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Goal Posts: Score with sporty gift ideas this holiday season

Books, clothes, tickets sure to please the sports fan in your life
Carol Schram
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Christmas is just around the corner, which means it’s time to start making your list and checking it twice.

If you’re playing Santa for a sports fan this season, choose one of these options for a merry Christmas morning.

Read:

A juicy collection of new hockey books has hit the shelves in time for holiday giving. Two in particular stand out for Canucks fans.

In ĚýCraig Custance of The Athletic interviews 10 of the NHL’s most prominent coaches, probing their mindsets by sitting down with them to re-watch the game that marks their crowning achievement.

Canucks-adjacent content: 2011 Stanley Cup-winning coach Claude Julien assesses Game 7 of his Boston Bruins' win against Vancouver. Former Canucks bench bosses John Tortorella and Mike Sullivan also review their Cup-winning games – in Tampa Bay in 2004 for Tortorella and in Pittsburgh in 2016 for Sullivan.

For a deeper dive into the Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­hockey scene, there's . Co-authored by former Sportsnet scribe Thomas Drance and TSN1040 radio’s Mike Halford, with a foreword by former Canuck and long-time colour man John Garrett, the book leaves no stone unturned as it explores local hockey history, from the early days of the Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­Millionaires through the birth of the Canucks’ NHL expansion franchise in 1970, the move to the downtown arena in 1995 and all the tears and triumph along the way. Joel Otto’s controversial kicked-in goal in the 1989 playoffs. Pavel Bure’s cloak-and-dagger arrival in the NHL. Alex Burrows slaying the dragon – it’s all here. The book also includes first-hand anecdotes from key figures in Canucks history including former team owner Arthur Griffiths, current president Trevor Linden, goaltender Roberto Luongo talking fantasy football – and those wild and crazy Green Men.

Other new hockey books this year include Hall of Famer Ken Dryden shining the spotlight on head injuries in , the irrepressible Sean Avery pulling no punches in , and Doug Gilmour relaying the tale of how he kiboshed a 1997 trade that would have sent him to the Canucks in exchange for Markus Naslund in .

Donate:

Delight the Brock Boeser fan in your life with a limited-edition “The Flow” T-shirt or hoodie but act quickly – they're only available for ordering until Dec. 1.
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The first run of about 450 by mastermind Cam Davie sold out in just a few days and generated more than $8,000 in proceeds for Canucks Army’s “” campaign in support of the Make-A-Wish B.C. and Yukon.

Wear:

Bundle up your little hockey fan in style withĚýĚýAvailable online in sizes from 12-24 months, this onesie is part of the NHL’s new Adidas line, which also includes everything from infant jerseys to kids' hoodies and pyjamas.

Grown-up fans can choose from jerseys, hats, Canucks Christmas ornaments and more, all available through theĚý.

Cheer:Ěý

For the eco-conscious hockey fan in your life, how about a Canucks holiday pack?
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Choose from a selection of 20 home games starting in early December and running through the rest of the regular season. Two-game packages start at $129 and also include a pass for the Capilano Suspension Bridge, while a three-game option starts at $169 and adds a Canucks scarf as well as the Suspension Bridge pass.

Explore:

Treat that special someone to a snowshoeing experience on one of our local mountains. Options include self-guided trails for the independent-minded, guided night-time Chocolate Fondue tours for social types with a sweet tooth, or Grouse Mountain’s legendary Snowshoe Grind for the fitness buff.

Snowshoeing is easy to learn, more economical than skiing and gets you out of the bustle of the holiday season and into the tranquility of nature, less than an hour from downtown.

Details: , ,

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• Follow Carol Schram on TwitterĚý@pool88.

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