Title/Author:
“Save by
Roy: Patrick Roy and the Return of the Colorado Avalanche” by Terry Frei and
Adrian Dater
Tags:
Hockey, professional Avalanche,
history
Publish date:
November 5,
2014
Length:
320 pages
Rating:
3 1/2 of 5
stars (good)
Review:
After a
few poor seasons, the Colorado Avalanche, at one time one of the elite teams of
the National Hockey League, decided to hire a rookie head coach who had no NHL
coaching experience at the time. He was
well-known to the franchise, having led them to Stanley Cup championships in
1996 and 2001. Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy became Colorado’s head coach
for the 2013-14 season. That season is chronicled in this book, a collaborative
effort between Terri Frei and Adrian Dater of the Denver Post, both of whom
have covered hockey for the newspaper.
After a
brief recap of Roy’s career and life after hockey, the book really gets going
when the press conference announcing Colorado’s hiring of Roy causes some
stirring around the league. How can
someone who has never coached in the NHL lead a team that has struggled for the
last four years? Very well, thank you as
the Avalanche won their division in 2013-14 and while they were eliminated in
the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Wild, the season was
considered to be a success.
The book covers the season by recapping every game, some much more in depth than others. These recaps are not newspaper stories, but instead they will cover a new aspect or situation facing the team, an anecdote about the player who played the biggest role for the Avalanche in the game, or possibly a simple rehash of the results. In between these stories there were sections that had player biographies that read like the biographies one will read in team media guides. However, those were more complete in this book with much more information gleaned from the player being profiled. Those were enjoyable reads and strategically placed at various spots during the season’s recap.
There was also one more feature of the book that was interspersed in various spots in the book, and that was notes “from the notebook of” one of the two authors. These were alternated between the two writers and these features were my favorite part of the book. These pieces were informative, opinionated and entertaining. Whether the pages from a notebook were about the feud between Roy and St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, how Roy would use the media to his advantage or just commentary on the games, these sections were welcome breaks from the season discussion. Just like how players enjoy breaks in the schedule during a long season, I felt refreshed and ready to continue after reading these.
While the
main topic of the book is the 2013-14 Avalanche season, this was also a good
source of information to learn more about Roy and what makes him tick both
during his playing days and as a coach. The style of the writing is what one
would expect from two newspaper reporters, but the stories don’t read like a
newspaper. Put together, they weave a
good picture of the team and what the future holds for them. It is a book that
any hockey fan will enjoy reading, especially Avalanche fans.
I wish to
thank NetGalley for providing an advance review copy of the book in exchange
for an honest review.
Did I skim?
No
Pace of the book:
Very good. I felt some of the game summaries and stories
started to run together when reading them one after another, but the breaks in
them with either player biographies or the notebook chapters made reading the entire
book fairly quick.
Do I recommend?
Avalanche
fans will certainly enjoy this recap of this comeback season in which Roy was
named the NHL Coach of the Year. All
hockey fans would enjoy reading this in-depth book.
Book Format Read:
E-book
(Kindle)
Buying links:
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