I like reading sports books.

Each year I peruse the latest offerings and read a couple. My most recent read was penned by Sportsnet television broadcaster and author Ken Reid.

Reid’s book, “The Next One,” is a good read. It’s a book about hockey scouts and their pursuit of finding the next great hockey player. And, there are Peterborough connection in Reid’s compilation of featured hockey scouts.

I’ve been to hundreds of hockey games. At most games you’ll likely notice hockey scouts in attendance. They come in all shapes, sizes and ages, and hail from almost every part of Canada.

Reid selected 15 scouts. He provides his audience with a short biography about each and how they began assessing hockey talent. The book begins with a segment on former Toronto Maple Leaf goaltender Gerry McNamara. McNamara was hired to scout by then general manager Jim Gregory.

As a goalie, McNamara could see the whole game developing in front of him. As a scout, this perspective might have been an advantage. In what Reid describes as the original Swedish adventure, Gregory sent McNamara to Sweden in 1972 to watch goalie Curtis Larsson, but McNamara returned to Canada with glowing reports about defenceman Borje Salming and sniper Inge Hammarstrom.

The following year, the Toronto brass attended the World Hockey Championships in Moscow. The Leafs signed both of the Swedes in June. Of course, Salming went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Leafs. Hammarstrom played four seasons for Toronto before he was traded to St. Louis for Jerry Butler.

I found Reid’s chapter about Gina Kingsbury fascinating. Kingsbury, two-time Olympic gold medallist as a player and the general manager of Canada’s national women’s team that won Olympic gold in 2022, was hired as the first general manager of Toronto’s entry in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

Kingsbury had less than three weeks to sign three free agents, prepare for an expansion draft and hire a head coach.

Undaunted by the challenge, Kingsbury leveraged her experience as the GM of Canada’s national team and her knowledge of Canada’s best players. She signed Troy Ryan, the head coach of the national team, as Toronto’s first head coach.

Kingsbury and Ryan knew they wanted players with experience and character. Surprisingly, the average age of the first seven players selected by Toronto was almost 29.

Reid gives his readers some insight into Kingsbury’s mindset. With today’s technology, video clips of every game can be viewed and statistics for every player are available, but Kingsbury believed when you are trying to attract players to your program, nothing replaces seeing a player yourself from the stands.

Along with scouting college games, Kingsbury kept an eye on international play. When the season concluded, she assembled a list of the top 60 prospects for the PWHL entry draft. Then she started making virtual calls. She called every prospect herself. That’s impressive.

I mentioned Reid’s book has a Peterborough connection. In Chapter 8, entitled On the Job Training, former Peterborough Petes’ GM and current NHL scout Jeff Twohey is featured. Former Petes’ scout Shane Turner, who was hired by Dick Todd, is highlighted in Chapter 10.

Both of these chapters will be of interest to local hockey fans.

If you’re looking for stories about the experiences of hockey scouts, pick up a copy of “The Next One.”

© Peterborough Examiner