One to Remember: Stories from 39 Members of the NHL’s One Goal Club by Ken Reid follows his earlier work One Night Only: Conversations with the NHL’s One-Game Wonders but goes a step further. In this book, the players he interviewed scored only one goal during their entire NHL career. Some careers spanned dozens of games while others were in and out of the NHL in a matter of weeks. There was no overlap with the earlier book, as hockey trivia buffs know there are four players in NHL history who played only one game and also scored a goal in it.
One to Remember was written in a similar style and format as One Night Only, and there isn’t much difference between them with the exception of the short chapter on the rare goalies who have scored a goal. Many of the players were grateful for their brief time in the NHL and see their single goal only as a blip in their life stories while others realized that they weren’t cut out for an NHL career and were glad to opt out to pursue other professional paths, such as medicine (Stu McNeill) or teaching (Shawn McCosh). Pride and glory ranged from players who displayed their mounted puck in their homes for all to see while some preferred to keep that part of their lives quiet. It was most touching to read fond reminiscences from players who may not have been asked about their lone goal for well over–in some cases–fifty years.