If, like me, you enjoy spending hours and hours looking back at old ice hockey league tables and playing records, then you will DEFINITELY like this new book.
Brian McColl has – somewhat bravely – taken on the gargantuan task of trying to make sense of all the various league and cup competitions that have taken place in British ice hockey over the years and set them out in an easy to follow manner that is fascinating to look through.
I don’t, as a rule, tend to like A4 size books (mine are always A5…) but I think Brian has got the format just right for this one and the page layouts are very clear and well set out.
Having done a lot of hockey research and writing myself over the years, I know how much work has gone into pulling all of this information together and can fully appreciate the time and effort that have been involved. As it happens, there are quite a few things in here that I have never even heard of before – like the early Irish competitions and some of the home cup tournaments – so it really is quite an eye opener!
As you can probably work out from the title, the book covers all competitions dating right back to the opening of the very first ice rinks during the Victorian age and comes bang up to date with the current 2022/23 season.
As well as season by season listings of all league and cup standings there are other very useful lists of things such as:
- League, play off and cup winners
- International Club competitions
- A to Z of all teams and their leagues
- and lots more besides.
There is a comprehensive section on the women’s leagues since the early 1980s and also a run down of youth league winners for the same period.
So, if you are in any way interested in British ice hockey history - especially “who won what when” - this book is definitely for you!
295 pages / ISBN: 9798390332801
Mail order link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C6VWR9DG
