Behind the Bench

by Dick Irvin

To make Behind the Bench Dick Irvin interviewed over forty former and current coaches in the NHL and selected the best of their stories. Fascinating, entertaining, and personal, they reveal a side of hockey unknown to most fans. From their roots and early days, the championships and crushing losses, the hirings and firings, to life on the road and dealing with fan and media pressure, the coaches are candid about their own lives, as well as about the great players, the great teams, and the owners.

Genres: Hockey, Nonfiction, Sports

352 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 1993

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Except for his first book, Dick Irvin's books are basically transcriptions of interviews he did with various personalities in hockey, with some comment from Irvin interspersed. This book focused on coaches, including memories shared by players who played with some of the old-time coaches like Toe Blake and Jack Adams, as well as interviews with many coaches from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Having been written in 1993, the book is now a little dated ... The amazing career of Scotty Bowman is chronicled before his additionally amazing run with the Detroit Red Wings. Some of the interviews with coaches of the late 80s and 90s aren't as interesting (anyone remember John Paddock?) but overall this is an interesting description of first-hand experiences coaching in the NHL (and some minor leagues too)

[Al Kruzins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had this book since 1993 Christmas gift from my mom
And it took this long g to finally read it
Was on a shelf hidden or life just got in the way
Sone excellent life lessons noted by the coaches
Great photos
Enjoy it

[Teebz Hbic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for Behind the Bench can be found on Hockey Blog In Canada.

[Alex Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid hockey book across the board (no pun intended). This is a series of oral interviews and anecdotes, with very little editing, contributed by past and current-at-the-book's-publishing coaches, who all have a lot of interesting views on the in's and outs of the game.

If there's one thing that this book taught me, it's that hockey management is a cutthroat business. Screw up once? You're probably getting fired. Cause the team to lose a handful of games? Fired. The way a lot of the coaches in this book write, you'd think someone shot a close family member of theirs. It's a constant theme, to the point of being distracting.

Regardless, there are some good anecdotes like Don Cherry's recollections of the early days coaching Boston and how he was mistreated in the early days of his career, Scotty Bowman getting into a row with a goalie who refused to come out and play until his hand was forced, and a juxtaposition between the youngest and oldest men to ever coach an NHL team.

The material can feel kind of dated, but it's an interesting read for any hockey fan. Lots of information I didn't know about before.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Irvin interviews several coaches, those both active at the time the book came out (after the 1992-93 season) and those who coached before. They talk about their careers in coaching, how they got into it, how they were fired from previous teams, and other stories related to the profession. It offers insight into an area not often written about, and helps explain the way of life for an NHL coach.