I jumped into reading Ken Dryden's The Game with enthusiasm and vigor. I had never read a hockey related book, and thought this might be a good place to start. This autobiography proudly touts itself as: "The best hockey book ever written", which is a huge claim in my opinion.
My husband is a huge hockey fan, has a brother who played in the NHL and is a passionate house league and Select league coach for our three kids. Needless to say, hockey is all around me at so many different levels. We have shelves of hockey related books: stats, histories, player bios and Championship "run-up" stories. So when I found Dryden's The Game, I figured it was a great place to begin my reading on the subject.Another reason I considered reading this autobiography is because it has been selected by the CBC's Canada Reads competition and is vying for position against four other very strong non-fiction works this year. (Prisoner of Tehran is one of the others which I very favorably reviewed recently.)
So here I go...
Ken Dryden was the infamous goalie for the Montreal Canadiens during the early 1970's. While he minded the net, he won 6 Stanley Cup Championships during his 8 years with the team. This is a huge accomplishment and can only be seen as such. Dryden is somewhat of an anomaly though; while he played professional hockey, he completed his law degree at McGill University and became a lawyer. Imaging the incredible demands on a professional hockey player, I was so impressed to find out that Dryden was able to complete a law degree!
This is such a unique and interesting aspect of Dryden's history, and I was so disappointed when it was totally passed over and neglected as a point of great discussion. At no time does Dryden discuss how he balanced these demands, or coordinated his time. He never mentions his need to study, prepare for exams, meet with other students or finish off assignments. This aspect of such a dynamic life is totally neglected, and in my opinion is a huge, glaring fault of his book. (It almost leaves me asking whether special "arrangements" were made with him obtaining his law degree from McGill?)Throughout The Game, we learn about his team mates and coachs--in particular Scotty Bowman. Dryden describes the fun times and trials of training and traveling as a team. We read about innumerable team gags and laughs that really make a team a unit. These stories went on for pages and pages. I guess this would be fascinating to someone who is a crazy Canadiens fan from the 1970's. It was tiring for me after about 120 pages, and I found myself glossing over some of the endless lists of names.
Here's the thing for me...I have read autobiographies and I really enjoy learning about other people's lives. (Life by Keith Richards is one of the better autobiographies that I have read recently--see my review if you like!) However, after reading The Game, I can confidently say that I learned nearly nothing about Ken Dryden, the man. Dryen makes only one reference to his wife and kids in the entire book. He mentions that he calls home only 2 times during the detailing of an 8 year career on the road. I have no idea about Dryden's home life (did he even have one?), what he did in the off-season, how his parents participated in his development, whether he had friends beyond hockey, and any other experiences that he had on a personal level.
Huge points of interest are totally avoided and neglected. For example, he mentions once that he lived in England for a year with his family. Nothing further is provided on this interesting turn in his life. He pursues a law degree, and never discusses it. Even on hockey topics beyond playing, he avoids contentious topics such as the role of ownership in the NHL, the impact of expansion, the role of referreeing, etc.
Ken Dryden is now a politician in Canada. He has to watch his moves and like all politicians, must be aware of his public image. I wonder whether Dryden wrote this book and intentionally avoided topics that would expose details about the real workings of Dryden the man. I am left wondering who Ken Dryden really is. I don't feel that The Game as an autobiography really offers any unique insight into a man's life as a hockey player, lawyer, husband or father. He is vague on a personal level, and is unwilling to expose himself. Too bad really. If this is "The Best Hockey Book Ever Written", I'm not so sure I'll be reading other "hockey books"!!! 
