An award-winning writer sets the record straight on hockey's forgotten golden boy—Bobby Hull In his prime, few could dispute Bobby Hull's athletic brilliance—the first to have five 50-goal seasons, the highest scorer on the 1976 Canada Cup team, the first to use the slapshot as a scoring weapon, and the first hockey player to sign a million-dollar contract. With his body-builder torso, and his 100 mph volleys across a rink, the world of hockey glory was his to lose. And he did. With his publicized marital troubles and his defection from the NHL to the WHA, Hull's star began to fall, leaving him broke and in exile from the game. In The Devil and Bobby Hull, this once great hockey player and pioneer is finally given his due. Not only are Hull's remarkable on-ice achievements finally put in perspective, so, too, are his achievements off the rink—including endorsements for a wide array of products (rare for an NHL player) and his appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated a record four times. And the book details how Hull's battle with the owners of the Chicago Blackhawks—challenging the reserve clause in his contract, a move that enabled him to move to the WHA—helped other players follow him. The author places Hull squarely in the pantheon of other hockey greats, including Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, and Wayne Gretzky—and makes the case that he is the game's most influential and important player This is the full, unauthorized story of Hull's life—that doesn't sidestep the controversies (including the domestic violence tainting his private life) Details Hull's recent reconciliation with the Chicago Blackhawks A candid look at one of hockey's most gifted and controversial figures, The Devil and Bobby Hull tells the story of his extraordinary career and life—and why this remarkable man has not faded into oblivion.

An award-winning writer sets the record straight on hockey's forgotten golden boy—Bobby Hull In his prime, few could dispute Bobby Hull's athletic brilliance—the first to have five 50-goal seasons, the highest scorer on the 1976 Canada Cup team, the first to use the slapshot as a scoring weapon, and the first hockey player to sign a million-dollar contract. With his body-builder torso, and his 100 mph volleys across a rink, the world of hockey glory was his to lose. And he did. With his publicized marital troubles and his defection from the NHL to the WHA, Hull's star began to fall, leaving him broke and in exile from the game. In The Devil and Bobby Hull, this once great hockey player and pioneer is finally given his due. Not only are Hull's remarkable on-ice achievements finally put in perspective, so, too, are his achievements off the rink—including endorsements for a wide array of products (rare for an NHL player) and his appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated a record four times. And the book details how Hull's battle with the owners of the Chicago Blackhawks—challenging the reserve clause in his contract, a move that enabled him to move to the WHA—helped other players follow him. The author places Hull squarely in the pantheon of other hockey greats, including Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, and Wayne Gretzky—and makes the case that he is the game's most influential and important player This is the full, unauthorized story of Hull's life—that doesn't sidestep the controversies (including the domestic violence tainting his private life) Details Hull's recent reconciliation with the Chicago Blackhawks A candid look at one of hockey's most gifted and controversial figures, The Devil and Bobby Hull tells the story of his extraordinary career and life—and why this remarkable man has not faded into oblivion.

For fans of Elmore Leonard and Robert B. Parker, meet hockey scout turned private detective Brad Shade, from “one of the best sports writers on the continent” Brad Shade has been just about everywhere hockey is played. He has ridden the buses in the minors, shared dressing rooms with the legends of the game, closed bars with guys destined for the Hall of Fame, and dropped the gloves with journeymen like himself who’ll never get near it. And even though he’s retired after fourteen years of bouncing around the league with more losses than wins and his net worth eroding, he’s still living out of a suitcase and still taking numbers. That’s his day job—scout for LA, where someone in management owes him a favour from his playing days. But when the brutally murdered body of coaching legend Red Hanratty turns up in the parking lot after an old-timers charity game (Shade goes scoreless, again), Shade’s job of scouting the local phenom starts to overlap with investigating the killing of the kid’s grizzled old coach. When the killer goes after Shade’s girlfriend, he finds out that guys don’t stay in the league because they’re good—they stick around because they’re smart enough to know what needs to get done, and just ornery enough to actually do it. From small-town rinks to the draft tables in the big league, G.B. Joyce introduces us to a character Canadians already love—the fourth-liner with a self-deprecating sense of humour and an oversized will to win—and weaves a story out of strands of resentment, greed, and fear that span generations and build to a surprising, thrilling conclusion.

An in-depth and behind-the-scenes look at how Auston Matthews and a gang of talented young hockey players are breaking from Toronto’s troubled sporting past and rekindling the city’s love for its team. Auston Matthews made history on October 12, 2016 by becoming the first player in the modern game to score four goals in his NHL debut. It was a momentous occasion for the talented young All-Star, but it was equally important for his newly adopted city and its storied, century-old team. That night marked the dawn of a new era for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team had a long and colourful history, and it had always been foundational to the city’s image. But years of losing seasons had tarnished the team’s reputation and left even the most diehard fans questioning their loyalty. It seemed that each passing year brought more of the same: more mediocrity, more heartbreak, more disappointment. But the team’s management had a plan, one that would take them where others feared to go: a total rebuild. Piece by piece, they were assembling a group of young, talented players who would reshape the team. With the arrival of Auston Matthews, the team’s first overall draft pick in over twenty years, it seemed that the Leafs were ready to break with their past. Young Leafs follows the team through that remarkable season, tracing the divergent journeys of the players leading up to their unlikely campaign. Matthews—the prodigy with the unorthodox path to the NHL. Marner—the baby-faced talent with immense skill and an infectious energy. Nylander—the son of a former hockey professional, now looking to make his own mark. Reilly—the youngster with the mind of a general. Kadri—the maturing leader once billed as the team’s saviour. As the ups and downs of the season unfold, the team tries to overcome the ghosts of its past and write a new future, one that is far from certain. Can a group of precocious kids bond together and become winners? Will they be able to carry the hopes of a city? Most important, will Toronto finally have a reason to believe again?

How a movie about minor league hockey became a box office hit-and an international cult classic Even thirty-odd years after Slap Shot's release, diehard hockey fans can still recite scenes of dialogue by heart, making lines like "putting on the foil" just common argot for the devoted. Yet many may be surprised to learn that the true story behind the making of the film is as captivating as the film itself. In The Making of Slap Shot, veteran sports writer Jonathon Jackson lets fans not only relive just how the film was made, but brings to light surprising facts (i.e., Al Pacino was the first choice for the role of Reggie Dunlop; almost every scene-even the absurd and unbelievable ones-depicts a real life event). With access to those involved in the making of the film, he brings to life some of the magic behind the creation of memorable scenes and characters, especially the Charleston Chiefs, one of the most popular fictional sports teams in history. Based on interviews with over 50 cast members, production staff, and anyone of note involved in the film's creation Destined to be a collectible and keepsake (along with the jerseys, bobbleheads, and other paraphernalia associated with the film), The Making of Slapshot is a must for fans eager to learn even more about their favorite film.

They are motivators, key strategists, tough bosses, and choreographers. They can be branded as heroes, ousted as scapegoats, quietly valued as friends, and everything in between. It's all in the job description for an NHL head coach. In Behind the Bench, ESPN's Craig Custance sits down for film sessions and candid conversations with some of the game's most notable modern luminaries—names like Mike Babcock, Joel Quenneville, Dan Bylsma, Todd McLellan, Ken Hitchcock, and Claude Julien—all of whom share their singular views on topics ranging from leadership secrets to on-ice game plans. Dissect some of hockey's greatest moments with the men who set the pieces in motion. Go straight to the source on what it's like to manage a dressing room full of the league's top stars or execute line changes with everything at stake. Signature games, including Stanley Cup finals, Olympic gold medal clashes, and World Championship contests—both wins and losses—are reflected upon and broken down in detail, making this essential reading for current and aspiring coaches, players, and hockey fans alike.

Readers will know Bob Ross (1942-1995) as the gentle, afro'd painter of happy trees on PBS. And while the Florida-born artist is reviled or ignored by the elite art world and scholarly art educators, he continues to be embraced around the globe as a healer and painter, even decades after his death. In Happy Clouds, Happy Trees, the authors thoughtfully explore how the Bob Ross phenomenon grew into a juggernaut. Although his sincerity in embracing democracy, gift economies, conservation, and self-help may have left him previously denigrated as a subject of rigorous scholarship, this book uses contemporary art theory to explore the sophistication of Bob Ross's vision as an artist. It traces the ways in which his many fans have worshiped, emulated, and parodied him and his work. His technique allowed him to paint over 35,000 paintings in his lifetime, mostly of mountains and trees in landscapes heavily influenced by his time in the Air Force and stationed in Alaska. The authors address issues of amateur art, sentimentality, imitation, boredom, seduction, and democratic practices in the art world. They fully examine Ross as a painter, teacher, healer, media star, performer, magician, and networker. In-depth comparisons are made to Andy Warhol and Thomas Kinkade, and mention is made of his life in relation to Joseph Beuys, Elvis Presley, St. Francis of Assisi, Carl Rogers, and many other creative personalities. In the end, Happy Clouds, Happy Trees presents Ross as a gift giver, someone who freely teaches the act of painting to anyone who believes in Ross's vision that "this is your world."