Ontario author celebrates junior hockey stars in new book: Junior Hockey Giants – Road to the NHL

BELLEVILLE, ON — Canadian author and longtime OHL photographer Aaron Bell has launched a new book that shines a spotlight on CHL players who made the leap to the NHL.

Junior Hockey Giants: Road to the NHL is a 200+page, story-driven photo book profiling more than 50 standout players who rose through the junior hockey ranks — names like Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall, John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, and others.

With behind-the-scenes stories, scouting insights, and action photography from Bell’s personal archive, the book captures the development arc that begins in communities across Ontario and stretches to the NHL.

“Junior hockey is where these NHL dreams really begin,” Bell says. “This book honours the players, the journey, and the families, coaches, and communities that helped them get there.”

Bell served as Director of Photography for the Ontario Hockey League from 2007 to 2020. His lens has captured Memorial Cups, NHL Drafts, and hundreds of junior games across the country.

For Bell, this project also marks a personal milestone.

“This is more than a book for me — it’s part of my comeback story,” he says. “After multiple heart surgeries and a stroke, I didn’t know if I’d ever get back to creating books again. But getting back behind the keyboard, digging into my archives, and building something new has been a powerful reminder of what I love about this work.”

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Bell previously authored OHL Classics and 25 Years with the Belleville Bulls in 2005 — two books that became collector staples for junior hockey fans. Now, with Junior Hockey Giants, he returns to that space with renewed purpose and a broader national lens.

The book is available now in softcover and digital formats at:
👉 www.HockeyDocs.com/books