Wendel and The Great One

by Mike Leonetti

When David is named captain of his hockey team, he accepts with enthusiasm, but wonders what it takes to be a true team leader. He looks to his favourite players who are also captains ― Wendel Clark of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings ― for inspiration. And as the two teams face each other in the Stanley Cup playoffs, he watches how they tackle their responsibilities to their teams.

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rarely read children's books. And by rarely, I mean never. I don't really have a reason due to the fact that I do not have kids. However, a friend of mine gave me this for my birthday and whenever my wife and I have a son/daughter, I will no doubt force upon them a life of depression by becoming hockey's equivalent of a pre-2004 Boston Red Sox fan.

The story basically is about this kid who is voted team captain of his hockey team. At the same time, the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs are taking place and he's unable to decide who to root for - either the LA Kings or the Toronto Maple Leafs. Granted, he is at heart, a Leafs fan, he still has great respect for Wayne Gretzky. Who wouldn't respect The Great One? He's the greatest player to ever play the game.

I my opinion, he's just trying to play both sides. He doesn't want to pick a team because he doesn't want to feel the immense disappointment he was bound to feel as the Leafs were ROBBED of the chance to play the Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup that year.

The book paints a broad stroke of the series without going into too much detail (i.e. the Kerry Fraser incident) or the fact that Wendel Clark nearly caused Marty McSorley's skull to implode after Marty nailed Doug Gilmour with a dirty hit. He also fails to mention the fact that Gretzky cut Gilmour with his stick towards the end of game 6.

Pfft..this kid seems to have a selective memory. I can certainly understand his drive to become a great leader for his team, and Gretzky, for the rest of his career before and after Game 6 of the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs was nothing less than a class act, but why use this game as your inspiration?

I hate Kerry Fraser. This book made me rage. However, it's about the Leafs so it still gets at least 3 stars.

[Gustavus Cliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a sports person. However, I really appreciated the exploration on how children can observe leaders they see, and research past leaders, in order to understand what good leadership does and does not look/feel like. I thought this was fabulous and, to be honest, maybe it's the autism, but it had never occurred to me before to do that. Then again, I've never been in a leadership role.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book about leadership for young readers. David is voted captain of his hockey team. In order to be a good captain he wants to emulate his favorite captains, Wendel Clark of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings. He also spends time studying other Canadian leaders like Jean Beliveau, Marilyn Bell, Nancy Greene, Sir John A Macdonald, Pierre Trudeau, Terry Fox, Rick Hansen and many more. Over the hockey season he does become a better captain, and gets to watch a Western conference final between his two favorite captains in the NHL. (though this version of the story omits the notorious high stick by the great one in that series.) This is a wonderful book, both about hockey and leadership. I was and never will be a leaf's fan but I have always appreciated Wendel's skill.

[Armaan]

yufytdr

[Julia]

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