"Never one to mix words, [Don] Cherry provides an analysis that transcends the reporting found in printed dailies, websites, and typical television broadcasts. That is what he is most often criticized for: not being like everyone else. Cherry provides poignant analysis about the game of hockey that escapes most other commentators. He endeavours to elucidate the small moments within a game that may appear inconsequential, but are integral to the outcome: a failure to clear the zone, a player shying away from a check, a poor line change. This is where Cherry is most valuable as a commentator. As a former coach, one who found great success, he is able to give viewers insights unlike anyone else."

—Ian Smart, 411mania.com

Don Cherry has been named a National Hockey League Coach of the Year with a winning percentage of over .600 and also received Coach of the Year honours in the American Hockey League. His comments on Hockey Night in Canada’s "Coach's Corner" routinely make headlines as they entertain, educate, and often upset some fans throughout North America. He may be controversial, but no one can deny the popularity he enjoys; popularity that was reflected in his top 10 ranking in the competition to determine "The Greatest Canadian."

Now from Grapes himself comes the book that hockey fans of all ages have been waiting for. Written with veteran sports journalist Al Strachan, here are Don Cherry's favourite stories from his career in hockey. And you can imagine the stories he has to tell.

He has been named an NHL “Coach of the Year” with a winning percentage of over .600 and an AHL “Coach of the Year.” His comments on Coach’s Corner routinely make headlines; they entertain, educate, and often enrage. For all his controversy no one can deny the popularity he enjoys, popularity that was reflected in his top 10 ranking in the competition for “The Greatest Canadian.”

Quite simply he is a Canadian icon, and you can imagine the stories he has to tell.

And in Don’s own words, here’s how he’ll tell them:

I’d like this book to be just like we’re sittin’ down tellin’ stories in my own language. I know I’ll be criticized because for some reason people are not too thrilled with the way I speak.

In fact, CBC wanted to fire me my first month on Hockey Night in Canada. The brass told my boss, Ralph Mellanby, “This guy is awful. Get him off the air. We owe it to the English-speaking children of Canada.”

I stayed because Ralph, who had just won an Emmy or somethin’ for the Olympics, said, “If he goes, I go.”

But Ralph stayed and said, “I have to admit, Canada is a land of two official languages and Cherry speaks neither.” It kinda hurt my feelings.

So don’t blame Random House or Al Strachan for the way the book is presented, I wanted the book to be like a couple of guys sittin’ down with a few pops tellin’ hockey stories.

I hope you enjoy it.

Twenty-five years into Don Cherry's hockey career, a chance appearance on Hockey Night in Canada impressed CBC officials enough for them to create a platform for the provocative ex-player and coach, "Coach's Corner." And the rest is history. Don Cherry's success extends to a line of popular DVDs, a chain of restaurants, and a syndicated radio show. In addition to these ventures he has spent the past few years raising funds for Rose Cherry's Home for Kids, a hospice for terminally ill children named after his beloved late wife, who died of cancer in June 1997. Don Cherry has passionately campaigned for the Milton, Ontario, hospice both on and off the air.

Al Strachan, a former columnist with the Toronto Sun, The Globe and Mail and The Montreal Gazette, regularly appears on Hockey Night in Canada and The Score. He can be heard on Sirius Radio. Strachan has been writing about hockey and hanging out with NHL players, coaches, general managers, and owners for thirty-five years. He lives in Toronto and St. Andrews, New Brunswick.