Book Cover

The hockey world, I learned, extended way beyond former teammates. Hockey is the kind of sport that connects people even if they’ve never played together. It really is a unique community, and the tragedy had been a devastating reminder of that.

# Review

One of the worst sports tragedies to occur in recent years is the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash, where the bus carrying a junior ice hockey team was struck and totaled in rural Saskatchewan, Canada. The book is a memoir by Kaleb Dahlgren, one of the survivors of the crash. I picked it up on a whim as Wayne Gretzky endorsed it.

In the book, Dahlgren gives a deep dive into his personal history with hockey. It was very interesting to learn about small town hockey, such as the teams’ relationship with the communities surrounding the team. I learned about things such as billet families, which are families who host hockey players who are from out of town. I also learned about how involved these small town hockey teams are within their community; these teams’ involvement within the communities range from helping community members shovel snow, to outreach programs targeting children and people with special needs. Dahlgren in particular, due to his own personal struggles with diabetes, runs an organization that helps children with diabetes. Dahlgren also sheds insight on high level amateur hockey, such as the team culture and a player’s day-to-day schedule.

Dahlgren gives a first-person account of the accident, both the gruesome incident itself, but also the slow and painful road to acceptance and recovery. What really stood out is the outpour of support, which came from both professional hockey players and hockey fans around the world.

# Conclusion

An interesting look at small town hockey and a sports tragedy.

# Overall rating: 7.4

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