s. Though Brewitt does include some of the game’s
former stars (e.g., centre Gil Perrault and goalie Doug Favell), many of
his subjects are less-obvious names (e.g., defencemen Darryl Edelstrand
and Al Hamilton).

Brewitt’s chatty prose is highly readable, and his text generally
avoids the “replaying-exciting-games” approach typical of most
hockey memoirs. Instead, through the players’ numerous reminiscences,
Brewitt reveals various office and behind-the-scenes aspects of
professional hockey that present readers with a fresh and different view
of the game as it was once played. Each chapter includes a full-page
black-and-white action photo of its subject. Into the Empty Net is a
worthy addition to public-library collections.