Open Ice: The Tim Horton Story

Hayward C. Blake is a high-school principal in Harbour Grace,
Newfoundland.

Tim Horton, hockey superstar or donut mogul? The name Tim Horton is
synonymous with the donut chain first established by Tim Horton in the
1960s. But it was Tim’s love of hockey and his desire to play the game
that placed him in the public eye and endeared him to people everywhere.
Open Ice gives an in-depth, if unexciting, look at Tim Horton, an
exceptional athlete and person who, years after his tragic death, is
still fondly remembered.

This book follows Tim Horton, from his beginnings in Northern
Ontario’s Nickel Belt (where he starred with the Copper Cliff Redmen),
to his tenure with the famed St. Michael’s College hockey team in
Toronto, to his three-year stint in the American Hockey League and his
starring role with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs’ demise in the
late 1960s led to his trade to the New York Rangers and eventual stints
with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres. The latter part of the
book focuses on Horton’s off-ice business activities and concludes
with his death in an early-morning car crash.

What makes this book unique is its focus on the hardships aspiring
young hockey players had to endure to make it to the National Hockey
League. The midnight train rides, the lack of financial security, and
the string-pulling on the part of the owners leave the reader wondering
if, in the long run, the trip to the big time was worth the effort.

For the diehard hockey fan, Open Ice offers a realistic glimpse of an
era in hockey the likes of which we may never see again.