States on the cover, "The Best Hockey Book Ever Written", and lives up to that - easily one of the better books about all sports. The author was a goalie and law student, and his ideas come across quite clearly. The original subtitle was "a thoughtful and provocative look at a life in hockey", and it is that. Recommended, and for a hockey fan highly recommended.

I picked this up last year in a used book shop in B.C. Having read a fair amount of sports books, mostly baseball related, I was eager to check the claim on the cover.

Ideas and reflections are loosely slotted into chapters. These cover the activities of a week in a season of the later career of Ken Dryden, goalie for the Montreal Canadiens. By the second chapter, he is already philosophical, and that is where the real gems emerge.

He examines playing in the years after being an outstanding team (playing against their own record and the expectations of the fans/media/owners far more than playing the rest of the league), how the game has changed for kids (less play time), violence, superstars, and strategy changes through time. Along the way he also introduces his past, his teammates, trainers and coaches. The terminology when he talks about teammates may prove unfamiliar to non-hockey fans, but the rest of the book is quite accessible.

I read the 20th anniversary edition, which contains an additional chapter covering the end of his last year and a little reflection on how the game changed with Gretzky. Even that additional chapter is now 15 years old. Looking forward to reading more by this author!