The Ice Hockey Annual 2014-15 - edited by Stewart RobertsFormat: Paperback
Pages: 176 pagesPublisher: Stewart Roberts
ISBN-13: 978-0956294371
Product Dimensions: 14.8 x 0.8 x 21.1 cm
Despite now being one of its hugest fans and advocates, I was actually a bit of a latecomer to the Ice Hockey Annual. Despite watching British ice hockey from 1983 onwards, the first edition of the Annual that I actually owned was the 1999-00 edition - which was given to me personally (and signed) by Stewart Roberts at the GB “Pool A” Qualification Tournament at Sheffield Arena that year.
I don’t know why I hadn’t bought it before – I’d seen it advertised in Ice Hockey News Review every year and, to be honest, I now wish I HAD bought it right from the start as it would have saved a lot of hassle and money buying up all the back issues I could find.
If I’d have bought each edition as it came out, it would have been much easier and I would probably have managed back then to get hold of the very early editions that I still don’t have today.
So, what I am really trying to say here is that if you are interested in British ice hockey then you really need to get this new edition.
It has team by team and league by league stats and reports of all the clubs in the Elite League and English Premier League from the 2013/14 season. There is a run-down of Team GB’s involvement in the World Championships at senior, women’s and junior levels plus Player Awards, new Hall of Fame inductees, new rink news and lots more besides.
There is a summary of the season in NIHL North & South and the Scottish National League, news about international leagues and the European cup, contacts and rink directory and pretty much everything else that you’d need to know about ice hockey over the past year.
In fact, when I started producing the “Ice Hockey Review” yearbook in its original guise 3 years ago now, I shamelessly copied the format of the Ice Hockey Annual for the basic contents and layout. The difference is that, while Stewart’s Ice Hockey Annual covers mainly Elite League and EPL and only briefly touches on the NIHL, my Ice Hockey Review has the same team by team and league by league reporting for NIHL teams only and does not cover the other leagues at all. So the two publications sit well side by side on the bookshelf. But I digress…..
This is the 39th edition of the Ice Hockey Annual, which demonstrates that Stewart has got the formula just right. I can spend hours flicking through the pages of my collection of Ice Hockey Annuals. There’s always something new that you didn’t notice the first time you read it, something you’d forgotten about or just something that you enjoy reading about again and again.
You can check who played for who – what they looked like – what their stats for the season were…
It really is the “Bible” for the British ice hockey and I heartily recommend that you buy this new edition – and all the back issues you can find! Looking forward already to the 40thedition – long may it continue!
