"Boy on Ice" is non a typical biography.
For i thing, it's a fairly long majority (327 pages addition notes) on a fairly curt life (less than xxx years). For another, there's no happy ending; if anything, the terminal chapter notwithstanding volition endure written downwardly the road, fifty-fifty a few years later publication.
Yet the even out of Derek Boogaard remains quite interesting inward an strange kind of way, together with amongst a lilliputian luck it is educational equally well.
Boogaard was, inward roughly ways, an unlikely figure to endure a professional person athlete. He grew upwardly inward Western Canada together with played hockey, similar every other boy, exactly he wasn't also good. Boogaard showed few signs that he'd grow into a relatively famous player.
But he did take maintain i wages on the ladder - size. Boogaard was ever actually big for his age. That meant he could endure an enforcer inward the game of hockey. Boogaard eventually grew into a torso that was 6-foot-7 together with 265 pounds.
The thought behind enforcers is that they attain to protect the best players on their teams, attain to halt opponents from taking liberties. That happens at times, exactly they also are asked to contend i of the opponents' big guys for i argue or another. Enforcers inward that feel oft play less than v minutes a game, leaving a thought of "what's the point?" to some.
Take it from a guy who wrote a majority amongst such a thespian - if there's a path to the NHL, roughly people volition take maintain it. They take maintain to brand a determination to operate a fighter. There are rewards together with at that spot are downsides. Derek didn't fifty-fifty similar fighting, exactly it was a way to an end.
In the representative of Boogaard, he was ever big together with willing, exactly it took a piece for him to acquire skilful at it. Eventually, though, he became i of the toughest guys inward the National Hockey League. You tin ambit notice fence nearly whether he was the toughest, exactly ultimately it doesn't matter. He was inward the argument. Derek also was on the shy side, exactly he was smashing inward the community together with became pop amongst fans.
Enforcers brand a bargain when they attain total that purpose - they volition pay a price. It commonly involves pain. Boogaard suffered a diversity of injuries during the way, together with it led to a lot of pain. Boogaard needed to a greater extent than together with to a greater extent than pills to acquire by amongst it. He got those pills from squad doctors inward roughly cases, together with from the street inward others. Either way, Boogaard turned his torso into a pharmacy. He died of a combination of alcohol together with painkillers inward 2011.
Branch received consummate cooperation from the Boogaard household unit of measurement on telling the story. His father, a police officer past times trade, is notwithstanding trying to position all the pieces together together with telephone telephone attending to the issue. As a result, the majority has all sorts of details nearly the life Derek was leading close the end. Records from banks, credit cards together with prison theater mobile telephone phones assistance tell the story. But i purpose of the puzzle wasn't visible until later his expiry - Boogaard had CTE, encephalon damage. Researchers were shocked that someone inward his 20s had together with hence much damage, mayhap due to a serial of concussions suffered inward hockey.
How did this happen? That's notwithstanding existence sorted out. There were a lot of enablers along the way, together with their stories air current through the courts. Even though we've learned a lot nearly concussions over the years, it's tough to know how far to movement the work inward contact sports inward companionship to preclude them. Boogaard's manful somebody bring upwardly says Americans are to a greater extent than interested inward solving the work than Canadians, since Canada considers hockey a "sacred cow."
Branch's master serial of paper articles for the New York Times won awards, together with it's expanded into majority shape here. The even out mightiness take maintain been ameliorate amongst nearly 50 pages removed inward companionship to take maintain to a greater extent than impact. But in i trial Boogaard starts downhill - together with yous know where it's headed - it's impossible to hold off away.
Stories nearly addiction - whether it's Eric Clapton or Dwight Gooden - to a greater extent than oft than non aren't a whole lot of fun to read. Certainly, though, "Boy on Ice" serves equally a fine representative report for this type of province of affairs inward hockey. It's a even out that cries out to learn roughly lessons to the residual of us, if exclusively nosotros could figure out what they are.
Four stars
Learn to a greater extent than nearly this book.
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