MY NEW HERO

Memories of "The Rink Rats"

This story chronicles the journey of a young Canadian boy, named Doug, going through his formative years in Winnipeg from 1969 to 1987. It is an anecdotal autobiography based on recollections that he finally journalized circa 1999. From then to 2012, it was his dream to put his memories of a teenager's life-changing experience into print. A collaboration with a co-writer eventually brought this to fruition when this book was published in the spring of 2014.

There are many important themes that intertwine throughout this tale. The wisdom of the axiom, "Don't judge a book by its cover", is dramatically underscored. The importance of child-hood friendships and camaraderie that can become lifelong bonds. The universal experiences that shaped Canadian boys growing up in a hockey dominated culture back then. The "Six Degrees of Separation" is a theory that is repeatedly reinforced in a story that is full of ironies and coincidences that can't help but make the reader chuckle.

However, the most important theme in this autobiography is the role of the so-called hockey "hero" and its impact (sometimes long-lasting) on young boys three or more dec-ades ago. One that, thankfully, girls started to experience about 20 years ago when women's hockey began to gain mo-mentum.

This is a retroactive journal that has been crafted to appeal to a rainbow of potential readers: elementary and intermediate school students, teachers, librarians, parents, grandparents, friends, family, hockey players at all levels, NHLers, oldtimers, and former "rink rats", and hopefully you!