Advertisement 1

Sherwood Park rep hockey careers celebrated in new book

Article content

It is the go-to source for all things Kings.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

Local hockey mainstay John “Jaydee” de Munnik’s life work has been completed, as the 77-year-old has wrapped up the publication of the Sherwood Park Kings Athletic Club Hockey History/Record Book, a comprehensive collection now available for purchase that has seen more than 30 years of his life gathering statistical data.

Although there have been five previous editions of the yearbook since the Kings Club was born in 2002 and five editions of the record book as well, it has been some time since one was issued, and this one is considered de Munnik’s opus.

Article content

“This is the one I have waited for my entire life, though. I always thought it would be incredible if I could get all of the stats from Sherwood Park rep hockey teams and put them all in one book,” he said. “It was a painstaking process and I can honestly say that I found everything I possibly could have. Many of the leagues didn’t start keeping decent stats until the late 1980s. This book is all the previous yearbooks and record books combined, and it is also filled with news stories, including many from this paper from over the years. I doubt many, if any, communities in Alberta have anything like this, detailing so much local hockey history and stats like this. It looks awesome.

Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

“It occurs to me that maybe as you read it, it will take your mind off the terrible crisis we are facing, even if it is only for a short while.”

Local hockey mainstay John “Jaydee” de Munnik’s life work has been completed, as the 77-year-old has wrapped up the publication of the Sherwood Park Kings Athletic Club Hockey History/Record Book, a comprehensive collection now available for purchase that has seen more than 30 years of his life gathering statistical data. Graphic Supplied
Local hockey mainstay John “Jaydee” de Munnik’s life work has been completed, as the 77-year-old has wrapped up the publication of the Sherwood Park Kings Athletic Club Hockey History/Record Book, a comprehensive collection now available for purchase that has seen more than 30 years of his life gathering statistical data. Graphic Supplied

The book could take a while to get through, which is a very good thing.

“It is over 500 pages and contains more than 2,000 players from 1976 on,” de Munnik said. “Some of the guys from the early years may not be there because those stats disappeared, but I looked under every stone I could to find the ones that I did. I have all the rosters except from one year and stories about some of the players who ended up becoming coaches and of course, former Sherwood Park Midget AAA coach Ken Hitchcock, who went on to such an impressive NHL coaching career. In the back of the book, I have all of the names and stats of all of the players who played on Sherwood Park teams that I could find, including many of their pictures. I think people will be pretty happy when they see that.”

The Sherwood Park Kings Athletic Club Hockey History/Record Book comes at a cost of just $40 and people can get it by contacting Jaydee by e-mail at jdemunnik@shaw.ca.

To save wear and tear on the currently overloaded postal system, Jaydee is willing to drop off orders from the immediate area himself (observing proper social distancing of course).

sjones@postmedia.com

twitter.com/Realshanejones

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Latest National Stories
    News Near Tillsonburg
      This Week in Flyers