Called Ugly, Shanahan Cries

The following is a chapter called "The Grate Combeback" (pp.183-187) from the book In the Bin: Reckless and Rude Stories from the Penalty Boxes of the NHL by NHL Official Lloyd Freeberg (Triumph Books, Chicago, 1998). It's a particularly hilarious story of Shanahan, made more hilarious by his position in the league now.

With the second selection in the 1987 entry draft, New Jersey had a tough decision to make. Buffalo had already chosen high-scoring Pierre Turgeon from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Still available to the Devils was an even higher scorer in Joe Sakic, who was filling the net for the Swift Current Broncos. Having finished the season out of the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, NJ desperately needed the soft hands of a natural scorer, and Sakic's 130 points proved he had those.

"Review of Literature Found in my Basement" Volume 1: "Hockey Now!", Part 2 & 3: Rearguards & Blueline Attack

Part 1 here. 


Rearguards: Today's crop of "stay at home" defensive specialists are big, mobile, and mean.

Blueline Attack!: Leading the rush and pushing the powerplay to new - and dangerous - expertise, today's offensive defensemen take the style of Bobby Orr and add speed.

Try to guess them first!

Review of Literature found in my Basement Volume 2: Slap Shots

Kevin Nelson. Slap Shots: Hockey's Greatest Insults. 
(1995, New York, NY: Fireside).

This is just a collection of interesting quotes on a variety of topics from a variety of sources. I picked my favorites below. I included about 1% of a book full of great quotes that highlight both sides of various debates and arguments and perspectives in hockey. Lots of the quotes I chose, especially in the latter chapters, agree with my own opinions, but keep in mind that the book has handfuls of quotes that accurately represent both sides, without the author taking a real stance on an issue. He just presents the information, and the information in most cases being the quotes. A lot of times it just does a great job of highlighting the lack of truth in any given situation, whether it be the Summit Series or who is the best hockey player of all-time or if the game is played the right way, and so on. I'd love to read an updated version. God knows there's been millions of quotes in the past 10+ years that are gold.

"Review of Literature Found in my Basement" Volume 1: "Hockey Now!", Part 1: Masked Marvels

Hockey Now! by Mike Leonetti with photography by Dan Hamilton. 1999, Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books Ltd.

1. Masked Marvels! - Top goalies
2. Rearguards! - Defensemen who are on the ice in all key situations
3. Blueline Attack! - Defenders who can lead the offense
4. Power Forwards! - Players willing to use their size and strength to get the puck
5. Play Makers! - softest hands in hockey
6. Snipers! - pure goal scorers
7. Hit Men! - players who change the course of a game with a crunching checkk
8. Young Guns! - new players with star potential

Can you guess the players that lead the league in each category 13 years ago?

The first chapter, Masked Marvels, looks at the 11 best goaltenders as of 1999 and is reviewed below.