Sportscaster Paul Romanuk – a mainstay on the all-sports network TSN – has developed a sideline writing hockey books for kids, including the annual Hockey Superstars series.

In Tough Guys of Hockey, he takes a look at the big-league players who, through sheer determination and willpower, overcame the odds to achieve success on the ice. Players like Theoren Fleury (considered too short), Dino Ciccarelli (badly broken leg as a kid), Bobby Clarke (a diabetic), Willie O’Ree and Ted Nolan (who overcame racial barriers), and Manon Rhéaume (who stepped over pro hockey’s gender line) are joined by 10 other stars who surprised everybody by making it big.

The large-photo format will go a long way toward providing the kind of inspiration its author intended. One big problem, though, is that the book comes without any introduction on the theme it’s trying to address – the “discover the guts behind the glory” message on the back cover. If young readers pay little attention to the “16 Players Who Beat the Odds” subtitle on the front cover, they may crack the book open and head into the first profile as I did thinking I was going to be reading about hockey goons and fighters.

But despite that one major criticism, Tough Guys of Hockey still succeeds in capturing the spirit that drives the underdog heroes of the game to greater glory. As such, it will be a winner with kids looking for some inspiration before they take to the ice.