A Canadian Saturday Night: Hockey and the Culture of a Country

by Andrew Podnieks

With heart and humor, popular hockey author Andrew Podnieks highlights the game’s vital place in the fabric of daily life in Canada. Accompanied by stunning color images, the 65 “mini-essays” here bring to life the glorious events, objects, and artifacts that form the sport's collective memory — tabletop hockey and backyard rinks, the heart-quickening drama of overtime goals, and the quiet majesty of the Zamboni. To flip through these pages is to wander through a museum brimming with hockey legend and lore.

Genres: Hockey, Canada, Sports

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 21, 2006

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a born again hockey fan ( Go Leafs!) I found this little book very interesting and informative. Each chapter highlighted an aspect of the game. There was Jacques Plante, the 1st NHL goaltender to wear a goaltender mask in regulation play on a regular basis, photos of some of the all-time greats when they were just starting their careers and lots of trivia. For example, the term "hat trick" is used to describe when a player scored 3 goals in a game. This term had been used in cricket prior to hockey taking it on. But there's also the story of a Toronto business man, a haberdasher, who offered a free hat to any player who scored 3 goals during an NHL game in Toronto. So many interesting little tidbits of information.
I thoroughly enjoyed this bed time read!

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect book to pick up and read over a cup of coffee. Ideal for fans of hockey, no matter if you are Canadian or not, anyone anywhere will love this snapshot of the game. Left page copy, right page full colour photo of a toque, a stick, an iconic player from Hockey's past first teams.
As a Canadian kid we lived on ice rinks or on the street until the lights came on. Hockey is in our blood. Podnieks captures real moments and in a perfect narrative style jogs our memory banks, our senses and our continuing love for the game.
Winter's coming, pick this up for a fun read or, hey, a stocking stuffer for a friend!

[Bradley Proctor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up for $4 on sale at a bookstore. Not very much to it.