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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hockey fan? Goalie? This is a must-have., December 3, 2009
This review is from: Jacques Plante: The Man Who Changed the Face of Hockey (Hardcover)
I was lucky enough to have seen the game's greatest goalie late in his career, when he was playing with the St. Louis Blues, platooned with his old rival (and fellow Hall of Famer) Glenn Hall. He's been a hero for as long as I can remember. Denault manages to capture the rough-and-tumble world of old-time hockey with crisp, precise prose and a clear love for the history of the game. But even more importantly, he is able to freeze-frame that most mercurial of talents, goaltending, and paint a 3-D portrait of a very complex man. His research is meticulous and he's not unduly respectful of one of the game's legendary figures, rendering a vivid image without either glorifying or disparaging Plante's enduring reputation. This is the best hockey book of 2009, and rivals Randall Maggs' Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems as one of the best books ever written about a goalie. If you are a Canadiens fan, a goalie, or just a fan of the coolest sport on ice, this is a must-read.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Virtuoso, March 1, 2010
This review is from: Jacques Plante: The Man Who Changed the Face of Hockey (Hardcover)
The mid to late 1950's spawned an era in hockey that could have been called the Golden Age of Goalies. Terry Sawchuck, Glenn Hall, Johnny Bower and Roger Crozier all patrolled the nets into the mid-1960's and beyond, but none achieved the heights and glory of Jacques Plante.
Later additions of padded greatness included Tony Esposito, Ken Dryden, Grant Fuhr, and Dominek Hasek. All lay claim as the best that ever was, but Plante stays in the argument.
He was meticulous, eccentric, detached, and offbeat, but he was undeniably great. He played until he was 46 years old and took a studied, professorial approach to his craft. He was also a winner, whose ambition fueled him to seven Vezina's, five Stanley Cups and the admiration and respect of a generation of hockey fans, coaches and players.
This a crisply researched and well documented biography. It looks into the psyche of its subject in hard depth, and takes in not only biographical material of other hockey bios, but also interviews many of those who knew Jacques Plante.
Often inscrutable, Plante lived through his achievements both on the ice, and later, as a mentor. His monastic pursuit of hockey excellence is unmatched.
This is an excellent read on a highly interesting subject. It is recommended highly for any serious hockey fan.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jacque Plante: The Legend Revisited!, January 3, 2010
This review is from: Jacques Plante: The Man Who Changed the Face of Hockey (Hardcover)
Jacques Plante "The Man Who Changed The Face Of Hockey", by Todd Denault, proves to be one of the finest hockey biographies ever written. The cover photo of the book immediately grabs your attention, as a blood stained Plante prepares to change hockey history, by donning the mask for the first time, after he was on the receiving end of an Andy Bathgate slapshot to the face. This book traces his poor beginnings in Shawinigan Falls, and his rise to hockey stardom with the Montreal Canadiens, and his ups and downs with the New York Rangers, ST. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, and his end of career stint with the WHA. More importantly, Jacques Plante is portrayed as the true innovator of modern day goaling in the NHL. He perfected the mask from antiquated beginnings, and improved designs for 15 years, culminating in his classic Fibrosport design[Bernie Parent etc], which at the time provided more protection then ever before. By all accounts, he was the first goalie to communicate with his defensemen with hand signals which goalies use today, to indicate icing. He was the first goalie in history to leave the crease and play the puck, which was unheard of back in the 50's. Goalies like Ed Giacomin, Ron Hextall, and of course Marty Brodeur took it to another level, but the foundation of such daring play was started by the great Jacques Plante, who's influence on the game remains intact even today. He was a complex man, who like many goalies of his day like Terry Sawchuk, was a loner who owned a brilliant hockey mind both on and off the ice. Jacques Plante died young at 57 years of age in 1986, but he leaves behind a Hall Of Fame Career, and innovations that changed the game of ice Hockey forever.
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