A fascinating and in-depth look at Victoria's largely unknown professional hockey players in the early twentieth century, and the historical context in which they played.

For most hockey fans hailing from Canada’s westernmost province, the sport’s most coveted prize, the Stanley Cup, has remained frustratingly elusive for nearly a century. But what many people do not know is that the west coast, and in particular the city of Victoria, was once a hockey mecca, where superstars flourished, Hall of Famers were made, and big victories—yes, even the Stanley Cup of 1925—were won.

Capitals, Aristocrats, and Cougars is a deep dive into the world of professional hockey in Victoria from 1911 to 1925, an era that saw forty-nine men take their turns in one of the city’s newly minted teams. It was also an era of unprecedented social, economic, and political change, a period that spanned the First World War and redefined Canada’s national identity. With meticulous research and encyclopedic knowledge,author, historian, and consummate hockey fan Alan Livingstone MacLeod chronicles the key players, coaches, arena builders, and team visionaries who contributed to this long-forgotten chapter of hockey history, and puts them all in the context of what was going on in the world at the time. This in-depth account is sure to delight history buffs and hockey fans alike.

Alan Livingstone MacLeod has a lifelong passion for history, hockey, and writing. Since retiring from the field of labour relations, he has transformed his passion into two books ( Remembered in Bronze and Stone: Canada's Great War Memorial Statuary and From Rinks to Regiments: Hockey Hall-of-Famers and the Great War) and a number of public lectures commemorating Canadian efforts in the First World War. He divides his time between Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and Victoria, BC.

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“Two of my favourite subjects are sports and history. Alan Livingstone Macleod has succeeded in combining both into a fascinating book. Once I started reading it, I just couldn't stop. I learned so much about hockey in Canada during and after the First World War. Plus, the story of Frank Fredrickson is incredible.”
—Jim Lang, host of The Jim Lang Show and co-author (with Bob McKenzie) of Everyday Hockey Heroes

A fascinating journey into an often overlooked era of hockey. Through his meticulous research and storytelling, Alan Livingstone Macleod creates a time machine into the game’s entrepreneurial origins, bringing many of the game’s legends to life, as captivating characters who laid the foundation for professional hockey as we know it.Capitals, Aristocrats and Cougars is a must-read for any fan of hockey history — and for any reader of great stories that transport us to a different place and time." - Dan Robson, author ofBower: A Legendary Life

“This book is an important chronicling of a largely forgotten piece of not only Victoria and BC, but Canadian, sporting history. MacLeod unearths a telling tale of the players and builders who made hockey on the West Coast, with implications that would ripple across the continent.”
—Cleve Dheensaw, sports writer and author of Island of Champions

“Capitals, Aristocrats, and Cougars is a fascinating history of the rich tradition of hockey in Victoria. I appreciated the details on how Lester Patrick built a team that became the last non-NHL Stanley Cup winner. I found myself cheering for the Victoria side through the game-by-game accounts leading up to the Stanley Cup triumph.”
—Kent Manderville, Former NHL player, Olympic silver medalist, and inductee into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame.