A fresh, analytical, and entertaining take on hockey’s tough guys

In professional hockey, enforcers are often as popular with fans as the stars who cash the big paycheques. Called upon to duke it out with a fellow troublemaker, or to shadow (and bruise) an opponent’s top scorer, these men get the crowds out of their seats, the sports-radio shows buzzing, and the TV audience spilling their beers in excitement. Don’t Call Me Goon gives the mayhem-makers their due by sharing their overlooked stories and contributions to the game. Drawing on a wealth of knowledge, research, and interviews, Oliver and Kamchen highlight the players who have perfected the art of on-ice enforcing from old timers like Joe Hall and Red Horner; to legendary heavy-hitters like Tiger Williams, Stu Grimson, and Bob Probert; to fan favourites like Tie Domi and Georges Laraque; and contemporaries like Arron Asham and Brian McGrattan. Don’t Call Me Goon also explores the issues that plague the NHL’s bad boys — suspensions, concussions, controversy — and looks ahead to the future of tough guys in the fastest game on ice.

 

A writer, editor, and stay-at-home dad, Greg Oliver has written extensively about hockey and professional wrestling. Recent books include Blue Lines, Goal Lines, & Bottom Lines; Don’t Call Me Goon; The Goaltenders’ Union; Written in Blue & White; and Duck with the Puck. A member of the Society for International Hockey Research, Greg lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his wife and son. Learn more at OliverBooks.ca. Jim Gregory is a vice-president with the NHL and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.

Greg Oliver's profile page

Richard Kamchen's profile page

 

“[The book] offers a look at life away from the penalty box for NHL heavyweights past and present, giving a short glimpse into the lives of the only professional punchers outside the boxing ring. The book — Don’t Call Me Goon — isn’t simply a rehash of old statistics and newspaper articles. Authors Greg Oliver and Richard Kamchen have done original interviews with players, adding live quotes and context to their work.” — London Free Press

“While Oliver and Kamchen are newcomers to the world of hockey books, they have managed to put together something that is quite entertaining and takes the reader on an amazing journey from the tough-as-nails early days of the professional game to today’s tough customers.” — Sportsology

 

Don't Call Me Goon

by revelle

I enjoyed the book, bigraphies were very informative. However it strengthens my conviction that there is no room in hockey for fighting. For the life of me I cannot find any reason why executives of the game condone this. In the MMA and Pro Boxing they try very hard to match up skill levels and weight. Most of these fighters are luck if they fight 3 times a year. Hockey players are fighting 10 or more times a year if they are the teams "enforcer."
I spent 30 years in judo. Always, always skill levels,age and weight matchups were paramount to creating a match. As a Provincial "A" referee my responsibilty's to the fighters' safety was number one!
Are hockey referees jobs to oversee the game going on or to oversee fights going on around them?

If you go to hockey games to watch and cheer on fights then you are not a fan of hockey, you are a fan of fighting. I then suggest that you attend boxing and MMA bouts.

The book saddened me that in this day and age people pay to see unskilled fighters that are not being properly refereed when it comes to fighting like this.

The men I read about in this book I feel sorry for. They were used by the game, the league and ownership to put their health at risk for an entertainment value that has nothing to do with the game being played.

Good book. Very sad storys.