Gino

From veteran hockey reporter Patrick Johnston and Ginos longtime friend Peter Leech comes the authorized biography of Gino Odjick.In the 1980s and 90s, National Hockey League games were very different from the nimble, skill-focused displays we see today. One of the greatest differencesand one of the sports more popular facets at the timewas the widespread presence of enforcers: hulking, battle-scarred players whose main task was to police the sport by chasing down and brawling with opponents who had broken unwritten codes determining which aspects of violence counted as dishonorable or unjustified.When hard-hitting Vancouver Canucks player Gino Odjick emerged in the early 1990s, he quickly became one of the games most feared enforcers and revered teammates, a sign of a new era for the team, racking up 296 penalty minutes in the 45 games he played in his rookie season. Hailing from Kitigan Zibi, an Algonquin community near Maniwaki, Quebec, Gino was one of the few Indigenous players in the NHL at the time. But it was Ginos ferocious play contrasted by his genuinely affable and openhearted personality off the ice that won him a special place in the hearts of Canucks supporters.Yet legends often obscure the human stories behind them. Patrick Johnston and Peter Leech look beyond Ginos legendary persona, drawing on insights from family members, friends, and teammates to recount Ginos early years in a loving household that was always ready to welcome foster children. Ginos father, Joe, had suffered the lonely traumas of the residential school system, and the experience had instilled a commitment in the family to those who were less fortunate.The book also details Ginos eventual struggles with alcohol abuse, and how he responded by taking on the role of empathetic mentor to young Indigenous people, travelling from community to community to hear their stories and offer hope. He never wavered in this role, even as he confronted serious illnesses, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the rare blood disorder that he survived for years longer than expected, but that eventually led to his death at age fifty-two.Gino is a moving tribute to a beloved hockey legend.