So Your Son Wants to Play in the NHL [Hardcover]

Dan Bylsma (Author), Jay Bylsma (Author), Daniel Bylsma (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1998

This book is about one young athlete’s road to the NHL. It is told in two voices. First by Jay Bylsma, the father who flooded the backyard rink, and who encouraged all of his five children to make the most of their talents.

The second voice telling the story is Dan Bylsma, the son. A gifted athlete, he chose to leave home in Michigan to play Junior “B” hockey for St. Marys in Ontario. He then took the academic route, graduating from Bowling Green State University in 1992.

The next four years Dan, backed by his father and the rest of the family, never gave up on his NHL dream. He played for several minor league teams, attended several NHL camps, and won a contract with the L.A. Kings. Along the way, he, like his father, learned a great deal about hockey and about life. In this book they pass it on.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This is the best hockey advice since ‘Don’t rile Gordie Howe!’”
–Jay Greenberg, The Hockey News

“Dan Bylsma is a role model for every kid who’s been told he’ll never make it.”
–Larry Robinson, Coach, Los Angeles Kings --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap

This book is about one young athlete?s road to the NHL. It is told in two voices. First by Jay Bylsma, the father who flooded the backyard rink, and who encouraged all of his five children to make the most of their talents.

The second voice telling the story is Dan Bylsma, the son. A gifted athlete, he chose to leave home in Michigan to play Junior ?B? hockey for St. Marys in Ontario. He then took the academic route, graduating from Bowling Green State University in 1992.

The next four years Dan, backed by his father and the rest of the family, never gave up on his NHL dream. He played for several minor league teams, attended several NHL camps, and won a contract with the L.A. Kings. Along the way, he, like his father, learned a great deal about hockey and about life. In this book they pass it on. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Sleeping Bear Software; 1st ed edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886947392
• ISBN-13: 978-1886947399
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #842,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book makes a father think., June 14, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So Your Son Wants to Play in the NHL (Hardcover)

It's not easy raising a successful athlete, and it is even more difficult raising a successful adult. Your Son Wants to Be in the NHL shows us a young adult who seems to have become both. It tells the tale of how Dan Bylsma grew from childhood success to success in the NHL. More importantly, it shows us how a boy can grow into manhood and become a person you would like to have as a neighbor.

OK, the first few chapters, when the never ending succuesses of the Bylsma boys in athletics became almost as difficult to read as the phone book are a bit numbing after a while. Once parental pride calmed down the book turned into a compelling look at how difficult it is for a parent to find balance in their children's lives, to teach life lessons as well as sports techniques and to turn out a good person who also happens to be an NHL player.

The struggles Dan had after leaving home at such a young age are dealt with forthrightly, which multiplies the shock you feel at stories of sexual abuse and the physical sacrifice players at the lower minor level make to reach the NHL. That shock is no stronger than when the reader learns that Dan and his wife lost their first child just as he was establishing himself in the NHL.

This book gives the parent of an athlete much to think about. In a society where it seems more and more boys go through life without their fathers this book shows you that those boys lose something that may be irreplaceable.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is THE book for hockey parents., February 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: So Your Son Wants to Play in the NHL (Hardcover)

We have several hundred books in our hockey library. Ken Dryden's "The Game" was at the top of my list until I read Dan & Jay Bylsma's book. My son and I play on 4 roller hockey teams year round, play ice hockey during the summer, go to Kings games, watch the Ice Dogs and college hockey on TV, and are devout readers of "The Hockey News". Without a doubt, "So Your Son Wants to Play in the NHL" is the single best publication I've read as a hockey parent and amateur adult player.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is THE book for hockey parents., February 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: So Your Son Wants to Play in the NHL (Hardcover)

We have several hundred books in our hockey library. Ken Dryden's "The Game" was at the top of my list until I read Dan & Jay Bylsma's book. My son and I play on 4 roller hockey teams year round, play ice hockey during the summer, go to Kings games, watch the Ice Dogs and college hockey on TV, and are devout readers of "The Hockey News". Without a doubt, "So Your Son Wants to Play in the NHL" is the single best publication I've read as a hockey parent and amateur adult player.