The Hockey Skates

The title of Karl Subban’s The Hockey Skates will probably evoke memories of Roch Carrier’s The Hockey Sweater in many of the book’s adult readers. And the two books share a common theme – a mixup in an order for an item of hockey equipment creates problems. For Carrier, his being sent a Toronto Maple Leaf sweater by Mr. Eaton leads to his social ostracization. In PK’s case, repeated order errors almost result in his not being able to begin his hockey season.

It appears that this year’s birthday present, albeit late, is to be a new pair of skates for PK. His mother mailed an order to the skate store in which she specified: “‘Black skates, single blade, and size 7, please!’” A week later, the skates are delivered by the mail carrier, but they are white, not black. When the reorder appears, seven more days have elapsed. and again the order is incorrect. The colour is now black, but the boots each have two blades. The bob skates are also returned only to be replaced yet a week later by one-bladed, black skates that are size 1 not 7! With the store’s now having corrected two-thirds of its errors, readers and PK may assume that the next delivery should be correct. Alas, this time the reorder yields only an empty box. Finally, after waiting six weeks, an ever increasingly anxious PK finally gets his new skates in the mail and is “happy, happy, happy!”

In addition to having created a fun storyline, Karl Subban uses repetition to invite readers to join in the telling. Each time a skate package is delivered, Subban employs the same text:

With a knock, knock, knock on the door,
the mail carrier delivered the skates in a box.
PK couldn’t wait to open it.

With a cut, cut, cut and a rip, rip, rip,
he opened the box and was sad, sad, sad.>

Maggie Zeng’s cartoon-like illustrations effectively capture PK’s range of emotions as he deals with the series of anticipations and disappointments that each mail delivery presents. Her only small misstep appears in the opening spread where the text reads:

It was hockey season now, so PK and his dad spent
every Saturday night watching their favourite
hockey team and players on their televison screen.

In my mind, I saw an intimate father-son bonding moment, but Zeng presents the whole family parked in front of the TV screen: PK, his four siblings plus Mom and Dad.

The book’s PK character is based on the author’s son, P. K. Subban, who spent 13 years in the NHL where he played defense for the Montreal Canadiens, the Nashville Predators and the New Jersey Devils, before retiring after the 2021-2022 season.

In today’s online ordering world, adult readers may be surprised at PK’s mother’s use of snail mail.