The Best Seat in the House: Stories from the NHL--Inside the Room, on the Iceand on the Bench

by Jamie McLennan, Ian Mendes

A back-up goalie's hilarious behind-the-mask look at life in the NHL Jamie McLennan spent twenty years playing professional hockey. Sort of. As the backup for such legendary goalies as Grant Fuhr, Ron Hextall, Roberto Luongo, and Miikka Kiprusoff, he saw everything—except much playing time. In The Best Seat in the House , McLennan looks back on his unique career, from breaking into the NHL, to working with the legends, to life on the road and in the league, offering readers an unprecedented glimpse into life inside the locker room. Filled with tales of camaraderie and crazy antics, the book covers 20 years on and off the ice—including McLennan's disastrous meeting with Gene Simmons, accidentally calling Lady Gaga a troll to her face, charging an opposing team's mascot on the orders of legendary coach Billy Smith, and even how he hid a hotdog in his gear for an in-game snack. The Best Seat in the House is an irreverent look at the life of a professional hockey player, on the ice, on the bench, and in the dressing room, that is sure to delight hockey fans everywhere.

Genres: Hockey, Sports, Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Jakub Kvíz]

Tak tohle byla velká paráda! Pokud člověk nebyl na přelomu milénia zažranej do NHL, tak mu asi jméno Jamie McLennan moc neřekne. Nicméně jména jako Ron Hextall, Grant Fuhr, Roberto Luongo nebo Miikka Kiprusoff už jsou trochu známější... A těm právě Jamie dělal během svojí kariéry dvojku.

The Best Seat in the House není klasickej životopis sportovce, je to spíš mix povětšinou úsměvnejch historek, který nejsou nějak chronologicky řazený. McLennan o sobě říká, že je takovej Forrest Gump NHL, že byl u spousty důležitejch událostí, ale vždycky jen v pozadí.

Pokud máte náladu na odlehčený čtení a zároveň trochu nakouknout pod pokličku dění v NHL, tak tohle je ideální volba. Jamie je skvělej bavič a vypravěč.

[Mary]

A lot of fun. There needs to be more hockey books like this- real stories of what goes on on the ice, in the locker room, and on the town. I found myself laughing out loud.

[Geoffrey]

This reads as a PG version of some of the stories you would hear from the funniest guy in your locker room. As a former active member of the goalie union, I can appreciate Jamie's seemingly terrific approach to being a backup netminder. A supportive backup is every starters dream, they are rare.

[Jeffrey Gerro]

As an ex Junior hockey player and Referee for some 30 years…….I found the stories very interesting and hilarious. Noodles keeps it pretty ‘PG’ rated, without ruining the pure fun and openness of the events.

If you’re a pure hockey fan, it’s a fun read.

[Nick Smith]

My only complaint is that the book isn't about jamie, as much as it is about guys he's played with. But the stories are still fun and interesting and make for a great read... so yeah

[Judy]

I got nothing for this review. I found this book tedious. Maybe if I had read it back when I was obsessing on all things hockey I would have enjoyed it more.

[Teebz Hbic]

Review for The Best Seat in the House can be found on Hockey Blog In Canada.

[Andrew]

Jamie McLennan spent his year playing backup goaltender for a number of NHL teams. During that process, he heard – and lived – a number of stories, most of which would never be known outside of that small circle of people who are members of the National Hockey League Players Association and their close friends. Until now.

In “The Best Seat in the House: Stories from the NHL – Inside the Room, on the Ice … and on the Bench”, Jamie McLennan looks back on an enjoyable, if not Hall-of-Fame worthy, life in professional hockey. He looks back on colleagues and opponents – some, like Jerome Iginla and Roberto Luongo (who wrote forewards for this book) are household names and potential Hall-of-Famers after they retire. Others, Rhett Warriner and Glenn Healy, may or may not be remembered by the average hockey fan. Still others, such as Peter Berthelson, may only be known to die-hard hockey historians and their immediate families. ALL of them, however, participated in the actions and antics of the pre-cell phone camera / pre-Twitter world that was the hockey career of Jamie McLennan.

Perhaps the only disappointment of this book was that McLennan also decided to use it as a vehicle to tell his own life story – in what is often an incredibly sketchy and vague manner. For example, McLennan describes his rather nerve-wracking introduction to his team in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The last paragraph of that section states “At that point, I realized maybe I wasn't cut out for Russia … I would like to say that's the only reason I lasted just six weeks in Russia, but there wree many factors in my departing quickly, including that they didn't love me either. ...” That's it – 1 paragraph, 4 sentences in total, describe his entire playing career with the KHL. Darn it, Jamie – there's a frickin' story there, and you couldn't take a page and tell it to us!! I think this book would have benefited by another 25 to 50 pages of additional biographical information to flesh out the author's story.

Still, it was a unique read – I really appreciate hockey books that don't simply repeat the same things that a reader was able to learn from reading a couple of articles in the Hockey News at the time they originally happened.

RATING: 4 stars

[Ruth Poproski]

This book is billed as an inside look at life as an NHL-er, with all sorts of intriguing and hilarious stories. Instead it is a moderately interesting bunch of run-on stories written a little disjointedly, exposing very little about what goes on behind the scenes beyond what most hockey fans already know about it all. There were a few interesting tidbits, and a few overly-self-important segments in an otherwise pretty vanilla account of a life that is surely more interesting and exciting than that. This book would benefit from better writing and more skilled storytelling. As it stands: a slightly disappointing read that leaves you relieved it only took a single afternoon to read.

[Holly]

This book is not great literature. It is however, a mostly lighthearted, highly entertaining read about life in the NHL as a back up goalie. I would recommend this to any hockey fan - especially one was watching hockey in the 90's when McLennan was doing most of his playing.

[Lyle Freimark]

Some funny and interesting stories. Short book.

[Henrik Löfqvist]

Pretty good! Some really entertaining episodes in there, mostly from on the ice. Solid read.

[Kate Willoughby]

I like the viewpoint of the goalie. It gave me a new respect for the back-up guy.

[Joe Meeks]

Must read!!!