This is the story of hockey, one scar at a time.
For the casual enthusiast and hockey fanatic alike comes a brilliant collection of essays and photographs celebrating the grit and dedication of hockey players who regularly and willingly withstand injury and hardship to play the sport they love.
Veteran hockey writer Todd Smith explores a side of the NHL that is rarely seen. Through in-depth player interviews and inside-the-locker-room reportage, Hockey Strong gives readers a behind-the-pads look at the playing in pain ethos that has been woven into the fabric of the game. What separates a hockey player's toughness from other athletes' is the fact that being hockey strong is more than a single performance or bout or game or series. Hockey strong is a way of life.
Superstars, muckers, snipers, and enforcers alike: the arduous journey of an NHL player is a story of the human body. It is the cracking left fist of the Philadelphia Flyers' Dave Brown and the battering ram right hand of the Detroit Red Wings' Joe Kocur. It is the unbreakable hockey heart of Rob McClanahan during "The Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. It is the smashed face Kris Draper suffered during the bloody rivalry between the Colorado Avalanche and the Detroit Red Wings.
Medical clearance to fight. Midgame root canals. Crushed orbital bones. Beer league determination. Legendary beat-downs. Collapsed lungs that go unreported. Unrelenting pain. Recovery and valor. Players refusing to go out because they owe it all to their brothers in uniform.
Includes stories from: Shjon Podein, Dave Brown, Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Joe Kocur, Darren McCarty, Chris Nilan, David Clarkson, Rob McClanahan, Herb Brooks, Jack Carlson, Zach Parise, Charlie Coyle, Rick Tocchet, the Playoffs, and more!
- ISBN10 150115723X
- ISBN13 9781501157233
- Publish Date 9 May 2017 (first published 27 September 2016)
- Publish Status Active
- Publisher The Gallery Press
- Imprint Gallery Books
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 328
- Language English