A Canadian Saturday Night: Hockey and the Culture of a Country

by Andrew Podnieks

Overview

With heart and humor, popular hockey author Andrew Podnieks highlights the game’s vital place in the fabric of daily life in Canada. Accompanied by stunning color images, the 65 “mini-essays” here bring to life the glorious events, objects, and artifacts that form the sport's collective memory — tabletop hockey and backyard rinks, the heart-quickening drama of overtime goals, and the quiet majesty of the Zamboni. To flip through these pages is to wander through a museum brimming with hockey legend and lore.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781926812052
Publisher:	Greystone Books
Publication date:	12/01/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Andrew Podnieks is the bestselling author of more than 20 hockey books. He has worked extensively with the International Ice Hockey Federation, the Canadian Hockey Association, and the Hockey Hall of Fame on a variety of projects, from Olympic games and world championships to website development. He lives in Toronto.

Read an Excerpt

THE ZAMBONI MAN

No fancy car, no huge airplane or boat or motorcycle or any other mode of transportation is as single-minded in its purpose as the Zamboni.
The Zamboni is named for its creator, Frank Zamboni, and has joined that handful of trademarks that have evolved in general usage as nouns or verbs. Just as so many of us refer to tissue as Kleenex or photocopying as Xeroxing, so too do we say “Zamboni the ice” instead of “flood the ice.” But to flood is to Zamboni, for how else does the ice get cleaned?
Everything about the Zamboni is special. Look at the doors of any hockey rink. There are the two doors for each team’s bench, doors for each team at the penalty box, and at one end or in one corner are the doors for the Zamboni. It is as important as Gretzky or Orr or Howe to making a game great. From off ice, these doors are special. They are held tight by a big pole that lifts off its braces when the doors must be opened. As the Zamboni goes around and around, first scraping the old snow off and then splashing new water on in one motion, fans watch with critical care to make sure the driver doesn’t miss a spot. To turn a corner too quickly and leave a crescent moon of snow on the turn is simply bush league, unacceptable, the sign of a lousy driver. To finish the flooding with just a thin strip of snow left in the middle of the rink is also reason for ridicule. The driver must finish with a strip just a few inches less narrow than the width of the Zamboni’s back end, and if he does so, and doesn’t miss any spots, he is deemed by the crowd to be a first-rate Zamboni driver, a real pro.
Just as the Zamboni leaves the ice, it stops, lifts its rear end to dump the wet snow on the ice, and heads off. Cleaners must then scrape away the excess snow, squeegee any residual puddle of water, and then bolt the doors closed again. A good arena will have smooth ice right to the edge of the doors; a lesser rink will have a slight dip in the ice by the Zamboni doors or, worse, bumpy, unkempt brown or pock-marked ice. If the doors don’t close in perfect harmony, little gaps will appear in those sections of boards. Another no-no. Everything about the Zamboni’s exercises are a microcosm of ice maintenance and arena operations. These alone distinguish pro from amateur, superstar from minor leaguer.
All Zamboni drivers have multiple tasks at the arena. Ask to get your skates sharpened just before your shinny begins and you’ll be disappointed because the man who sharpens is likely on the Zamboni then. He also has possession of the room keys, can sell you a stick, loan you a puck, or collect any equipment left behind in the dressing room. The Zamboni driver is the custodian of all things at the hockey arena. When he goes home, the arena is locked and the game is over until the next morning when he returns.

Table of Contents

• Introduction

• The Puck
• Victoria Skating Rink
• Rideau Hall
• The Three Stars
• St. Lawrence Starch Company
• The Richard Riot
• The Stick
• The Hat Trick
• The Tragically Hip
• Souvenir Programme
• Beer
• Chiclets
• Table Top Hockey
• Bobby Orr’s Knee
• Dun Da-Dun Da-Dun
• Always So Good at Tim Hortons
• Espo Speaks to a Nation
• Henderson Has Scored for Canada
• Stompin’ Tom
• Goalie Masks
• Got Him, Got Him, Need Him
• Slapshot
• Peter Puck
• Our National Anthem
• Homemade Cups
• The Hockey Sweater
• Stanley Cup Parade
• House League Jacket
• Gretzky’s First Trophy
• The Dressing Room
• Target
• X’s and O’s
• Hockey Mom
• Grapes
• Basement Hockey
• Canada’s Royal Wedding
• The Hounds
• Arena as Living Room
• Summer Snow
• A Museum of One’s Own
• The Sutters
• Men Shake Hands
• Car!
• Backyard Rink
• That Orange Ball
• Road Hockey Goalie
• Stamping the Cup
• Little Stanley Cup
• Stanley’s Travels
• Gretzky’s Restaurant
• He Lives Just Down the Road
• Cuts Heal
• National Patois
• The Zamboni Man
• Lucky Loonie
• Cullen Dealerships
• Politics
• The Toque
• Shania
• Plaster Rock Hockey
• Can You Sign This?
• Living the Hockey Life
• Dreaming in Junior
• Madonna of the Rink