Dan Bylsma, of the Los Angeles Kings, has achieved his childhood dream of playing in the North American National Ice Hockey League (NHL). It was a dream cultivated on a small homemade ice rink maintained by his father Jay in the backyard of their home.

Less than 0.001% of all kids that start playing hockey will play a single game in the NHL. Those lucky enough to come close will experience a world filled with incredible highs and perilous lows. "So You Want Your Kid to Play Pro Hockey" takes the reader on a journey through the various levels of hockey to learn about politics, misconceptions, predators and hazing, drug addiction and alcohol abuse, and several other cultural intricacies. Learn about the differences between the NCAA and Major Junior, what hockey is like in the Southern U.S. and Eastern Europe, and why the process is more important than the end result. Experience the game of hockey from a new perspective. Strap on the gear, get beneath the helmet and take an uncensored peek at hockey's truly unique culture.

An uncensored examination of hockey's truly unique culture, "So You Want Your Kid to Play Pro Hockey" will guide you along the oft-rocky path from the culmination of a childhood dream to its seemingly disappointing but strangely fulfilling end. Along the way you will gasp with disbelief, laugh hysterically, and ultimately develop a better understanding of the anatomy of hockey and all its moving parts.

What does it take to make it in pro hockey? Los Angeles Kings forward Dan Bylsma and his father, Jay, offer a wealth of inside information for young players. Dan Bylsma shares his experiences rising up through the ranks of amateur and professional hockey while giving advice on issues including becoming a team player, knowing the rules, relating to coaches and teammates, and working hard.

Canadians have always dreamed about hockey. And we all love our kids. But somehow our desire to give everything we've got to two of the things we love the most has left both worse off. For many families, hockey has become more business than pleasure, where children don't even play anymore--now they compete. The dream of playing in the NHL and the enormous costs that come with it, are killing hockey in Canada. Drawing on decades of combined experience in hockey at all levels, Ken Campbell and Jim Parcels pull back the curtain to show just how far our national game has strayed from its roots. What they reveal is a system driven by unrealistic expectations of a financial windfall, where minor-hockey fees and new sticks for kids are deemed "investments"--and where there is no shortage of entrepreneurs more than happy to take money from starry-eyed parents. Often shocking, always informative, " Selling the Dream " is not only a guidebook for involved hockey parents across the country, it is a defence of the game we all love, and of childhood itself.

A New York Times bestselling author takes a rollicking deep dive into the ultra-competitive world of youth hockey Rich Cohen, the New York Times–bestselling author of The Chicago Cubs: Story of a Curse and Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football, turns his attention to matters closer to home: his son’s elite Pee Wee hockey team and himself, a former player and a devoted hockey parent. In Pee Wees: Confessions of a Hockey Parent, Cohen takes us through a season of hard-fought competition in Fairfield County, Connecticut, an affluent suburb of New York City. Part memoir and part exploration of youth sports and the exploding popularity of American hockey, Pee Wees follows the ups and downs of the Ridgefield Bears, the twelve-year-old boys and girls on the team, and the parents watching, cheering, conniving, and cursing in the stands. It is a book about the love of the game, the love of parents for their children, and the triumphs and struggles of both.

A bracing call to arms for hockey fans, players, and coaches everywhere Those who have been lured by the the sound of skate blades slicing into fresh ice, by the incomparable speed, split-second decisions, and everything-or-nothing attitude of the game know that hockey can seem like its own world. It's all-consuming and exhilarating, boasting its own language and complex morality code. Yet in another light, that tight community can turn insular; the values of teamwork and humility can manifest as collective silence in the face of abuse and discrimination, issues which have been brought to the forefront of the sport as many share their stories for the first time. In Game Misconduct, reporters Evan Moore and Jashvina Shah reveal hockey's toxic undercurrent which has permeated the sport throughout the junior, college, and professional levels. They address the topic with a level of passion that comes from being rabid hockey fans themselves, and from experiencing its exclusivity first-hand. With a sensitive yet incisive approach, this necessary book lays bare the issues of racism, homophobia, xenophobia, bullying, sexism, and violence on and off the ice. Readers will learn about notable players and activists fighting for transformation as well as those beyond the spotlight who are nonetheless deeply affected by hockey's culture of inaction.Both a reckoning and a roadmap, Game Misconduct is an essential read for modern hockey fans, showing the truth of the sport's past and present while offering the tools to fight for a better future.