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Prime minister’s hockey book due out Nov. 5

Harper

The Prime Minister of Canada has written a book. And of course the book is about hockey.

From the press release:

Stephen Harper’s long-awaited book about the history of hockey, A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs and the Rise of Professional Hockey, will be released November 5, 2013, in Canada and the United States.

Drawing on extensive archival records and illustrations, histories of the sport, and newspaper files, A Great Game delves into the fascinating early years of ice hockey. It tells of the hockey heroes and hard-boiled businessmen who built the game, and the rise and fall of legendary teams pursuing the Stanley Cup. With a historian’s perspective and fan’s passion, Stephen Harper presents a riveting and often-surprising portrait, capturing everything from the physical contests on the rinks to the battles behind the scenes and the changing social conventions of the twentieth century.

A century ago, rinks could melt, and by half time the blades screwed to the players’ shoes could be sinking in mud. It was during this period that the unsuccessful Toronto Professionals of 1908 and the victorious Toronto Blue Shirts of 1914 battled for the city’s very first Stanley Cup. Against the fanatical opposition of amateur hockey leaders, these “forgotten Leafs” would lay the groundwork for the world’s most profitable hockey franchise.

Harper wasn’t the only international leader making hockey-related headlines today. U.S. President Barack Obama was in Stockholm, Sweden, where he reportedly said this:

“I should mention on behalf of hockey fans back home in Chicago, I have to say how grateful our championship Blackhawks are for their several teammates who hail from Sweden. So that’s been an excellent export that we gladly accept.”