Sports Illustrated Kids: Hockey Then to Wow! by the Editors of Sports Illustrated Kids. 80 p. Then to Wow series. Liberty Street/ Time Inc. Books, September 26, 2017. 9781683300113. (Review from finished copy courtesy of publisher)
The NHL turns 100 this year and SI Kids knows how to celebrate! This third installment of the Then to Wow series is sure to please fans of the sport and invite new young fans. It is as attractively designed as the previous installments the last being, Baseball Then to Wow! with its embossed cover featuring a line-up of famous players from eight decades.
The end-pages are decorated with a top-down view of a hockey rink. As in Baseball, there are four chapters and the first two cover the basics and the players, the third is called, Face Off and covers coaches, strategies, global games, units, records, women's hockey, goals, dynasties and the Stanley Cup. The final chapter, Fan Fun covers things like play-off beards, video games, fan fashion, cards and stories about the items fans have taken to throwing "over the boards," which happens to be against the rules.
It's interesting to note that while the first rules for hockey were published by The Montreal Gazette in 1877, as noted in the timeline, there is no mention on it (or anywhere else in the book) about the formation of the NHL, except to say that in 1918, the NHL added two blue lines on the ice.
There's plenty to goggle over as double-page spreads show the evolution of the sports equipment (current skates can cost over $1000!) through the sweaters, the sticks and the arenas. The goalie pads are particularly interesting in that they now resemble body armor rather than mattress padding.
Hockey Then to Wow! is a great addition to any collection!
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