TBC: All Roads Home

If there's one thing of which I never seem to have enough, it's time. I have books sitting on a shelf that I simply call my "when I get a minute" shelf, but I never seem to find that minute. However, I decided that it was time to make a dent in that stack of books this month thanks to a recent addition that sounded like it was filled with funny, entertaining stories. In saying that, Teebz's Book Club is proud to review All Roads Home: A Life On and Off the Ice, written by Bryan Trottier and Stephen Brunt and published by Penguin Random House, that chronicles the life and playing career of Bryan Trottier up to this point in his life. As a Trottier fan once he landed in Pittsburgh, I can say that I had a deeper appreciation for his whole career so I was hoping this book would give me even greater insight into his life and his incredible career before playing for the Penguins!

I'm not saying you should know who Bryan Trottier is, but most hockey fans are already aware of his success with the New York Islanders. In any case, his Penguin Random House biography reads, "In 2017, Bryan Trottier was voted one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. He was born in Val Marie, Saskatchewan, and went on to win seven Stanley Cups (four with the New York Islanders, two with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and one as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche). He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania." What that bio doesn't say is that he's the most successful Indigenous athlete to have ever played in the NHL based on points and Stanley Cups, and he proudly celebrates his roots as a Cree Metis man.

Stephen Brunt likely needs no introduction from me thanks to his numerous authored books and his work in the Globe & Mail, but his biography from Penguin Random House reads, "Stephen Brunt is an award-winning writer and broadcaster for Sportsnet, and the co-host of The FAN 590's Writers Bloc with Jeff Blair and Richard Deitsch. He is the author of the #1 national bestselling Searching for Bobby Orr and All the Way, with Jordin Tootoo. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario, and in Winterhouse Brook, Newfoundland." Additional works that have been reviewed here on HBIC is Gretzky's Tears which was a look back at the Gretzky trade to Los Angeles, and Burke's Law which is a memoir of Brian Burke's life and work in hockey and all of his most memorable experiences.

I'll mention this upfront, but I was privileged enough to be at the book signing that Bryan Trottier did so reading this book after hearing him tell stories and speak about the book allowed me to read it in his voice. I don't know about you, but I like being able to read the book and "hear" the writer's voice in my head as if he or she is telling the stories directly to me. All Roads Home was seemingly an easier read once I got Trottier's voice in my head, making the stories that much more real in their telling.

While this autobiography's main theme is about hockey, it's fairly clear from the early moments in All Roads Home that family will also play a major role in the telling of Trottier's stories. Whether it be his parents and growing up on the farm as a child in Saskatchewan, the Broncos and Islanders and the "family" that was found those teams, or Trottier's own family where he's a proud father and grandfather. There are many times that Trottier documents where he suffers from homesickness, and most of those times are because he misses his family more than he misses being home.

Of course, as stated, hockey is the central theme in All Roads Home, and that means we get stories about Trottier's first time on the ice, learning to skate and play the game, minor hockey, some of the teams he played on, going to school, and growing up in his hometown of Val Marie, Saskatchewan. Farm life is obviously different than growing up in a town, but it was clear from an early age that Trottier learned the value of hard work and teamwork as his dad and uncles were instrumental in keeping their farm running. Those are lessons that remained with Trottier as hallmarks of his Hall of Fame hockey career.

That hard work led him to skating in the WHL where he became a great teammate with life-long friends such as Dave "Tiger" Williams, Terry Ruskowski, and many others as he skated in WHL cities such as Swift Current and Lethbridge. His hockey talents shone through some of the rough-and-tumble WHL games, and those talents attracted both the WHA's Cincinnati Stingers and New York Islanders in 1974 with the Stingers drafting Trottier 18th overall in the WHA draft while the Islanders used the 22nd pick in the NHL Draft to get Trottier.

One Art Ross Trophy, one Conn Smythe Trophy, and four Stanley Cups with the Islanders later, Trottier got to embark on another new journey as his contract was bought by the Islanders, making him a free agent for the first time in his career. That journey wouldn't last long as he joined the Pittsburgh Penguins and helped them capture a pair of Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992 before moving into the coaching world. A seventh Stanley Cup would follow after joining the Avalanche, but the hockey wasn't the only thing happening in Trottier's life.

As much as we try to minimize it, death, losses, and injuries are a part of life. Trottier goes through a few of these experiences in All Roads Home as he loses his dad and mom while still working in hockey, and he's seen several friendships succumb to the passing of those friends as well. One of the personal ordeals that Trottier faced is with mental health as well, and we know how important mental health is in today's game. Trottier has seen a lot of success, but he also faced a number of challenges over the years that may not have been as public.

One of the guys who Trottier highlights as having his career cut way too short was Islanders teammate Mike Bossy. Trottier attributes the style of game that Bossy played as being part of the reason he retired at age 30, but it's hard to imagine the goal totals Bossy may have had if his body had withstood the beatings it took. Trottier writes,

"In the end, I think Mike's style of play was what broke him down. He paid a heavy price to get into danger zones to score goals. He wasn't a perimeter player. He got some greasy, grimy goals because he went to the ugly areas, too. He wanted to win. And when you get the taste of winning championships, you'll pay a price. And Mike certainly did."

It's hard to imagine a guy with 573 goals retiring at age 30, but Bossy hung up the skates after the 1986-87 season because he simply couldn't do it any longer. His body had taken that beating as Trottier illustrated in order to win four Stanley Cups, and you can understand what Trottier means when you see thirty-something guys gutting out another run for one mort shot at glory. I'm sure Mike Bossy would say the same thing if he hadn't passed away on April 14, 2022.

Overall, All Roads Home is an excellent read with a number of short chapters, so it's easy to put the book down and return to it if you have a busy life like I seem to have. Trottier's stories are funny, entertaining, and very illuminating when it comes to the personal life that Trottier enjoyed away from the lights of the arenas. He holds his teammates, coaches, opponents, fans, and his family in very high regard with the latter taking priority over playing the game, proving that he has his priorities very well defined. Because of all of this, All Roads Home is absolutely deserving of the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval!

All Roads Home is available at book stores and libraries, and the material contained within the covers is, as mentioned, pretty easy to read. There are a few choice words based on situational moments that Trottier uses, so I'll leave this one up to parents to decide for younger readers as I'm saying it's a PG-rated read. Anyone teenaged or older will enjoy All Roads Home about most successful Indigenous hockey player ever to wear the skates under NHL lights, and I hihgly recommend picking up a copy as a gift for your hockey fan this holiday season!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!