Dad Shoots, Dad Scores

Whether they play or watch (or both…possibly your worst-case scenario, we know), it’s the universal game, the great Canadian pastime.

It’s the good old hockey game of course, and we know dads across the land are faced with the reality that the season is coming to an end very soon (Go Sens Go!).

So we thought what better than to bring a little more hockey into their lives with a hockey-themed Father’s Day gift guide? You’ll be sure to “score” with one of these “top shelf” gifts for dad.

For the dapper dresser (the Don Cherry fan perhaps?), the Rink Links cufflinks by Green Shag Bespoke Clothier ($80) are sure to be a “hit”. The true-to-scale hockey rink design ensures Dad’s game is always close at hand. Available from Greenshag.ca

“Check” out the street hockey section at your local hardware store (Canadian Tire is always a good source) and set Dad up with a net, street hockey balls, and sticks for him and the kids. (And a few extras for mom or friends too. You should be able to get everything you need for under $100.) He’ll love getting the “team” out to play hockey all summer long (and yes, if your “All Star” is old enough to be walking, he or she is old enough to hold a stick—Dad’s right about that one.)

Help dad “pass” the love of the game down to the kids with a longtime Savvy favourite bedtime rhyming read, Z is for Zamboni: A Hockey Alphabet by Matt Napier. Beautifully illustrated and supplemented with lots of hockey history and trivia for when the kids get older, it’s a great way to share the game of hockey en famille. (We especially love ‘W for Wickenheiser’—girls can play hockey too!) Available at Indigo.ca

Speaking of love (and if you don’t mind, we’ll be a little risqué), another hockey book for the literature-loving Dad is The Five Hole Stories. This collection of short tales from Dave Bidini, the rhythm guitarist from the Rheostatics and author of The Best Name You Can Name (another classic hockey book), brings together a refreshing combination of Canadian’s two favourite pastimes—sex and hockey—in a “locker-room” look at hockey with its clothes off. Available at Chapters/Indigo.

One of these gifts and a “no penalty box” night off to watch the game and eat chicken wings (extra spicy, of course), in his favourite sports bar (you know, the one he hasn’t been to since the “Next Next One” was born), and you’ll be the “First Star/La Premiere Etoile” for sure on Father’s Day.

Tested by Todd H., Toronto