In recent weeks I have read more and more books about hockey. Part of that reason is due to the guests we present The hockey showbut I have rediscovered my love of reading as I learn about different topics in the hockey stories. Since starting Teebz’s Book Club, I have been fortunate enough to find books that are impossible to put down because of the writing style and the topics covered on the covers. Our book today is one of those books that Teebz’s Book Club is proud to review We breed lions written by Rick Westhead and published by Random House Canada. Westhead pulls no punches when analyzing Canadian hockey culture and how we, as a country, react with shock when crimes occur in hockey, such as the Hockey Canada sex abuse lawsuit, when the warning signs have always been there. If you want a sobering look at the game we hold so dear, Rick Westhead’s latest book will more than provide that.
Of his Penguin Random House Biography, “Rick Westhead is TSN’s Senior Correspondent and a two-time winner of the Canadian Sportswriter of the Year, presented by Sport Media Canada. Canadian Journalists for Freedom of Expression recognized him in 2023 with the Arnold Amber Award for Investigative Journalism. Westhead covers news of great significance and has won six Canadian Screen Awards for his original feature films for various TSN properties. In 2025, he was recognized for his ‘fearless reporting’ by The hockey news in the list of 100 people with power and influence in hockey. Before joining TSN, Westhead was a foreign correspondent for the Toronto starwhere he reported on the ground in countries such as Afghanistan, China and Saudi Arabia.” Rick and his family live in the GTA and play pickup hockey when he’s not investigating a new story for TSN.That shouldn’t be a surprise We breed lions begins by talking about Hockey Canada’s 2018 sexual assault case, in which Rick Westhead spent long hours uncovering and investigating claims from both the plaintiff and the defendants. Instead, in the following chapters, Westhead takes the opportunity to pull back the curtain on the entire hockey system in Canada, as he investigates and exposes criminal behavior and abhorrent activities at every level of hockey across Canada.
The staggering amount of questionable behavior that comes to light We breed lions Every hockey parent, every league president, every coach, every general manager and every player should wonder how the game failed so badly. The number of people in hockey that Westhead interviews in the book who corroborate the allegations should make anyone concerned about the state of hockey. We breed lions will be a must-read book for years to come if you hope to see any change in the game.
The topics that Westhead covers in We breed lions These are all problems that are known to hockey fans, but that no one brings up. He covers sexual assault, rape, hazing, bullying, the “what happens in the room, stays in the room” secrecy among players, alcohol and drug abuse, abuse of power and intimidation, how people turn a blind eye to the list of crimes, and how teams cover up any illegal activity committed by anyone associated with the team. Westhead makes it clear that this is happening from the NHL level all the way down to minor hockey, and he speaks with many former players, coaches and executives who make it clear that this is all happening in hockey today.
It’s not all doom and gloom We breed lionsBut Westhead brings up examples of hockey where people are doing well. There is an excellent story about Sweden and how their hockey culture is closely tied to family. It’s a chapter that provides hope that hockey can still be good, and it’s reinforced by the Alliston Hornets and their head coach Travis Chapman, who try to teach young hockey players about overcoming weaknesses, respect, camaraderie and being a good teammate without using fear, intimidation and shame.
Frankly, it was difficult to read some of the passages that Westhead recorded We breed lionsbut these passages are the catalyst for changing the culture. Murray Walter, an attorney with Swift Current, spoke to Westhead about the 1989 sexual assault allegations against Broncos players Brian Sakic and Wade Smith. Walter told Westhead:
“Athletes were protected by community leaders because they were good hockey players, because people thought they were special. This case was a miscarriage of justice, and even today no one has really had to stand up and be held accountable. [those] players were getting sued, people in our community who had influence started pulling strings to help the players. At one point, a high school guidance counselor, whose husband was on the Broncos board, called this young girl into her office and tried to convince her that this [players] They were nice guys who wouldn’t have committed sexual assault. To suggest.”
How sickening is it that a female guidance counselor downplays the idea that these two players couldn’t have committed a sexual assault because they “were nice guys” to the victim of that sexual assault? Yet stories like this are told everywhere We breed lions where only names and locations are changed. The protection and secrecy that hockey players receive for playing hockey would make most FBI and CIA agents jealous. And yet it happens every day.Honestly there are many words I could use to describe We breed lions – riveting, powerful, sobering, explosive – but the one word that keeps coming to mind is ‘necessary’. Westhead has made it clear that the crimes and abhorrent behavior in and around the game of hockey have gone on for far too long, and it is time for a major change. I suspect many still in the game will deny Westhead’s reporting, but he takes all the receipts into his conversations with the people he has interviewed, and they often reveal more than just what was asked of their observations and experiences.
I can’t say enough good things about it We breed lionsand it really should be on everyone’s bookshelf across the planet if anyone has any vested interest in the game of hockey. The topics Westhead brings to light are difficult to talk about under any circumstances, but his willingness to avoid difficult discussions and keep these topics in the public’s attention is why he is Canada’s leading investigative journalist when it comes to hockey. I don’t have enough space here to go through every chapter of the book and sing Westhead’s praises, but because he tackled these topics with honesty and integrity and wrote about them exceptionally well, it should come as no surprise that We breed lions absolutely and completely deserves the Teebz’s Book Club Seal of Approval!
We breed lions was released on November 4, 2025, so you can find it on the shelves of bookstores and libraries now, assuming there are any copies left. This book would make a perfect Christmas gift for your older hockey fan and is absolute must-read material for all hockey fans! As a warning, the material in the covers is mature in nature and may contain strong language at times. Therefore, this book is highly recommended for older teens and adult hockey fans. However, the book is phenomenal to read, and We breed lions by Rick Westhead is highly recommended for your bookshelf!
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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