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raya's review
slow-paced
2.0
im sorry to say the best part was the beginning and you really can only read that and still get everything you need out of this
jennifermreads's review against another edition
4.0
When Derek Boogaard died so tragically in 2011, it was splashed across headlines and the tragedy of it seeped into the pores of hockey fans around the US & Canada. This book goes beyond the headlines and looks at Derek’s life, his rise through the hockey ranks, and his struggles with the pain that came from being a professional hockey player.
To say this is a heart-wrenching story, well, it just doesn’t say it enough. My heart ached for this man who was still so much a boy. He struggled mightily to find a place and some comfort when he wasn’t on the ice; he never found it.
As a hockey fan who, despite having followed the game for at least a dozen years, still considers herself “learning the game,” this book provided amazing insight into the road the players take to make it to the NHL as well as what they go through when they get there. The day I finished this book, I went to a San Jose Sharks game that night – and watched the game with fresh eyes. With every hit, I remembered words from Boy on Ice and thought of Boogaard’s mangled and scarred hands and the agony he endured from taking punches as an enforcer.
I always felt like the NHL was forward-thinking when it came to head-injuries and CTE. I hope the league continues to be a leader in head-injury treatment. What I’d really like to see? Better control of the distribution of the medication that the players obviously need but that seems to be given out like candy rather than like the addictive drugs they are. I understand that controlling a player’s acquisition of pills illegally is much harder but I was appalled at how easily Boogaard got pills legally.
I hope I’m a better fan for having read the book; I feel like I am. I wish the Boogaard family peace – and thank you for sharing your son & his talents with us hockey fans.
To say this is a heart-wrenching story, well, it just doesn’t say it enough. My heart ached for this man who was still so much a boy. He struggled mightily to find a place and some comfort when he wasn’t on the ice; he never found it.
As a hockey fan who, despite having followed the game for at least a dozen years, still considers herself “learning the game,” this book provided amazing insight into the road the players take to make it to the NHL as well as what they go through when they get there. The day I finished this book, I went to a San Jose Sharks game that night – and watched the game with fresh eyes. With every hit, I remembered words from Boy on Ice and thought of Boogaard’s mangled and scarred hands and the agony he endured from taking punches as an enforcer.
I always felt like the NHL was forward-thinking when it came to head-injuries and CTE. I hope the league continues to be a leader in head-injury treatment. What I’d really like to see? Better control of the distribution of the medication that the players obviously need but that seems to be given out like candy rather than like the addictive drugs they are. I understand that controlling a player’s acquisition of pills illegally is much harder but I was appalled at how easily Boogaard got pills legally.
I hope I’m a better fan for having read the book; I feel like I am. I wish the Boogaard family peace – and thank you for sharing your son & his talents with us hockey fans.
amymo73's review against another edition
4.0
A well-researched and beautifully written story. What tugged at me most was the way Derek came of hockey age in major juniors. While I understand the culture of fighting and the enforcer, there seemed something mildly tragic in the way John Branch framed his hockey upbringing -- as if the only way Derek could stay connected with the sport, let alone attempt to carve out a career, was to fully embrace an enforcer role which he didn't seem to relish. I found Branch's reporting solid and his writing intriguing. What's heartbreaking are the many times in which support systems failed Derek -- from their own blindness and from his inability to recognize his pain and seek help.
auliarach's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Body horror, Death, and Addiction
hvtardiswltrvl's review against another edition
5.0
Kind of like watching a train head toward a broken bridge. You can see the crash coming, but there's nothing you can do to stop it. The book is terribly sad and made me rethink my own enthusiasm for hockey fights.
sherwood's review against another edition
3.0
The lasting impact of this story was squashed into an epilogue