Description
The Riverton Rifle: My Story Straight Shooting on Hockey and on Life by former NHL hockey player Reggie Leach officially released his biography in his hometown of Riverton, Manitoba in November, 2015. The the NHL’s legendary right-winger who played thirteen years with the Boston Bruins, California Golden Seals, Detroit Red Wings, and the Philadelphia Flyers, winning the Stanley Cup with the Flyers in 1975. Leach was one of the few players to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 1976, as a player on the losing team. The book's title references Leach's shooting accuracy as an NHL hockey player and his former home town in Manitoba. Written with ghost writer Randi Druzin, the book details Reggie Leach's story from his early years in Riverton, through his years with the Flin Flon Bombers to his stint in the NHL and integrates his Ojibwe roots, and the Seven Grandfather Teachings. The story is straightforward and honest covering his years of alcohol abuse and how this influenced his family life and career. Now sober Reggie Leach presents his rehab, reconnection with friends and family, and his current role as Aboriginal role model, hockey school coach, and resident of Manitoulin Island. This memoir is a positive portrayal of an Ojibwe youth from humble beginnings who rises to the top of his sport, his downfall, and the rebirth as a respected Elder and motivational speaker. The book contains a foreword by his former teammate Bobby Clarke and family photographs. Highly recommended. The Riverton Rifle has been selected in the Young Adult/Adult Category Longlist for First Nation Communities READ 2017.