Kyle Edwards (1)

The Tigers haven't won a hockey game in decades, and this year, they find out that the league is dropping them - ostensibly because it's too far to travel to Winnipeg. Tomahawk "Tommy" Shields just wants to stay on his skates all year. Meanwhile, his best friend Clinton is dealing with challenges at home when brother Kelvin gets out of jail and his friends want to pull him into the drug dealing world.

At first, I'd expected a straightforward, feel-good story about a down-and-out hockey team, show more but Edwards quickly subverted my expectations. He starts with Tommy's point of view, but then switches to Clinton, Kelvin, a high school would-be journalist Clarissa, Tommy's mother, his sister Asemaa, Clinton & Kelvin's father, and several more advancing the story through the school year. As a result, you get a picture of the whole community, the challenges and joys each person has, and the way their stories intersect. There's both hope and heartbreak, and the hockey games are just one part of the story. An impressive debut. show less