Joe Cvetich

Our Game Joe Cvetich

On a late November night in 2005, a nation gathers to watch a Saturday night tradition: Hockey Night in Canada. Played out on the ice of Toronto's ACC, during a heated moment between two original six teams, punches are thrown and a player is knocked unconscious. He dies a few hours later. A player is charged for the murder and the game, its traditions and rituals, is put on trial. Our Game is split into 3 distinct parts: The Players, The Game, and The Trial. Part I told the stories of how the twelve players who are on the ice that night made it to the pinnacle of their profession. Twelve players from different parts of the world and from a variety of backgrounds each arrived on the ice that night after a lifetime of fighting their way up through the system, overcoming incredibly long odds, only to realize their struggle to make it only began an even harder challenge: the fight to keep their positions and stay in the league. Part II tells about the lives of the players during the week leading up to the fateful night, then how each deals with the uncertainties and insecurities of its aftermath. It takes you into the dressing rooms, on the road trips, and into the day-to-day lives of players which most fans are unaware of. Part III will tell about the lives and events leading up to, then during, the trial itself. The outcome of the trial is meant to provoke the reader to consider, in light of recent developments and revelations in the hockey world, what does the game of hockey mean in a modern, changing society? Over the length of three books and at over 440,000 words in total, the epic story attempts to capture the essence of a certain time in Canadian society through an examination of one its most revered institutions: the game of hockey As the stories of these characters unfold, many issues emerge that extend far beyond the ice: What role do traditional institutions play in shaping the views and attitudes of today's boys and men? How are girls and women viewed and treated by the men who run and play the game? How are 'new' Canadians, people of colour and different sexual orientation treated by old and traditional institutions? How are issues of mental health perceived by the public and people in power? The ultimate question this book asks is the following: is the game of hockey a positive force for unity and equality in this country, or is it one that divides us and is ultimately destructive?