Posted by: Heather Sanderson - Manager, Digital Sales and Business Development

I’ll admit it. I never really cared for hockey when I was growing up. I remember being angry that there was a Leafs game on at my sixteenth birthday party and that everyone wanted to watch it (except for me, that is). My disregard was so high that I can vividly remember the key moments when hockey slowly started to infiltrate my life - the most important being that the NHL playoffs coincided precisely with our scheduled exam timetable at University. I remember walking down the streets of Kingston, watching people pull couches and TVs out on their porches to sit back and watch the game together. What better way to spend time when trying to avoid studying? That’s when I first started to understand. I began to get the sense of community that this game instilled and wanted to be a part of it.

Once my younger brother started playing, I was a lost cause. I loved going to his games to watch him in net. I became a complete and utter hockey fan, watching Hockey Night in Canada and starting to become acquainted with, and to really love Don Cherry.

That’s why when I found out we were publishing Don Cherry’s Hockey Stories and Stuff I was instantly excited that not only would I get to learn more about him and to hear more of his stories in the book, but that I might get to meet him in person. And last night was that night.

I was fortunate enough to attend Don Cherry’s only book signing event this Fall where I met five lucky (and all very excited) BookLounge VIP event winners and their guests. Each pair not only won a copy of Don’s book but also the chance to meet him in person, to get their book signed, and to have their photo taken with him before the rest of the crowd had their chance. They were stoked and completely got into character. One, Matthew Smith, even dressed the part - in a suit worthy of appearing on Coaches Corner.

And other VIP winner brought his nephew from a town about an hour and a half away just for this. 10 year old Aidan Buckley could rhyme off the name of pretty much every hockey player and knew all of the stats (and was even interviewed by The Toronto Sun ). He was very excited to meet Don in person and told him that he’s been waiting 10 years for the Leafs to win the Stanley Cup.

The energy for the night only grew from there as over 200 people met Don Cherry and had their books signed. My favourite part was that a few kids from a local hockey team all came together, wearing their jerseys. The sparkle in their eyes and excitement was infectious. For me, it was fascinating to see two communities - hockey lovers and book lovers - come together. And appropriately so - Don Cherry is a fascinating story teller and with such a life, he has a lot of stories to tell. And what better way to tell us, then in his own words and straight from the heart in the aptly named Don Cherry’s Hockey Stories and Stuff.