Behind the Blog: Legends of Hockey
Today’s Behind the Blog features Joe Pelletier, the blogger behind Legends of Hockey and 1972SummitSeries.com. With around 400 player profiles/biographies, Legends of Hockey is an excellent resource when it comes to hockey history. He has written about the big names like Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, and Bobby Orr as well as lesser known names that you can find on his blog. I’d like to thank Joe for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions for BTJ.
Joe has written about many Wings including Larry Aurie, Syd Howe, Gordie Howe, Red Kelly, and Steve Yzerman among others.
Q.1 – Why did you start Legends of Hockey and 1972SummitSeries.com? How did you get the idea to write biographies about hockey players?
I have two main interests in hockey: careers of hockey players on a case by case basis, and international hockey.
As for my online contributions, in both cases I was filling a cavernous void. There really isn’t a lot online pertaining to hockey history, particularly well cultivated biographies and profiles. And when I started 1972, there was absolutely nothing online about the Summit Series. I made that site in time for the 30th anniversary back in 2002 and enjoyed tremendous direct and spin-off success with that.
As for writing biographies, for years I’ve been collecting biographical information on any and every NHL and international player. I have 10s of 1000s of files on my computer, and maybe 1000 books in my closet. This is truly a life long passion for me.
Obviously all that information is doing a lot of good in my closet or on my hard drive. I feel this is the best way to share this information with the world.
Q.2 – How do you find time to write all these biographies while writing books like World Cup of Hockey and Legends of Team Canada? How long does it typically take you to write a biography for a single player?
When I was writing the books, which was about a 2 year process where I devoted most of my writing energies to the books, I didn’t do a lot of player profiles. I continued to collect and save articles, features, etc of players past and present, so my catalogue continued to grow. But I wasn’t writing the biographies like I am now.
An average player biography would typically take me 3-4 hours. Much of the material is readily available in my life-long collection, so those profiles are relatively easy to churn out.
I won’t write a biography unless I feel I have enough in my collection to properly honour the player and to create a proper experience for a reader. So there are many players I continue to search for more materials, often more to give me writing inspiration moreso than player details.
Q.3 – What do you hope to achieve with your blog over the next few years?
This is the first season for my blog. I’m viewing this year as experimental, to see what works and what doesn’t work, and as a foundation builder. Since basically September I’ve posted 400 player profiles, which gives me a great catalogue.
I think next season I want to do more than just continue to add player profiles. I want to have the front page have more relevant information for the events of the day. I will always add more and more player profiles, but I want to make the blog more inviting for casual and modern fans. That will drive my visits and page views up.
In the long term I want to be the one stop blog for hockey history. I feel I’m off to a good start in terms of establishing my territory. I’m also hoping for spin-off projects. 1972 paved the way for two books, and dozens of articles in a variety of places including The Hockey News. I’ve already been approached by two major sources for commitments concerning hockey history. I think those opportunities will only get bigger.
Q.4 – You have profiled so many great players even those playing before the 1950s. Who is your favorite hockey player (either current or retired player)? Why?
This is truly a question I can not answer. I try to appreciate every player for what they offer. I love superstars as much as I love role players. I love defensive defensemen as much as I love power play specialists.
If I had to mention all of my favorite players, you would need more bandwith! Wayne Gretzky is near the top of the list though. He played the game so intelligently, so beautifully, so dominantly. As for current players, Vincent Lecavalier ranks right up there for me.
Q.5 – Out of all the players you have written biographies on, which one do you think was the most overrated? Underrated?
That’s real tough to say. When writing my biographies I try to be as objective as possible, and let the reader make the ultimate decision.
Most over-rated? I’m tempted to say Mark Messier. History looks upon him very kindly, largely because the New York media loves him. I always felt Brian Leetch and especially Mike Richter deserved more credit for the 1994 Cup win. I also think Vladislav Tretiak is greatly over-rated. He had some great games against Canada and the NHL, but most of his career accomplishments came against incredibly weak competition. Also, if you look at the stats for the final four games of the 1972 Summit Series, Tretiak was actually quite brutal. The Russians should have won had Tretiak played better. But that is overlooked because of his incredible play in the first four games.
Most under-rated? Probably most of the older guys, guys that few people can say they saw play; guys that video footage is all but non-existent. To give you a more modern answer, I’d have to look at a guy like Mark Howe.
Q.6 – As an author and a hockey fan, what has been your favorite hockey book to read? Why?
I have probably 1000 or more books in my collection. Hockey books is what I collect, but I’m pretty picky, believe it or not.
My favorite? Lawrence Martin’s The Red Machine provides the best English history of Soviet hockey. I really enjoy that one. Andrew Podnieks headed a group of authors who wrote Kings of the Ice
My favorite hockey author is probably Roy McGregor. His writing style makes me so envious because I could never write like him. He’s a subtle genius. Stephen Brunt made a huge impression on me with Searching for Bobby Orr
Q.7 – Since this interview is for a Wings’ blog, which Red Wings player (past or present) has had the biggest impact on their team and the sport of hockey in your opinion?
The two obvious answers are Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman. Together they are the face of the franchise. They transcended the game more than any player in Detroit. While I’d love to champion the importance of a Red Kelly, Ted Lindsay, Sid Abel or Niklas Lidstrom, there’s no bumping Howe and Yzerman. Maybe Terry Sawchuk in his time, but history will always remember Howe and Yzerman first and foremost.
Mike Illitch deserves a lot of credit too.
Q.8 – Which two teams do you think will play in the Stanley Cup finals?
I’m making these on the record predictions on Saturday, so I don’t know the playoff brackets just yet, nor the final injury concerns.
Regardless, I’m really liking Buffalo in the east. They have so much depth and a great coach. If I had to pick a Cup winner before the playoffs, which is always a silly thing to do, I’d pick them.
It’s more of a coin toss in the west, as probably 6 of 7 teams have what it takes to go all the way. It will come down to health, depth, and a little bit of luck. I do think Minnesota could make a lot noise, although I probably just have jinxed them. I think they have the cagiest coach.
Q.9 – Which team has surprised you the most this season (whether good or bad)?
I think both Pittsburgh and Vancouver have surprised me in a positive way. I’m a Canucks fan, but even I was on record as saying they would not make the playoffs this season.
On the negative side, Philadelphia is an obvious one, as is Carolina and Edmonton. I really expected more out of the Rangers this year too.
Q.10 - Is there any hockey blog or website that you look to for inspiration?
I look to the big boys – Eric McErlain, Paul Kukla, James Mirtle…that’s the stature I want to achieve.
Any additional comments?
I just wanted to thank you for this great opportunity. When I first started blogging I wrote you to tell you how much I enjoyed Behind The Jersey and the Behind The Blog series, and that I had made it a goal to build my site to the point where you wanted to profile me. I guess I can check that accomplishment off. It is truly an honour.
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April 9th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
[…] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptWhen I was writing the books, which was about a 2 year process where I devoted most of my writing energies to the books, I didn’t do a lot of player profiles. I continued to collect and save articles, features, etc of players past and … […]