Title/Author:
“Frozen In Time: A
Minnesota North Stars History” by Adam Raider
Tags:
Ice Hockey, professional, history,
North Stars
Publish date:
October 14, 2014
Length:
260 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (outstanding)
Review:
When the National Hockey
League doubled in size from six teams to 12 in 1967, one of the brand new
franchises was the Minnesota North Stars.
It was fitting that the state get a professional hockey team as the
sport had flourished for many years at the youth, high school, college and
minor league levels. Now there would an
NHL franchise to call Minnesota home.
The history of the franchise from its beginnings in that 1967-68 season up to April 15, 1993 when it played its last game before moving to Dallas is thoroughly covered in this complete book by Adam Raider. Just about anything a reader would want to know about the team during the 26-year time frame in Bloomington, Minnesota is covered.
If the reader wants to
learn about the best players in franchise history such as Neal Broten, Mike
Modano (while his best years were in Dallas, his first three seasons were in
Minnesota), Dino Ciccarelli, or Bill Goldsworthy, there are bios on these
players that take up a couple pages each.
If instead the reader is more interested in some of the players who made
an impact on the franchise, but wasn’t a superstar – players like Curt Giles,
Gilles Meloche, Danny Grant or Basil McRae – they are covered here as
well. There is also a “best of the rest”
section in which fifty other players are given a paragraph or two describing
their time in Minnesota. Front office personnel, the team’s only radio
announcer are also given significant space in the book. This publication brought back many fond
memories of my childhood and young adult life as a North Stars fan.
The book isn’t just
about the players, however. It begins
with a chronological narrative of the team’s history in Minnesota, from the approval
by the NHL’s Board of Directors to the shuttering of Met Center in 1993. Some
of the more controversial topics such as why Norm Green moved the team and what
terms were really approved between the Gund brothers and the new owners in 1990
are covered and researched well. It is
important to note that these are written in a fair and unbiased method. The last chapter is an excellent reference
site for team records, statistics and highlights from each of the twenty-six
years of Minnesota North Stars hockey.
If the reader was a fan of the team, it is a book he or she must add to
the home library.
I wish to thank Mr.
Raider and University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in
exchange for an honest review.
Do I recommend?
Hockey fans interested
in the history of the team will enjoy this account of all twenty-six seasons
the franchise played in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Those who were North Stars fans during that time will especially enjoy reading
this book and it is highly recommended to them.
Book Format Read:
Hardcover
Buying links:
A long overdue word of thanks from the author. Glad you enjoyed it.
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