Gabby: Confessions of a Book Reviewer
by Your Nation's Capital on Oct 31, 2009 10:09 PM EDT
29 comments
Bruce Boudreau (middle row, third from left) in his salad days as a centerman for the Johnstown Jets and day player for the Hyannisport Presidents, via misterirrelevant.com
Gabby: Confessions of a Hockey Lifer
So I went to Kettler Capitals Iceplex* and met Bruce and Tim today. Well, "met" is too strong perhaps, but they did both sign my book, and we chatted about the Philly-centric hoodie I was wearing (Eastern State Penitentiary and if you haven't toured it yet, you should.)
Read 1/3 of the book while waiting on line, 1/3 on the train ride home, and finished it earlier this evening.
Still internalizing it. Gabby has burned a few bridges for sure. Then gone back, scooped up all the ashes, and tied a rock to them and sank them in the deepest part of Lake Ontario.
But he truly loves him some Greener.
And it is entirely possible that he is secretly married to Tomas Fleischmann.
This book is highly recommended for all the regulars here at Japers'. I really felt like I was reading about old friends. The whole gang from Hershey, and so many of the rising stars from all over today's NHL.
We learn of the ups and many, many downs of a "hockey lifer", told with brutal honesty. Bruce brings us along as he plays and coaches with the men who are now coming at last into their own and rising with him into the ranks of major league coaches and executives.
And now the sons of those men are working on their own careers as their fathers before them, ping-ponging from major juniors to AHL to NHL and back, making their career decisions (both good and bad) along the way. They would be well-advised to pick up a copy of Coach Boudreau's book before that next long bus ride to Ft. Wayne or Kitchener.
* I know there was at least one other Rink Rat there today. We really need to develop some gang code to flash at these things so we can say "hey".
If this FanPost is written by someone other than one of the blog's authors, the opinions expressed in it do not necessarily reflect those of this blog or SB Nation.
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All your comments about the book and/or the book signing are welcome here. To kick off the discussion, here is TEB’s report on the first Capitals game of the Boudreau Era.
IS PAЯTY NOW
by Your Nation's Capital on Nov 1, 2009 1:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
If you follow the link on through to the story about Boudreau’s first game, you’ll see familiar themes in their larval stages:
1. Backstrom displays phenomenal playmaking hockey sense with the game on the line, controlling the puck ‘til his instinct tells him he’ll have the advantage.
2. Ovie unleashed finds a way even with damaged equipment. No stick handle? No worries! Here you go, Nicky! Rusian machine never gives up!
3. The team is winning 3-0 with five minutes in Period Two, which naturally is an excellent time for the team’s captain to challenge the other guys Scott Hartnell to a fight (did I mention they were playing the Flyers? In the Flyers’ building?) thereby incurring 19 minutes’ worth of penalties, a game misconduct, and a Danny Briere goal.
4. The opposing forward (Hartnell) is labeled “rugged.”
5. The captain is quoted as saying, "I’m not really in any shape to be fighting, but… "
6. An opposing forward outmuscles Jeff Schultz on the way to a goal to make it a one-point game.
7. Game is tied with 5 or so minutes left in period three when the goalie doesn’t control the rebound.
8. Tom Poti is assessed a slashing penalty late in the game, and the penalty is killed and the game goes to OT.
9. Sasha Semin has a minor injury and does not play.
10. A Hershey boy gets the nod for the first goal.
IS PЯACTICE ЯINK NOW
by Your Nation's Capital on Nov 9, 2009 11:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
11. The CI commenters demand that Schultz be fired or traded, did you see him cough up that puck
IS PЯACTICE ЯINK NOW
by Your Nation's Capital on Nov 9, 2009 11:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Just finished reading it. Thank god for daylight savings (I have work tomorrow) but I couldn’t put it down, even though I knew how it all ended, with two game 7 disappointments in two seasons.
It makes me hate Avery that much more, but at the same time makes me love our players for wanting to stick up for BB but having the ability to control themselves. Game 7 of that series is my fondest hockey memory and it was a really bright spot through tough times.
Imma give it a 9/10 needs more Stanley Cups.
"And next year it will be ours."
by Ovechwin on Nov 1, 2009 1:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
things like that remind me that Mike Wise is wasting his writing talents on being a needless dick.
by RedBirdie on Nov 1, 2009 10:59 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I picked the cheap shipping on Amazon, so it isn’t here yet. I’m blown.
by hockeyman33 on Nov 1, 2009 9:02 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I had it pre-ordered on B&N, but cancelled it. It cost a few dollars more to get it yesterday, but with a Saturday release it wouldn’t have shipped until tomorrow, and I didn’t want to wait. It was worth it.
by gfcaps fan on Nov 1, 2009 9:18 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Same here. Well that I didn’t anticipate any bookstore in the Sonoran Desert carrying it. Looks like its arriving this coming Friday. Mine is coming from their Laurel center, so you may get your copy early in the week.
A man gotta have a code
by CP2Devil on Nov 1, 2009 11:07 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Good stuff – thanks for FanPosting this.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Nov 1, 2009 9:02 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I’m going to rec this, so that it eventually stays on the front page for a while.
There were probably at least a hundred other things I could or should have been doing yesterday, but instead I was reading. I think most of the best parts of the book were probably already posted here in the teasers, but it’s still an interesting look inside Bruce’s head.
As a parent of children no longer living at home, his opening line about the wake-up call absolutely rang true. If the phone is ringing at an odd hour, you’re almost afraid to pick it up.
And it is entirely possible that he is secretly married to Tomas Fleischmann
Hardy har har, and totally true. I do wonder a little if he’s a bit too loyal for his own good. He admits how it hurt him professionally by sticking with the Leafs instead of going with options that were more financially lucrative and may have gotten him to stick in the NHL. When he talks about how he uses his experiences to motivate his players, it really is a parent trying to explain to his children why they should listen to him. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
It’s all still jumbled in my head still, I see a few re-reads coming in the next few days. Hey, at 200 pages, it doesn’t take that long!
by gfcaps fan on Nov 1, 2009 9:16 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
We skimmed through the book while standing in line, and it was like reminiscing about the past couple of years with Boudreau himself. A lot of “Oh yeah, remember that game??”
Haven’t finished it yet, but it’s an incredibly fascinating read if you’re even a casual fan of the Caps/Hershey Bears.
by mercurialwinger on Nov 1, 2009 9:52 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I know there was at least one other Rink Rat there today. We really need to develop some gang code to flash at these things so we can say “hey”.
You might be joking, but I really wish we did have something. Although I wasn’t at the signing, I am at Kettler fairly regularly, and any time I go watch practice I wonder if I’m sitting next to someone I’m friendly with online and don’t even realize it. I’m tempted to print this on a big luggage tag for my skate bag or something like that…
"Camaraderie, that's what the Washington Capitals are all about."
by CapitalCentre on Nov 1, 2009 10:35 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
According to the Japers’ Rink Guidelines, an avatar is supposed to help us recognize one another online. Maybe using one of those instead? It wouldn’t help me much because I generally don’t recall images as well as I do names, but maybe others would recognize them. Some, like J.P.’s and yours, are pretty easy. I should load an image of Fedorov-Ovechkin-Semin.
by red army line on Nov 1, 2009 12:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Usually you can recognize Rink readers by how much better looking they are than the rest of a given crowd. So just approach the top 10% or so of the best looking men and women in a group and they’re likely Rink Rats.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Nov 1, 2009 1:16 PM EST up reply actions 8 recs
Oh, if only…
"Camaraderie, that's what the Washington Capitals are all about."
by CapitalCentre on Nov 1, 2009 1:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Truth, rec’d and green’d
"And next year it will be ours."
by Ovechwin on Nov 1, 2009 8:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I thought you could tell because of how elite they look. I always go for the people in tuxedos with top hats. Monocles are a dead giveaway too
by Bman21212 on Nov 2, 2009 6:08 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
ahahaha, love it.
"No Brooks Laich, no win. Know Brooks Laich, know win."
by kellobellow on Nov 2, 2009 9:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I agree completely. Every time I’m sitting on the Metro and I hear someone stick up for Schultz or point out a jersey foul, I think it might be a fellow Rink Rat. I wish there was a way of signaling to them.
"My face is my mask."
by jakeshapiro on Nov 2, 2009 12:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Perhaps some offhand comment that doesn’t sound too odd but wouldn’t be said normally?
"And next year it will be ours."
by Ovechwin on Nov 2, 2009 12:53 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Using “Nylandering” in a sentence or nominating “Schultz for Schultz”?
"My face is my mask."
by jakeshapiro on Nov 2, 2009 1:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
refer to “carebears” or perhaps “all the hockey sense of a rabbit”
by RedBirdie on Nov 2, 2009 10:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
How’d everyone identify each other in the real world in Fight Club?
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Nov 2, 2009 6:32 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Ah, so…
that’s how it’ll be.
"My face is my mask."
by jakeshapiro on Nov 2, 2009 8:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
if you manage to find this in a bookstore, can you post where? Thanks. I hate ordering online.
by RedBirdie on Nov 1, 2009 11:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Barnes and Noble
"And next year it will be ours."
by Ovechwin on Nov 1, 2009 8:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Sports section.
"And next year it will be ours."
by Ovechwin on Nov 1, 2009 8:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Just got the book today and read the first few chapters. I have to say, I’m not impressed. It’s super interesting for diehard Caps fans, but it’s not a well-written book. I would not recommend Gabby to people who aren’t of Rink Rats-caliber fandom.
It seems strange Don Cherry would write the (fairly generic) foreword, considering his relations with Caps fans and Ovechkin.
And there’s also the whole “BB should’ve waited to write this until he retired, or at least won the Cup” thing.
From a purely rabid Caps fan perspective, though, it’s great.
"My face is my mask."
by jakeshapiro on Nov 3, 2009 1:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
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Southeast Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Washington
|
21 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 30 |
|
Tampa Bay
|
19 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 23 |
|
Atlanta
|
18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 22 |
|
Florida
|
19 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 18 |
|
Carolina
|
21 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 13 |
(updated 11.20.2009 at 9:16 AM EST)
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