So Your Son Wants to Play in the NHL?

OK, the first few chapters, when the never ending succuesses of the Bylsma boys in athletics became almost as difficult to read as the phone book are a bit numbing after a while. Once parental pride calmed down the book turned into a compelling look at how difficult it is for a parent to find balance in their children's lives, to teach life lessons as well as sports techniques and to turn out a good person who also happens to be an NHL player.

The struggles Dan had after leaving home at such a young age are dealt with forthrightly, which multiplies the shock you feel at stories of sexual abuse and the physical sacrifice players at the lower minor level make to reach the NHL. That shock is no stronger than when the reader learns that Dan and his wife lost their first child just as he was establishing himself in the NHL.

This book gives the parent of an athlete much to think about. In a society where it seems more and more boys go through life without their fathers this book shows you that those boys lose something that may be irreplaceable.


former college hockey player and father says first rate   June 5, 1999
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

I highly recommend this book to any father, coach or athlete of any age. I think if I had read it in high school, it may have changed my outlook on sports and life. The book takes you from a player and his father's beginnings in sport, through other people's (parent's) interferences to show how following one's goals can lead to success.


Too self serving!   April 14, 1999
 1 out of 4 found this review helpful

I thought this book was very self serving. I almost didn't finish reading it until I got to the chapter where Dan's son decided to go to Canada. I think it's great that his family was blessed with all the talent but I felt like he was stuffing down my throat. Having a son that has the dream of being in the NHL, it was worth finishing the book to finally get to know what it really takes to get there.


This is THE book for hockey parents.   February 15, 1999
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

We have several hundred books in our hockey library. Ken Dryden's "The Game" was at the top of my list until I read Dan & Jay Bylsma's book. My son and I play on 4 roller hockey teams year round, play ice hockey during the summer, go to Kings games, watch the Ice Dogs and college hockey on TV, and are devout readers of "The Hockey News". Without a doubt, "So Your Son Wants to Play in the NHL" is the single best publication I've read as a hockey parent and amateur adult player.