Mike Jefferson started out as a suburban kid who dreamed of making it to the NHL, with parents determined to do anything and everything to make their son’s dream come true. So how did this promising young man’s hockey career turn into a harrowing crime story played out in sensational news reports?

Coach and agent David Frost fast-tracked Jefferson’s route to the NHL, but at a staggering cost. Along the way, the affable young man turned against his parents, changed his name to Danton, and descended into a spiral of paranoia and violence that finally cut short the career he had sacrificed everything for when he was arrested for conspiracy to commit murder.

In this fast-paced and gripping story, veteran hockey journalist Steve Simmons digs beneath the surface to answer questions that have left Canadians shocked and fascinated. How did Frost get such a grip on Danton and his family? How did Frost work himself into such a position of trust in the world of minor hockey? What exactly was Danton’s relationship with Frost? And who was it that Danton hired a hitman to kill—his father or his agent?

Full of the insights from one of Canada’s most-trusted hockey columnists, who is intimately familiar with both minor hockey and the big leagues, The Lost Dream is the story of the dark side of our fascination with a game Canadians love.

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STEVE SIMMONS is one of Canada’s best known and most provocative sports columnists. His column appears regularly in the Toronto Sun and other Sun Media and QMI publications. His signature Sunday notes column has been called “the most read page in Canadian journalism.” Author of the bestselling Lanny and contributor to eight other books, Simmons appears regularly on TSN The Reporters with Dave Hodge and That’s Hockey 2Nite on TSN2. A minor-hockey enthusiast and longtime coach, Simmons lives outside Toronto with his wife, Sheila, and sons, Jeffrey and Michael.

“Riveting, stunning…. A powerful cautionary tale.” - Roy MacGregor, The Globe and Mail

“A guaranteed page-turner.” - Leader-Post (Regina)

“Chilling.” - Maclean’s

“A very well researched and disturbing read from cover to cover.” - TheScore.com (A Best in Books 2011 selection

“Profoundly disturbing…. The Lost Dream … [is] a cautionary tale for parents obsessed with making their boys hockey stars, and a serious indictment of hockey culture in general.” - NOW Magazine