“I didn’t want to do a book just to do a book. I wanted to do a book that, if you should read it, you might take one thing from it. Until that was clear in my mind, I wasn’t going to do one.”

We’re going to have more kids playing, and we’re going to have a better chance of finding those players Minor sports in a community is for fun and recreation. For everyone.

I don’t spend a lot of time here in New York. I didn’t realize there were so many Bruins fans in New York.

So many of today’s programs are about trophies and jackets, and we think that’s a big mistake.

Blood, sweat, tears. No practice tomorrow ’cause there’s no one left to beat.

I was the happiest guy in the world when I was on the ice. You’re being paid to play a game! That’s pretty special.

I was an offensive defenseman. I was up the ice as much as I was back.

I couldn’t wait to get on the ice. I couldn’t wait to get to practice. As a kid I couldn’t wait to shoot pucks or play in parking lots, or play on the river or play on the bay.

Minor sports in the community is fun and recreation for everyone, not just the elite. I think back to my days in minor hockey and those are my fondest memories, having fun.

On sheer ability, Mario is good enough to win scoring titles with a broken stick. On pure talent, he’s the best there is. But Wayne almost never disappoints you. He comes to work every night.

I never looked at hockey as work. Now that I’d finished playing, I had to go to work.

We’re professional athletes. People know who we are, and if there’s some way we can help with a friend or someone in need, that’s a responsibility we have. I really strongly believe that.

You never know how a single interaction with a person might affect their life, so you must constantly try to be at your best.

I still bother with runners I call hamburgers. They’re never going to run any record times. But they can fulfill their own potential.

I was 14 when I lost them [his front teeth]. The main thing was, we won that game, so I was the happiest. You hate to lose your teeth and the game, too.

We only have one person to blame, and that’s each other.

I don’t play hockey at all. I’m not comfortable on skates.

When he gets mad, it’s like he’s in another world. He’ll look at you with those big eyes and they’ll be going around in circles.

We’re going to be the best in the league at something. We’re deep in anthem singers.

Fifty percent of the game is mental and the other 50 percent is being mental. I’ve got that part down, no problem.

I don’t know what I was thinking when I was starting out. I was hoping I’d get paid to draw realistic pictures of hockey players. I still hold that hope alive.