Local author Fred Groves has spent a lifetime on and around the hockey rink, and now that passion has been preserved in print.

Groves is the author of A League to Remember, a book that documents the story of the Great Lakes Hockey League in Southwestern Ontario.

“The reason I wrote this book was to create a historical account of what was once known as the Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League which took in teams from Essex, Kent and Lambton counties,’” said Groves.

Groves’ connection to the sport runs deep. He played minor hockey as a youth and returned to the game in his mid-30s as a volunteer.

Over the past three decades, he has worn nearly every hockey hat imaginable, serving as a coach, manager, and executive board member. He also earned his Level 3 trainer’s certificate and proudly worked as a trainer with both the Kingsville Comets and the Wheatley Sharks.

That hands-on experience gives the book an authenticity that resonates with longtime fans of Junior C hockey.

Among the more compelling stories featured in A League to Remember is an account of the Tilbury Hawks and a hazing scandal that made national headlines — a reminder that the league’s history includes moments of both pride and controversy.

Groves began writing the book in the fall of 2022, inspired after attending the 50th anniversary celebration of the Essex 73’s.

The event sparked memories, conversations and a realization that many of the league’s stories existed only in fragments, shared verbally among former players, coaches and fans.

In addition to offering a window into Junior C hockey’s past, Groves hopes his publishing journey will encourage other aspiring writers.

His advice is straightforward: “Stay with it, don’t get discouraged and write what you know.”

That philosophy has served him well. A League to Remember is Groves’ fourth book, each focused on subjects he knows intimately.  While he is unsure whether another book is in his future, he hasn’t ruled it out.

“You never say never,” he said, adding that he currently has a creative non-fiction project in the works.

He also continues to write as a freelance reporter for Essex County publications, remaining closely connected to the region and its stories.

For Groves, the book is more than a chronicle of scores and standings. It is a tribute to a sport that has shaped many lives — including his own — and one he hopes readers will remember for years to come.

Click here to purchase your copy of A League To Remember

Photos courtesy of Fred Groves