We Breed Lions

AN INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER
FINALIST FOR THE 2026 BALSILLIE PRIZE FOR PUBLIC POLICY
FINALIST FOR THE 2026 TRILLIUM BOOK AWARD

“We Breed Lions is a thorough, thoughtful, illuminating and necessary view into hockey’s darker corners… . The stories are specific, and haunting… . We Breed Lions might make you view hockey a little differently, but it should leave you thinking one thing, above all: for all the medals, all the Cups, all the legends of the game we love, Canada, and hockey, could do so much better.” —Toronto Star

“Westhead makes a careful case that the organized version of the sport is irreparably flawed… . He does the victims of hockey’s endless cycles of violence the honour of being unsparing, and the result is a necessarily difficult book.”  —Literary Review of Canada

“Perhaps no one understands the dark underbelly of a sport so deeply woven into the national fabric like Westhead. That knowledge and drive culminate beautifully in his newest book, We Breed Lions, which promises and delivers an unsparing look at the institutional failures that keep that darkness hidden… . Essential reading.” —Winnipeg Free Press

“This book is obviously a heavy read but extremely important if you’re going to have a conversation about hockey culture. I think the only reason a lot of people would have difficulty with that book is if they’re afraid to have their views of hockey culture challenged.” —Steve “Dangle” Glynn, via CBC Books

“Hockey has long stood as a cornerstone of Canadian identity. Our national and Olympic hockey teams inspire deep national pride, and local rinks are the heart of communities across the country. But the sport itself and the culture it produces have been in trouble for years. When horrendous actions of young players surface, as they did in a London, Ontario courtroom in the summer of 2025, the reaction is familiar: a flicker of outrage, a collective shrug, and then we quickly move on. But not veteran sports journalist Rick Westhead who confronts Canada’s hockey culture with clarity, rigorous evidence and unflinching purpose. What emerges is not just an indictment of a sport, but a reckoning we can no longer afford to postpone. We Breed Lions is not about saving the game of hockey; it is about exposing how cultures of power and silence take root in team environments and how we must act to protect the kids who play the national sport.” —2026 Balsillie Prize for Public Policy Jury

Rick Westhead

Rick Westhead is TSN’s Senior Correspondent and a two-time winner of Canadian Sports Writer 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 breaks news of consequence and has won five Canadian Screen Awards for his original features for various TSN properties. In 2025, he was recognized for his “fearless reporting” by The Hockey News in its list of 100 People of Power and Influence in hockey. Prior to joining TSN, Westhead served as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star, where he reported on the ground in countries that included Afghanistan, China, India, and Saudi Arabia.

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