TBC: Little Book Of Hockey Sweater Numbers

The news out of Edmonton and Red Deer today about the 2022 World Junior Championship being cancelled really kills the holiday hockey schedule in a big way. With the Spengler Cup already cancelled and a large number of NHL postponements, there isn't really a lot of hockey happening. In saying that, Teebz's Book Club turned to the bookshelf to fill the evening, and TBC is proud to review Little Book of Hockey Sweater Numbers, written by Andrew Podnieks and Rob Hynes and published by Moydart Press! Being a guy who likes stories of why players wear certain numbers, this is one book that appealed to me immediately! Would it be as informative as I hoped it might be about numbers worn by players?

Directly from his website, "Andrew Podnieks has written more than 80 books on hockey, all of which are featured on this website. In addition, he has attended four Olympics, 13 World Championships, and many World Junior, Women's Worlds, and Women’s U18 Championships for the IIHF, writing extensively for IIHF.com. He has worked with Hockey Canada and USA Hockey to produce comprehensive statistics for all levels of competition. For Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, he helped develop web and exhibition content and successfully nominated several inductees." TBC had reviewed a number of Mr. Podnieks' books on this site which can be found on the drop-down menu to the right! He's a talent writer, and he always produces quality books!

Ron Hynes, who seems to have have avoided photographers his whole life, is a freelance writer who lives in Toronto. He spent time working at the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Special Events Coordinator, and has more than twenty years working in television, writing books, and contributing to magazines.

The Little Book of Hockey Sweater Numbers doesn't miss the mark when it comes to information about numbers worn by players across a number of leagues including the NHL, WHA, junior hockey, and minor hockey as Podnieks and Hynes talk about the numbers worn by stars such as Wayne Gretzky, Ray Bourque, Auston Matthews, and Tony Esposito. While it would be virtually impossible to cover every number worn by every player to have ever played the game, there are numerous stories of players people will recognize on the pages of the Little Book of Hockey Sweater Numbers.

Do you know why Aleksander Barkov wears #16? Do you know what two numbers Nicklas Backstrom wore in the KHL during the 2012-13 lockout? Jusse Saros wears an odd number for a goaltender as #74, but he has a very good reason for wearing that number. The Little Book of Hockey Sweater Numbers contains all sorts of stories like these where you learn about how the stars in the NHL came to their numbers, and a lot of them have personal ties to the numbers they've chosen to wear.

There are also tidbits of information that one may have forgotten about such as Marian Gaborik wearing #82 for the Minnesota Wild. As a guy who loves jersey cameos and players wearing odd numbers, the stories about these numbers make me smile because these are the forgotten moments in a player's career. For those that don't know, I have a Jarome Iginla jersey with the Calgary Flames that has #24 on the back, and the number of people who tell me I have the wrong number on my jersey is easily in double-digits despite Iginla wearing the number in his debut with the Flames. Again, as a guy who appreciates these star players wearing numbers they don't normally wear, reading about them in the Little Book of Hockey Sweater Numbers made me smile.

One of the cooler facts in the Little Book of Hockey Sweater Numbers that I didn't know is one about the late Tim Horton. Horton is a Hall-of-Famer, but he holds a special distiction in the NHL as well!

"Tim Horton is the only player in NHL history to have two different sweater numbers retired.

Horton spent parts of 20 seasons patrolling the Maple Leafs blue line, and his number 7 was retired by the organization in recognition of his Hall of Fame career.

Horton was tragically killed in an auto accident during the 1973-74 season while playing for Buffalo. Nobody ever wore his Sabres number 2 again after the accident and the Sabres officially retired it in 1998.

If you knew that fact about Horton, you're sharper than I when it comes to unique sweater number facts, but you can find this fact and a lot more in the Little Book of Hockey Sweater Numbers!

The Little Book of Hockey Sweater Numbers is a very easy read with a lot of facts about very well-known players from the past and present in hockey. The 144-page book has facts on every page about the numbers worn by players in a variety of leagues, so it's a solid book if you have an interest in how players chose their numbers. If there's one complaint I have with the book, it's that there aren't many stories regarding the numbers chosen by the women who play the game. I would have liked to seen more from that side, but the Little Book of Hockey Sweater Numbers is still a good addition to a bookcase for any hockey fan. This makes it very easy to award the Little Book of Hockey Sweater Numbers with the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval!

There's nothing in the Little Book of Hockey Sweater Numbers that would raise the eyebrows of parents, so this book is suitable for all ages and reading levels. If your hockey fan is into knwoing why players wear the numbers they do, the Little Book of Hockey Sweater Numbers would be a perfect book for him or her! Look for the Little Book of Hockey Sweater Numbers at your local bookstore or library today!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!