Heart of the Blackhawks: The Pierre Pilote Story

Sportswriters Gregoire and Dupuis capture the spirit and prowess of the legendary Pilote, one of the greatest defensemen in National Hockey League history and captain of the Chicago Blackhawks team that won the Stanley Cup championship in 1961. Written with similar style and spirit to Dupuis's Sawchuck: The Troubles and Triumphs of the World's Greatest Goalie, the book is a sympathetic and detailed account of Pilote's journey to Hockey immortality. A childhood fan of the Montreal Canadiens in 1940s Quebec, Pilote played his way to the NHL where he immediately displayed a "sixth hockey sense of sorts, an uncanny ability that only the very best players have, to see and feel both teammates and opposition players on the ice, to know the plays, almost before they happen." Hockey fans%E2%80%94especially old time Hawks devotees%E2%80%94will delight in the portraits offered here of Pilote's equally famous teammates, such as Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Glenn Hall ("%E2%80%98the best goaltender that I ever saw'") and especially Elmer "Moose" Vasko%E2%80%94at 6'3", one of the largest players of the time%E2%80%94about whom the always gracious Pilote states: "Because he was the ultimate, steady defenseman, Moose allowed me to be who I was." (Oct.)