Between the Pipes

October 7, 2013
Veteran sportswriter Druzin turns an eye on hockey, in particular on its great goalies. Singled out for examination are a dozen of hockey’s best, ranging from Terry Sawchuk to Martin Brodeur. Aside from their position on the team and their exemplary levels of skill, the goalies have little in common. For every depressive like Sawchuk, there is an ebullient Gump Worsley; for every lifer like Ron Hextall, there is someone who, like goalie turned lawyer turned MP Ken Dryden, follows a path away from hockey; and for every obsessive fan like Patrick Roy, there are goalies like Dominik Hasek, whose relationship with pro hockey was ambivalent at best. Druzin details each net-minder’s origin and career, and in so doing reveals the changing face of professional hockey in the last half century. Oddly for someone with as much experience as Druzin, the writing is sometimes uneven, and the choice of details to highlight is idiosyncratic and often baffling. That said, goalies’ short biographies establish them as individuals; those unfamiliar with these grand figures will find this an engrossing read. Agent: Hilary McMahon, Westwood Creative Artists.