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Bill Keenan

Odd Man Rush: A Harvard Kid?s Hockey Odyssey from Central Park to Somewhere in Sweden?with Stops along the Way Hardcover – Illustrated, Jan. 5 2016

by Bill Keenan (Author), Adam Graves (Foreword)

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Now a feature film produced by Academy Award-nominee Howard Baldwin and featuring Dylan Playfair, Jack Mulhern, Trevor Gretzky, and Elektra Kilbey!
In his hilarious, gritty, and touching debut, Bill Keenan—a hockey star once on the fast-track to the NHL—tells of how he overcame multiple obstacles to find fulfillment and redemption in the strange world of European minor-league professional hockey.

Keenan’s hockey obsession begins as a five-year-old on Lasker Rink in New York’s Central Park—“love at first stride,” as he calls it. He then becomes the youngest, and skinniest, player on the New York Bobcats, a Junior B hockey team. Later, after his hockey career at Harvard doesn’t end as planned—with a fat NHL contract—Keenan decides to play in the minor leagues in Europe, where the glamour of professional sports is decidedly lacking.

Part fish-out-of-water travelogue, part coming-of-age memoir, Odd Man Rush will capture the interest of not just hockey fans, but also fans of good writing. Throughout, Keenan’s deep affection for the game shines through, even as he describes fans who steal players’ clothes from the locker room or toss empty beer cans onto the rink after games. Abusive fans, cold showers, long bus rides—nothing diminishes his love for the sport. “Because that’s the way it works with me and hockey. Even when it’s horrible, it’s wonderful.”

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team.

Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Sports Publishing
Publication date

Jan. 5 2016
Dimensions

15.24 x 2.79 x 22.86 cm
ISBN-10

1613218176
ISBN-13

978-1613218174
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Product description

Review

"An uproarious new memoir..." --Vanity Fair

“Keenan puts a name, face, and voice to the majority — the grinders who, despite their singular passion for the sport, do not advance to its highest level. . . . [He] understands the culture and captures it well. –Boston Globe

"Ball Four meets hockey; slap shots abound.... A thoroughly entertaining, lighthearted romp..." --The Buffalo News

"Keenan's life story proves a journeyman's journey makes for one great read. . . He was a minor-leaguer, but his storytelling is major league." --Sal Barry, The Hockey News

"Bill Keenan is not yet a household name for hockey fans, but that might soon change." --Puck Junk

About the Author

Bill Keenan played hockey at Harvard University from 2005 to 2008 and professionally in Europe from 2009-2012. He no longer plays the game but still has hockey hair. He is currently pursuing his MBA at Columbia Business School and lives in New York City.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sports Publishing; Illustrated edition (Jan. 5 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1613218176
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1613218174
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 499 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 2.79 x 22.86 cm

Best Sellers Rank: #712,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #129 in Swedish History
- #506 in Hockey Sport Biographies
- #593 in Hockey Biographies

Customer Reviews:
65 ratings

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Bill Keenan

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Bill Keenan played hockey at Harvard University from 2005 to 2008 and professionally in Europe from 2009 to 2012. After completing his MBA at Columbia Business School, he worked for two years in Deutsche Bank's investment banking division. He currently serves as COO of Graydon Carter's Air Mail.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

65 global ratings

5 star		61%
4 star		23%
3 star		11%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		5%

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Top reviews from Canada

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Wayne Page

No Canadian Playing Outdoor Hockey uses hand warmers.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 18, 2016

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His early start in hockey using hand warmers in his gloves gives a quick clue as to the direction his career would go. Not sure why Adam Graves would write a foreword for this book other than he met the kid a couple of times. It's an easy read but the pranks are what have been outlined in other hockey books.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 5, 2016

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Great book and insightful !

Helpful

s

You don't have to be a hockey fan to enjoy this book

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 27, 2016

This book, Odd Man Rush, by Bill Keenan was won from Goodreads. I really liked this book, Bill tells how it is and how he started on his fantastic journey from a little rink in New York City, to the frozen north in Sweden. He meets a lot of people on the rinks and in the cities he plays in.

From the beginning, young boys learn to cuss and spit, it is all part of the game of hockey. When your hockey pants go missing from the locker room, you have been traded. I learned many things about hockey from Bill, things I had never heard about.

Keep writing Bill, as I will be looking to read more about your adventures through your life.

Helpful

Brian Maitland

terrific word distribution skills

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 4, 2016

What do Rob Blake, Sean Avery, Evgeni Malkin, Rick DiPietro and Jonathan Quick have in common? Not a lot other than being NHLers who the author of this book wisely name-dropped and it's not even the crazy stories (trust me, you'll understand Quickie's public swearing faux pas at the LA Kings' first Stanley Cup parade after hearing the story of him and his future wife) of these "names" that come close to the best ones in the book. This is a hockey book for everyone who's ever played hockey and gets how ripping guys is all part of the game.

I busted so many guts laughing out loud at most of the classic on- and off-ice incidents, I actually think I may need off-season surgery.

The fact the book takes you into a world not many Canadians really know about from minor hockey in the NY/NJ/Connecticut Tri-State region to the Ivy League college scene...to Europe's weirdest lower divisions (who knew Belgium has a league let alone leagues plural) and also manages to make any guy immediately hop a plane for Sweden after hearing that tens work at McDonald's there.

Bill Keenan, all I can say is don't stop writing. A book in the future on whatever career turn your MBA you're going for at Columbia spits you into, I'm there, man. Great writing without any pretense...and from an Ivy League grad. Who woulda thunk it?

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

George

Borrow a copy and read before you buy

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 3, 2018

Verified Purchase

In the blurb describing this book that is posted on Amazon, this book is described as: "In his hilarious, gritty, and touching debut, Bill Keenan—a hockey star once on the fast-track to the NHL—tells of how he overcame multiple obstacles to find fulfillment and redemption in the strange world of European minor-league professional hockey ... Part fish-out-of-water travelogue, part coming-of-age memoir, "Odd Man Rush" will capture the interest of not just hockey fans, but also fans of good writing. Throughout, Keenan’s deep affection for the game shines through, even as he describes fans who steal players’ clothes from the locker room or toss empty beer cans onto the rink after games. Abusive fans, cold showers, long bus rides—nothing diminishes his love for the sport."

Unfortunately, it's all of that and less. Yes, he does love the game as do I. I wish I'd had the opportunities he's had to play hockey. However, good writing? It reads more like frat brothers sitting around the table trying to put a coherent narrative together, as if it was to become the 'Animal House' of hockey. As the book went on, the slower and less interesting the book became. There was less and less about hockey and more about meeting women. Wish there'd been more hockey.

4 people found this helpful

McMurrab

like a clock ticking

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 5, 2016

Verified Purchase

While Vanity Fair, which published an excerpt of this book online, is correct in describing Odd Man Rush as an uproarious memoir, it's way more than that. The book is about dreams, about pain, about the limits of desire and hard work, about the pressure of time, about timelessness. There is this wise, melancholy strain running through it; like a clock ticking. Like this, from page 172:
There's a timelessness to the hockey world, something that keeps those playing pure and innocent. But the clock is always ticking. We work to score goals, stopping the clock momentarily . We harness time in the plays we make, the plays we practice over and over and over to get right. But the moments are fleeting; the memories are what we play for.
Or this, later on, near the end, part of a conversation between the author and a teammate:
You ever think about what would happen if you were better? [the teammate asks.]
What do you mean? [the author replies]
Better at hockey. Whether we like it or not, the hard work s*** only gets you so far. Bottom line is there's s*** we can't control. I just wish I were better.
That exchange stopped me dead in my tracks; it's so indescribably sad and true----- about many, many things in life, not just in hockey. Truth. Which is pretty much the hallmark of this book. The author's gaze never looks away.
The book is filled with conversations that are pitch-perfect and real, which is no small accomplishment; really good writers often founder there. It's a story that FLIES along, as if on skates, told in a rush (no pun intended) like someone getting a long-bottled-up story off his chest and wanting to make absolutely sure that there is nothing, not one single moment of dishonesty in the telling. I finished the book two days ago; I couldn't put it down and now I can't get it out of my mind. Which is pretty much what you want in a book, right? Sticks with you.
Read it; you'll see.

11 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Good look at hockey in the Minor leagues of Europe

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 16, 2016

Verified Purchase

The book is about a dream and the hard work it takes to keep it alive. The dream is be a pro hockey player. The author knows it. Is highly unlikely that he will ever play in a NHL game but is willing to do what it takes to try. The author does a fantastic job telling his story with a good balance of on ice and off ice stories. This is not War and Peace but a good light read , written with a sense of humor. The stories about his teammates are often hilariously.

What I liked was he never played the" what if card". Did not dwell on how his career could have been different if the injuries at Harvard did not happen. A good first book from a budding author. Looking to find out what happened next in his life and career.

Besides the stories about youth hockey on Long Island brought back memory of my youth playing at some of the same rinks. Nostalgia to me.

One person found this helpful

Andrew B. Everett

A great story that happens to include hockey

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 5, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is one of the better hockey books out there. But it covers so much more than hockey. It's really a quest book. In Bill Keenan's case, instead of the grail it is a shot at high level pro hockey. It touches on the lengths we will go to pursue our dreams and does it with a great combination of humor and emotion. Keenan does not take himself too seriously while also finding the beauty in sports - be it the passion of fans, the bonds between teammates or the humor of a locker room or bus ride. If you've ever played on a team you'll recognize some of the characters he encounters at Harvard or in Belgium, Germany or Sweden. And when you finish it you are left missing the likes of "Mother Russia," "Chara," and Dean -- and you wonder what Erika thinks of it all. It's a touching and at times hilarious story.

3 people found this helpful

Justin

Slapshot in College and Europe

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 17, 2016

Verified Purchase

A few months ago I read a snippet of this book in Vanity Fair and immediately put it on my "to read" list. Having grown up playing youth hockey with NHL and college hockey dreams, I found the material right up my alley(I never lived that life, so to read it was great). I was even shocked to see some old familiar names from my time as a Squirt and Pee Wee on Long Island. Bill Keenan proves to be a sharp witted guy, who you can tell would have been a great teammate. He has a very self deprecating sense of humor that I found very funny. His stories from Lasker, to Harvard, to Belgium, Sweden and beyond made for some great reading and laugh out loud laughs.

I found the book to be very enjoyable to read and I hope the author keeps up with the writing.

One person found this helpful

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