Stan Fischler, hockey journalist since 1954 and Lester Patrick Award-winner "for contributions to hockey in the United States," covers the sport's history, its origins, rules, players, and more!
Stick handlers without helmets rushing goaltenders without masks on rinks lacking sideboards gives way to a faster game with bigger players and overtime shootouts. The National Hockey League goes from a Canadian and regional sport to one that is watched by more fans throughout North America than ever. Hockey may have changed, but its essence and appeal remain.
The Handy Hockey Answer Book, written by hockey historian, broadcaster, author, and self-professed Hockey Maven, Stan Fischler, brings the game to life through exciting game action, vital stats, players, rules, and more. It traces the early spread of hockey, Lord Stanley's involvement, and the birth of the cup, then explains the rules, the equipment, strategies, and positioning, before following the ups and downs of the National Hockey League and its teams and players. From the traditions, all-time cup- and award-winners and record-breakers to the modern game, The Handy Hockey Answer Book answers more than 800 questions on the game, greats, goals, and growing popularity of hockey, including ... Where does hockey come from? What was the Stanley Cup first called? Where did the name "Patrick Division" come from and why are the Patrick brothers important? When was six-man hockey invented and who was its creator? What is a "Zamboni" and after whom was it named? What was the Gretzky Rule? How did the hockey puck develop its present shape? Which is the oldest current NHL team? Why is the term "Original Six" a misnomer? Which Hall of Famer trained on champagne? Who holds the Montreal Canadien's franchise record for career goals? Who centered Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsey on Detroit's legendary "Production Line." Which team was the first to come back from being down 3-0 in a series. Who played right wing on a line with Phil Esposito for the Bruins in the late 60s and 70s? Who was the first European player to lead the league in scoring? What NHL team won and lost the Stanley Cup on the same day? Which hockey player was supposed to be "kidnapped" as part of a scheme to increase attendance at New York Rangers games? Did an NHL club ever play all its "home" games of the Stanley Cup finals on the road?
Starting with a Middle Ages game resembling ice golf to the NHL's Original Six to the modern high school, college, and professional games, this is a clear, concise, and illuminating primer to the game of hockey! A glossary of terms and a bibliography for further reading round out this helpful primer on the sport.
Stan Fischler, whom some have called The Hockey Man, has been covering the ice game longer and more actively than any living journalist. He began working professionally as a hockey journalist in 1954 and is a Lester Patrick Award-winner "for contributions to hockey in the United States." Currently appearing on MSG Networks Hockey Night Live weekly program, he made his television debut as an announcer working in Boston and covering the World Hockey Association's New England Whalers in 1973. His NHL debut took place two years later, when he began a long association with the New York Islanders doing telecasts. Fischler still does Islanders telecasts for the Madison Square Garden Networks, and he has no less than seven Emmy Awards to his credit, also winning a writing award for his work on Subway Series, which was carried on MSG's Metro Channel. He wrote his first of more than 90 hockey books in 1968, an autobiography of Hall of Famer Gordie Howe. Fischler has "ghosted" autobiographies for such notables as Brad Park, Don Cherry, and Derek Sanderson. His Bobby Orr and the Big, Bad Bruins was a bestseller, as was Hammer, the autobiographer of Philadelphia Flyers tough guy Dave Schultz. Before his wife, Shirley, died in May 2014, she collaborated with her husband on two definitive hockey encyclopedias, as well as other NHL books. He is a Brooklyn native.
