Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
One to Remember: Stories from 39 Members of the NHL's One Goal Club
By Ken Reid
Completed: 07/22/2020
Old saying: âWhat do you call the person who finished last in their class at Medical School? Doctor.â
A similar concept exists for professional athletes. The leatherlungs in the cheap (relative term these days) seats may loudly and sometimes profanely admonish the bench-warmers on their team. However, should they actually have to COMPETE against those players instead of simply pay to watch them, they would find that the worst players on the team could still run or skate circles around the casual fan.
Ken Reid explored some of these people in an earlier book, âOne Night Onlyâ, about hockey players who managed to make it into ONE National Hockey League game. He's written a sequel, âOne to Remember: Stories from 39 Members of the NHL's One Goal Clubâ, about players who managed to actually score a goal during â in most cases â relatively brief careers.
Most of the players interviewed share some common attributes. They're happy they were able to have a career in hockey including a call-up to the NHL. They have fond memories of their typically short NHL stints, but they don't waste their current time reliving it over and over for themselves and for whatever audience might be around â unless asked. AND, regardless of what REALLY happened, their grandchildren will hear about how they skated end-to-end, dodging 12 of the 5 skaters on the opposing team, and put 6 fakes on the opposing goaltender before firing the puck through an opening barely larger than the puck itself. (In reality, most will confess that they had lucky shots, or the puck deflected off them from someone else's shot, or they were fortunate to be blessed with star players sharing the shift with them, or â¦)
I stress âmostâ. There is one special category of player made up of men who had long careers, including a Hall of Famer â goaltenders. Goalies are paid to STOP the puck, not shoot it. However, on rare occasion, a goaltender IS credited with a goal â and a few of them are interviewed for this book, as well.
Perhaps these players were not the greatest ones ever to lace up a pair of skates and set foot on NHL ice. However, unlike almost every hockey fan in the world, they CAN say that they played in the National Hockey League â and have a goal to their credit.
Like all of Ken Reid's books to this point, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and would recommend it to every hockey fan. (Even those who only like to read about superstars â Ken's storytelling should help to broaden those narrow horizons if you'd give the book a chance!!)
RATING: 4 ½ stars, rounded up to 5 stars where 1/2 stars are not permitted.
By Ken Reid
Completed: 07/22/2020
Old saying: âWhat do you call the person who finished last in their class at Medical School? Doctor.â
A similar concept exists for professional athletes. The leatherlungs in the cheap (relative term these days) seats may loudly and sometimes profanely admonish the bench-warmers on their team. However, should they actually have to COMPETE against those players instead of simply pay to watch them, they would find that the worst players on the team could still run or skate circles around the casual fan.
Ken Reid explored some of these people in an earlier book, âOne Night Onlyâ, about hockey players who managed to make it into ONE National Hockey League game. He's written a sequel, âOne to Remember: Stories from 39 Members of the NHL's One Goal Clubâ, about players who managed to actually score a goal during â in most cases â relatively brief careers.
Most of the players interviewed share some common attributes. They're happy they were able to have a career in hockey including a call-up to the NHL. They have fond memories of their typically short NHL stints, but they don't waste their current time reliving it over and over for themselves and for whatever audience might be around â unless asked. AND, regardless of what REALLY happened, their grandchildren will hear about how they skated end-to-end, dodging 12 of the 5 skaters on the opposing team, and put 6 fakes on the opposing goaltender before firing the puck through an opening barely larger than the puck itself. (In reality, most will confess that they had lucky shots, or the puck deflected off them from someone else's shot, or they were fortunate to be blessed with star players sharing the shift with them, or â¦)
I stress âmostâ. There is one special category of player made up of men who had long careers, including a Hall of Famer â goaltenders. Goalies are paid to STOP the puck, not shoot it. However, on rare occasion, a goaltender IS credited with a goal â and a few of them are interviewed for this book, as well.
Perhaps these players were not the greatest ones ever to lace up a pair of skates and set foot on NHL ice. However, unlike almost every hockey fan in the world, they CAN say that they played in the National Hockey League â and have a goal to their credit.
Like all of Ken Reid's books to this point, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and would recommend it to every hockey fan. (Even those who only like to read about superstars â Ken's storytelling should help to broaden those narrow horizons if you'd give the book a chance!!)
RATING: 4 ½ stars, rounded up to 5 stars where 1/2 stars are not permitted.
