I’ve been reading Roger’s World by Wayne Scanlan, a biography of legendary coach Roger Neilson. It’s been a little disappointing to date; if I hear one more reference to "Roger’s legendary Abercrombie & Fitch baseball cap" or "his beloved dog, Mike" I think I might break my brain.

In any case, after 40-odd pages, Scanlan finally finished writing about Nielson as a baseball coach and paperboy (and no, I’m not kidding) and got into his hockey career. It’s a folksy book, and is rather scant on actual hockey details, or detailed information on any of the revolutionary tactics that Nielson introduced. Despite that, there is some useful information, information that applies to some current discussion about hockey analysis. Read more...