Customer Reviews

Behind the Bench

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Dick Irvin's book makes you a a priviledged listener to the stories of great and not so great NHL coaches. You read the thoughts and

philosophies of Mike Keenan, Harry Neale, Barry Melrose, Jacques Demers, and of course, the inimitable Don Cherry. Read how some of these coaches struggled with acceptance from players, fans and management; victory and, ultimately, defeat. A must read for hockey fans with a knowledge of the game and interesting to those

who are new to it.

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Veteran hockey broadcaster Dick Irvin is so good at these oral history books (See "In The Crease" in which goalies talk about their profession) that I wish he'd update this one to include coaches from the past 15 years.

To any hockey fan, this is fascinating reading, not just x's and o's about the game but how and how not to treat players. You get a cross-section of guys here, from the ultra-strict and series to the still-strict-but-funny, the video freaks, the players' coaches, and some interesting comments about how coaching hockey players has changed over the years. Overall, it's a fun read and you'll learn some hockey and psychology along the way.

Dick Irvin's book makes you a a priviledged listener of the stories of great and not so great NHL coaches. You hear the thoughts and philosophies of Mike Keenan, Harry Neale, Barry Melrose, Jacques Demers, and of course, the inimitable Don Cherry. Read how some of these coaches struggled with acceptance, victory and, ultimately, defeat. A great read for hockey fans with a knowledge of the game and interesting to those who are new to it.

Irvin's anecdotal style serves the subject well, but the true authors are the coaches themselves. The book allows the coaches tell their tales, some tall, most of them funny and occasionally a dark one as well. If you are looking for a book on strategy, forget it, this book is about coaching in the NHL from a more stylistic perspective. In many cases, this is a study of the psychology of the men behind the benches and the cast of characters that they have stumbled across over the years. If you like a good yarn about how the game is played at the professional level, this book will be a favorite