Family ties have been an enduring part of hockey history since the beginning of the NHL. Hockey Dynasties is an era-by-era look at the proliferation of family ties in professional hockey. The book will examine why there are so many families in professional hockey, and will include tales by the players about their time at centre ice, playing with and against their siblings/fathers/cousins/uncles. Ken Dryden was asked why it is that family ties are so prevalent in hockey as opposed to any other professional sport league. Part of it, he theorized, was the nature of the long Canadian winter that leaves kids without much else to do. Dryden also thought that hockey's rural roots may have something to do with it: 'Hockey players have historically come from smaller places rather than bigger places. In a smaller place you have fewer options and it is more likely in a smaller place that if one kid from a family gets involved in hockey, other kids are going to get involved too.' Hockey families included are: Ken and Dave Dryden, Wayne and Brent Gretzky, Eric and Brett Lindros, Charlie, Roy and Lionel Conacher, Bobby and Brett Hall, Maurice and Henri Richard, Pete and Frank Mahovlich, Gordie, Mark and Vic Howe, and many other notable hockey families.

Jack Batten practised law in Toronto for four years before turning to a life of writing. He has written for all the major Canadian magazines and is the author of thirty-three books including four crime novels. Five of his nonfiction books dealt with real-life Canadian lawyers, judges, and court cases; a biography of John Robinette was among these books. Batten's books have also dealt with sports, Canadian history, and biography. He has reviewed jazz for The Globe and Mail, movies for CBC radio, and still writes a column on crime fiction for the Toronto Star. His biography of Tom Longboat won the $10,000 Norma Fleck Award for best children's nonfiction in 2002, and the book is being made into a feature film. His most recent book is The Annex: The Story of a Toronto Neighbourhood, published in 2004.

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Bob Duff and Ryan Dixon

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George W. Johnson has been collecting antique Christmas decorations for over 30 years, and is a member of the Golden Glow of Christmas Past, a club for enthusiasts of Christmas memorabilia. He is an elementary and middle school teacher who specializes in working with talented and gifted students in Southern Local Schools near Logan, Ohio.

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George Johnson has spent over four decades based in Alberta and Manitoba writing about a variety of sports for newspapers, magazines and websites -- covering the NHL, the CFL, seven Olympic Games, four World Cups and three Women's World Cups along the way.

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