Ice Breakers: A Kids’ Guide to Hockey and the Greatest Players Who Changed the Game

Gr 4-8–In a preface, the authors describe growing up in northern New York state and watching the iconic Hockey Night in Canada on Kingston, Ontario, television. Their love of the game is evident. Early chapters profile the six original NHL teams and some of the greatest players, four each from the first and second halves of the 20th century. Subsequent chapters look at coaches (the Canadiens’ Scotty Bowman), playmakers (Ray Bourke of the Penguins), “intimidators” (the ‘74–’75 Flyers), and much more. The writing is often dense with statistics and sportscaster shorthand, which can be spotty at times. Readers are told that the Montreal Canadiens are known as the “Habs,” but not told why, and that they won 24 times, but not what they won. Several photographs appear without captions and the subjects are not obvious from context. Due to the nature of the professional game, nearly all of the players profiled are white men from Canada or the U.S. Still, a late chapter on “Changing the Game” highlights players like Willie O’Ree of the Bruins, the NHL’s first Black player in 1958, and Providence College and U.S. Olympic Team standout Cammi Granato, the first woman inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The chapter on goalies celebrates legendary Soviet keeper Vladislav Tretiak. The layout is colorful, engaging, and organized for casual browsing or appeal to developing readers, with many large, vibrant images.