The broadcaster and author Ken Reid, co-anchor of Sportsnet Central, discusses his new book Ken Reid’s Hometown Hockey Heroes (Simon & Schuster, 2023), with Joseph Planta.

Ken Reid’s Hometown Hockey Heroes by Ken Reid (Simon & Schuster, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Hometown Hockey Heroes

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Ken Reid joins me now. He’s just published a terrific book, Ken Reid’s Hometown Hockey Heroes. He takes us across the country to the small towns, a lot that are one industry, one company towns, where they’re far from a big city with an NHL franchise. And it’s where hockey is part of life, the culture, and the folklore. Mr. Reid tells us stories of players who don’t always make it to the big leagues, but who become legends. There are uplifting, inspiring stories, as well as heartrending ones, where hockey legends are cut down in their prime. The stories are of players who play well, and passionately regardless of the pay or size of the crowd, and yet they earn the reverence of fans. As you’ll read in the book, Ken’s gifts as a communicator come through as he tells these informative stories of leadership and grit, but when he’s talking to the guys themselves, or their families, or fans and observers alike, he’s able to get so much from who he talks to that they’re reminiscences add so much to the colour of their lives. And you see why hockey is such a popular sport. Ken captures the romanticism that a lot of fans have for hockey so well. Ken Reid has been with Sportsnet since 2011, where he co-anchors (with Evanka Osmak) their prime time broadcast Sportsnet Central. In over twenty years in broadcasting, Mr. Reid has covered the Olympics, the Stanley Cup Finals, the Grey Cup, and the Super Bowl. He is the bestselling author of five other books including Hockey Card Stories. This new book is published by Simon & Schuster. He is a proud native of Pictou, Nova Scotia, but he joined me from Toronto yesterday. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Ken Reid; Mr. Reid, good morning.

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