Northern Ont. author has released another anthology of hockey history

Hockey this Week: Leafs 365 Rick Wyman talks with Sudbury author Mike Commito about his newest book 'Leafs 365' that tell stories of the famous franchise.

Greater Sudbury author Mike Commito has described his third book of Toronto Maple Leafs folklore as a journey through the team’s history or “a trip down memory lane.”

Being a Toronto Maple Leaf fan is not exactly easy – the NHL team is a sort of contradiction having won more Stanley Cups than all but the Montreal Canadiens but not winning one since 1967.

Commito said his latest offering, Leafs 365, makes a great gift for any Leafs fan.

“(The response) has honestly been incredible,” he said.

“Anytime you put out a book as an author the whole goal is to get people to pick it up and hopefully share it with family or friends or even with themselves. I think so far – especially during the holiday season – when you see people looking to cross Leafs fans off their holiday shopping list they are immediately gravitating to this book.”

Commito said the book has a “beautiful cover.”

The premise of the book is quite simple – inside there are 365 short stories about the Maple Leafs both on and off the ice, one for every day of the year.

With Toronto hockey fans being known for their passion for the blue and white there was certainly a variety of stories to choose from the author confirmed.

Commito said many die-hard fans of the franchises may know a lot of the stories but his book has many niche stories that may have been forgotten by even the most devoted fans.

“I think it all depends on what vintage of fan you are,” he said.

“What I have tried to do with this book is I have stories from the team’s beginnings in NHL in 1917 up to the most recent playoff run so depending on how old you are – if you are old enough – to remember the hay days when they were winning cups before the advent of colour TV or if you were watching them in the 70s you saw a lot of great players like Daryl Sittler, Dave Keon… to the most recent run of players now.”

Commito said he hopes the book can bring together fans from across generations so they learn about the great players that have come before and understand the history behind the club.

The Sudbury author’s latest installment is the first of his books to be available in hardcover and was released by Dundurn Press on Oct. 17.

To order a copy of Leafs 365, visit the Dundurn Press website or visit your local literary retailer.