Book Description

This book is about Don Cherry and Sam Pollock. It is very different from the usual hockey book because it reveals much that has hitherto not been revealed, all supported by facts, data and charts. It is uncharted territory for hockey fans. These are two prominent hockey people who are poles apart. At one end of the spectrum is Cherry. It has been written about him that "he is an exhibitionist who has a highly exaggerated opinion of his own importance and of his abilities." It is further written that "we live in a world that turns vulgarity into celebrity." These are perfect appraisals of Don Cherry. This book unearths the real Mr. Cherry who lurks beneath the fabricated puppet that appears weekly on Coach's Corner. We show, with proof, that he could not play, that he could not coach and above all, that he wasn't a brawler. We indicate that brawlers have penalty minutes to show for their work; he had virtually none. We also show that he failed to measure up in other ways as well. Chiarelli is among that very large group of Canadians who find Cherry intolerable. At the other end of the spectrum is the late Sam Pollock, the fabled General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens, who was a genius at his job and was deserving of far more credit than he was given. This book shows how the rest of the NHL snoozed while he was harvesting all the world-class French Canadian hockey players from Quebec, and winning fifteen Stanley Cups with them. This book shows those details and discusses, in depth, his relationship with Scotty Bowman.