TBC: Home And Away

If there's one thing that will always remain as a constant in my life, it's my undying, unwavering support for anything that goes against the Toronto Maple Leafs. As long as the Leafs continue their streak of not capturing the Stanley Cup nor appearing in a Stanley Cup Final, I will remain fairly content in my pursuits of hockey stories. To this degree, it would should be weird to some that I would voluntarily pick up a book that's primarily about one player's career wearing the Maple Leafs logo, but I had a specific reason for doing so. Because of this, Teebz's Book Club is proud to review Home and Away, written by Mats Sundin and Amy Stuart and published by Simon & Schuster Canada. There's no doubt in my mind that Mats Sundin is one of the greatest players that Sweden has ever produced and his accolades from his storied career are many, but I had another reason to read this book.

From his Simon & Schuster biography, "Mats Sundin is the longest-serving captain not born in North America in NHL history. He enjoyed a prolific eighteen-season NHL career as well as a superb international career playing for Sweden, his homeland. When he was selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, he became the first European-born player ever drafted first overall. The Nordiques traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the rest is hockey history. At the time of his retirement, Sundin stood as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ all-time franchise leader in goals and points. A quiet leader, the durable Sundin is regarded as one of the finest Swedes to have played in the National Hockey League, and one of the greatest Toronto Maple Leafs of all time." Mats, his wife Josephine, and his three children live in Sweden and visit Toronto often.

From her biography on the Simon & Schuster website, "Amy Stuart's fourth novel, A Death at the Party, emerged as a longstanding #1 bestseller. She is the author of three other bestselling novels — Still Mine, Still Water, and Still Here — which have been optioned for television by Lark/NBC Universal. Amy's other love is hockey. She is one of only four women head coaches in the GTHL, the world's largest youth competitive hockey league. She was born in Toronto, where she still lives with her husband and their three sons. They also spend much of their time on Prince Edward Island, where Amy's family is originally from." In 2019, Amy founded Writerscape, an online community for hopeful and emerging writers if you're looking for a place to hone your writing skills, and you can follow Amy on Twitter and on Goodreads to stay up-to-date on everything!

As stated above, I fully admit that I had very little interest in reading about Sundin's time with the Maple Leafs. I was interested in learning about his life, but that 13-year section of his career mattered little to me when I started reading. I actually was looking to see on how he and Swedish teammates reacted after losing to Belarus at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, but what I found in reading Home and Away is that Mats Sundin, despite his Maple Leafs career, is a man who never forgot his roots, loved his family, and loved playing hockey.

Home and Away is a memoir of Mats' life, from his time growing up as the middle child in the Sundin family to closing out his career with the Vancouver Canucks. I'm not sure if it's Sundin's disposition or Stuart's writing style, but the entire book is very positive which seems odd considering that hockey is about players and teams clashing. Add in agents and general managers who clash during contract negotiations and personal relationships, and I expected a few stories where Sundin didn't have a good interaction with someone. That reality, though, is a very positive memoir contained in Home and Away which may speak further to Sundin's character.

What is clear throughout Home and Away is Mats' sense of loyalty and devotion. He was extremely devoted in his career to his teams and teammates including turning down offers to leave Toronto via trades in pursuit of a Stanley Cup, and he was always in contact with his family and quick to have them at his side. For a man who grew up in the small Swedish town of Sollentuna, the sense of home and family was something that Sundin carried throughout his career that I never knew he carried. It was refreshing to read just how close he is with his family no matter how far away he was chasing his dreams.

One thing I wasn't aware of as I read Home and Away was Mats Sundin playing in a youth tournament in Winnipeg! Sundin played in the Manitoba capital in 1986 as his team from Sweden attended a tournament here. He was billeted with a family, and it sounds as though Mats enjoyed Winnipeg during this experience. He writes,

"Winnipeg, and Canada, felt both different and the same as home. The weather was warm and the days were long. People were friendly, but far more outgoing. In Sweden, we couldn't drive until we turned eighteen, so it was a shock to see out fellow sixteen-year-olds behind the wheel. My host player drove me to a local mall, where we met up with groups of kids eating at the food court and shopping for clothes. I couldn't believe how sophisticated they seemed in comparison to us. My host family took good care of me."

I went looking for newspaper articles of this tournament where Sweden "ended up winning every game by a large margin," but I found nothing. Nevertheless, it's pretty cool to think that Winnipeg was Sundin's first North American experience for culture, and he seemed to enjoy his short stay based on his story in Home and Away.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Home and Away as I really knew little about Mats Sundin. From growing up in Sollentuna to playing with Nacka HK and Djurgården IF in Sweden to landing in Quebec, Toronto, and Vancouver as an NHL player, there are all sorts of interesting stories in Home and Away. He does address each of the three Olympiads he took part in so 2002 gets discussed, but I really wanted more details. My unreasonable expectations aside, the book is an excellent look at Mats Sundin's life and career, and Home and Away absolutely deserves the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval!

Home and Away was released on October 22, 2024, so copies of the book should be available at libraries and local bookstores. The book is easy to read with very minimal crass language and no outrageous stories for parents of younger hockey fans to consider, and the chapters are short and concise, making the book easy to put down if one needs a break. In saying that, I read Home and Away very quickly because of its easy-to-read nature, and it is absolutely recommended for all hockey fans, especially Toronto Maple Leafs fans!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!