Block That Shot

Bob Chrystal is possibly the only player in hockey history to have been coached by each of the famous New York Rangers "Bread Line" members from the 1920's and 1930's (Bill Cook, Bun Cook, Frank Boucher) during his time in Denver, Cleveland and New York respectively. In his autobiography, the now 88-year-old Chrystal teams up with hockey historian and author Ty Dilello to tell his fascinating life story titled Block That Shot, which was a common phrase coaches yelled at Bob from the bench throughout his career because of his knack for shot blocking. In Block That Shot, Chrystal recalls his childhood and growing up in Winnipeg, to taking part in the only eight-game Memorial Cup final ever played, to his brief tenure as a professional boxer while playing for the Cleveland Barons, and scoring the Calder Cup winning goal in game seven overtime for the Barons. Bob went on to play 132 games over two seasons in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers from 1953 to 1955. Chrystal talks about battling night-in and night-out with the top players of his time such as Gordie Howe, Rocket Richard, Ted Kennedy, Ted Lindsay, and more. He also discusses his run-in with coach Phil Watson and how Phil single-handily ended Bob's NHL career. Throughout his hockey career, Bob's father compiled a half-dozen or scrapbooks full of newspaper clippings, photos, telegrams, etc., from his son's playing days. You will see the contents of those scrapbooks sprinkled throughout the book to further give a glimpse into the life of a professional hockey player in the 1950's. Block That Shot is sure to be a hit for any hockey fan young and old. --- "Much has been written about the "stars" of the "Original Six" but very little about those who played in the shadow of such legends as Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull and Rocket Richard. Block That Shot goes a long way toward remedying this oversight. In this engaging memoir (written with Ty Dilello), Chrystal, a veteran of 132 career NHL games with the New York Rangers shares his own personal hockey journey from the Memorial Cup to the Calder Cup and all points in between." - Todd Denault, author of Jacques Plante: The Man Who Changed the Face of Hockey "Every hockey player has a story worth learning. Sometimes it is the players you know little about who have the best stories. You likely have never heard of Bob Chrystal, but it won't take long before you will be enthralled with his story and be cheering him on as you read Block That Shot." - Joe Pelletier, GreatestHockeyLegends.com "By detailing the life of Bob Chrystal, a lesser known defenseman whose career could have gone differently, Ty Dilello has preserved a little bit more of hockey history, from the minors to the pros, and we are all richer for it." - Greg Oliver, author of Father Bauer and the Great Experiment: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey --- TY DILELLO is an accredited writer with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and is a member of the Society for International Hockey Research (SIHR). He has been a hockey fan since Peter Bondra led the Washington Capitals to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998. Ty plays extensively on the World Curling Tour in the winter and can probably be found on a tennis court during the summer months.