Wendell and The Great One

David is surprised to find that his teammates have named him captain of the Raiders. He accepts the responsibility with enthusiasm, but wonders what it takes to lead a team. He looks to his favourite players who also are captains, Wendel Clark of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings for inspiration. When these two hockey heroes face each other during the Stanley Cup playoffs, David is able to learn the real meaning of leadership, while watching them tackle their responsibilities to their teams even in the face of defeat. The reader, of course, is treated to a fantastic play by play retelling of those thrilling games! Set against the backdrop of a truly exciting hockey season, this book teaches important leadership skills that can be used both on and off the ice.

Although hockey has achieved worldwide popularity, it originated in Canada. Mike Leonetti helps carry on the Canadian hockey heritage through his writing. Leonetti lives in Toronto and demonstrates his familiarity with professional hockey history in that city through such books as The Toronto Maple Leaf Trivia Book. The author also shows his expertise and great interest in the pre-expansion, pre-1967 seasons of the National Hockey League through such writings as Hockey's Golden Era, which focuses heavily on specific, and famous, hockey player personalities from the era of the sport's "original six" teams--Boston, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, New York, and Detroit. Mike Leonetti has also ensured a place for himself in current hockey tradition through his work on Hockey Year Calendar, which he began in 1989.