Elite Hockey Shooters

It is a given that Wayne Gretzky’s profile and stats would grace this site. His is often referred to as the greatest hockey player to ever grace the game. While scoring goals was part of his game, he was known for his play making ability the reason for his late introduction to this site. The following was taken from Wikipedia.org. The Gretzky video tribute was put together by Phillergy on Youtube.com. Enjoy!

Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC (pronounced /ˈɡrɛtski/; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed “The Great One”, he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL), and has been called “the greatest hockey player ever”^[1] by many sportswriters, players, and the NHL itself. Upon his retirement on April 18, 1999, he held forty regular-season records, fifteen playoff records, and six All-Star records. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season – a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, he tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. Gretzky’s jersey number, 99, has been retired by all teams in the National Hockey League. He was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation‘s (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team in a poll conducted by a group of 56 experts from 16 countries.^[1]

Born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, Gretzky honed his skills at a backyard rink and regularly played minor hockey at a level far above his peers.^[2] Despite his unimpressive stature, strength and speed, Gretzky’s intelligence and reading of the game were unrivaled. He was adept at dodging checks from opposing players, and he could consistently anticipate where the puck was going to be and execute the right move at the right time. Gretzky also became known for setting up behind the net, an area that was nicknamed “Gretzky’s office” because of his skills there.^[3]

In 1978, he signed with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association (WHA), where he briefly played before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. When the WHA folded, the Oilers joined the NHL, where he established many scoring records and led his team to four Stanley Cup championships. His trade to the Los Angeles Kings on August 9, 1988, had an immediate impact on the team’s performance, eventually leading them to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, and is credited with popularizing hockey in California.^[4] Gretzky played briefly for the St. Louis Blues and finished his career with the New York Rangers. In his career, Gretzky captured nine Hart Trophies as the most valuable player, ten Art Ross Trophies for most points in a season, five Lady Byng Trophies for sportsmanship and performance, five Lester B. Pearson Awards, and two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP.

After his retirement in 1999, he was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and is the most recent player to have the waiting period waived. He became Executive Director for the Canadian national men’s hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics, in which the team won a gold medal. In 2000 he became part owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, and following the 2004–05 NHL lockout he became the team’s head coach.

Early years

Prior to World War I, Gretzky’s paternal grandfather Anton (Tony) Gretzky immigrated along with his family to Canada via the United States from the Russian Empire (what is now Grodno, Belarus).^[5] Following the war, Anton would marry his wife, Mary, who immigrated from Pidhaitsi, interwar Poland (now Ukraine).^[6] Tony and Mary owned a 25-acre (10 ha) cucumber farm in Canning, Ontario^[7] where Walter Gretzky was born and raised and where he met Wayne’s mother, Phyllis Hockin.^[8] They married in 1960, and lived in an apartment in Brantford, Ontario, where Walter worked for Bell Telephone Canada.^[6]. The family moved into a house on Varadi Avenue in Brantford seven months after Wayne was born, chosen partly because it was flat enough to make an ice rink on every winter.^[9] Wayne was joined by a sister, Kim (b. 1963), and brothers Keith, Glen and Brent. The family would regularly visit Tony and Mary’s farm and watch Hockey Night in Canada together. By age two, Wayne was trying to score goals against Mary using a souvenir stick.^[10] The farm was where Wayne skated on ice for the first time, aged two years, 10 months.^[10]

Gretzky’s ancestry is typically described as English on his mother’s side and Belarusian or Polish on his father’s side, but there is also evidence of Ukrainian ancestry on his father’s side.^[11] In interviews, Gretzky’s father Walter has stated that his parents were Belarusians,^[12] while on other occasions he has mentioned his family’s Polish ancestry.^[13] Anton Gretzky has been described as having “been born in Russia with Ukrainian forebears” and “the only Slavic language spoken in the Gretzky family [was] Ukrainian“.^[11] Gretzky’s mother Phyllis is of English descent^[11] and she is related to British General Sir Isaac Brock, a hero of the War of 1812.^[8]

Walter taught Wayne, Keith, Brent, Glen and their friends hockey on a rink he made in the back yard of the family home, nicknamed the “Wally Coliseum”.^[14] Drills included skating around Javex bleach bottles and tin cans, and flipping pucks over scattered hockey sticks to be able to pick up the puck again in full flight.^[15] Additionally, Walter gave the advice to “skate where the puck’s going, not where it’s been”.^[15] Wayne was a classic prodigy whose extraordinary skills made him the target of jealous parents.^[16]

Gretzky’s first team, at age six, was a team of ten-year-olds, starting a pattern where Gretzky always played at a level far above his peers through his minor hockey years.^[17] His first coach, Dick Martin, remarked that he handled the puck better than the ten-year-olds.^[18] According to Martin, “Wayne was so good that you could have a boy of your own who was a tremendous hockey player, and he’d get overlooked because of what the Gretzky kid was doing.”^[19] The sweaters for ten-year-olds were far too large for Gretzky, who coped by tucking the sweater into his pants on the right side. He continued doing this throughout his NHL career.^[20]

By the age of ten he had scored 378 goals and 139 assists in just one season with the Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers.^[21] His play now attracted media attention beyond his hometown of Brantford, including a profile by John Iaboni in the Toronto Telegram in October 1971.^[22] By age 13, he had scored over 1,000 goals.^[23] His play attracted considerable negative attention from other players’ parents, including those of his teammates, and he was often booed.^[24] According to Walter, the “capper” was being booed on “Brantford Day” at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens in February 1975.^[23]

When Gretzky was 14, his family arranged for him to move to and play hockey in Toronto, partly to further his career, and partly to remove him from the uncomfortable pressure he faced in his hometown. The Gretzkys had to legally challenge the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association to win Wayne the right to play elsewhere, which was disallowed at the time.^[25] The Gretzkys won, and Wayne played Junior B hockey with the Toronto Nationals. He earned Rookie of the Year honours in the Metro Junior B Hockey League in 1975–76, with 60 points in 28 games. The following year, as a 15-year-old, he had 72 points in 32 games with the same team, then known as the Seneca Nationals.^[26] That year, he also played three games with the Peterborough Petes in the Ontario Hockey Association as an emergency call-up, and even then the Great One impressed scouts with his abilities despite his small stature and youth. In addition, he signed with his first agent, Bob Behnke.

Despite his offensive statistics, two teams bypassed him in the 1977 OMJHL Midget Draft of 16-year-olds. The Oshawa Generals picked Tom McCarthy, and the Niagara Falls Flyers picked Steve Peters second overall. With the third pick, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds selected Gretzky, even though Walter Gretzky had told the team that Wayne would not move to Sault Ste. Marie, a northern Ontario city that inflicts a heavy traveling schedule on its junior team. The Gretzkys made an arrangement with a local family they knew and Wayne played a season in the Ontario Hockey League at the age of 16 with the Greyhounds.^[27] It was with the Greyhounds that Wayne first wore the number 99 on his jersey. He originally wanted to wear number 9—for his hockey hero Gordie Howe—but it was already being worn by teammate Brian Gualazzi. At coach Muzz MacPherson‘s suggestion, Gretzky settled on 99.^[28]

At 16, in his single year at the major junior level, Gretzky surpassed the OMJHL single-season scoring record, winning the OMJHL Rookie of the Year and Most Sportsmanlike awards.World Hockey Association.

World Hockey Association

In 1978, the World Hockey Association (WHA) league was in competition with the established NHL. The NHL did not allow the signing of players under the age of 20, but the WHA had no rules regarding such signings. Several WHA teams courted Gretzky, notably the Indianapolis Racers and the Birmingham Bulls. Birmingham Bulls owner John F. Bassett wanted to confront the NHL by signing as many young and promising superstars as possible and saw Gretzky as the most promising young prospect,^[29] but it was Racers owner Nelson Skalbania who signed 17-year-old Gretzky to a seven-year personal services contract worth $1.75 million US.^[30] Gretzky scored his first professional goal against Dave Dryden of the Edmonton Oilers^[31] in his fifth game, and his second goal four seconds later.^[32] Skalbania opted to have Gretzky sign a personal-services contract rather than a standard player contract in part because he knew a deal to take some WHA teams into the NHL was in the works. He also knew that the Racers could not hope to be included among those teams, and hoped to keep the Racers alive long enough to collect compensation from the surviving teams when the WHA dissolved, as well as any funds earned from selling the young star.^[33]

Gretzky only played eight games for Indianapolis. The Racers were losing $40,000 per game. Skalbania told Gretzky he would be moved, offering him a choice between Edmonton and Winnipeg. On the advice of his agent, Gretzky picked Edmonton, but the move was not that simple. Gretzky, goaltender Eddie Mio and forward Peter Driscoll were put on a private plane, not knowing where they would land and what team they would be joining. While in the air, Skalbania worked on the deal. Skalbania offered to play a game of backgammon with Winnipeg owner Michael Gobuty, the stakes being if Gobuty won, he would get Gretzky and if he lost, he had to give Skalbania a share of the Jets. Gobuty turned down the proposal and the players landed in Edmonton.^[34] Skalbania sold Gretzky, Mio and Driscoll to his former partner, and then-owner of the Edmonton Oilers, Peter Pocklington. Although the announced price was $850,000, Pocklington actually paid $700,000.^[31] Mio paid the $4,000 bill for the flight with his credit card.^[35] The money was not enough to keep the Racers alive; they folded that December.^[33]

One of the highlights of Gretzky’s season was his appearance in the 1979 WHA All-Star Game. The format was a three-game series between the WHA All-Stars against Dynamo Moscow. The WHA All-Stars were coached by Jacques Demers, who put Gretzky on a line with his boyhood idol Gordie Howe and his son, Mark Howe.^[36] In game one, the line scored seven points, and the WHA All-Stars won by a score of 4–2.^[36] In game two, Gretzky and Mark Howe each scored a goal and Gordie Howe picked up an assist as the WHA won 4–2.^[36] The line did not score in the final game, but the WHA won by a score of 4–3.^[37]

On Gretzky’s 18th birthday, January 26, 1979, Pocklington signed him to a 10-year personal services contract (the longest in hockey history at the time) worth C$3 million, with options for 10 more years.^[38] Gretzky finished third in the league in scoring at 110 points, behind Robbie Ftorek and Réal Cloutier.^[39] Gretzky captured the Lou Kaplan Trophy as rookie of the year,^[31] and helped the Oilers to first overall in the league.^[40] The Oilers reached the Avco World Trophy finals, where they lost to the Winnipeg Jets in six games.^[41] It was Gretzky’s only year in the WHA, as the league folded following the season.^[42

NHL Career

After the World Hockey Association folded in 1979, the Edmonton Oilers and three other teams joined the NHL.^[43] Gretzky’s success in the WHA carried over into the NHL, despite some critics suggesting he would flounder in what was considered the bigger, tougher, and more talented league.^[44] The Oilers, like the other surviving WHA teams, were allowed to protect two goaltenders and two skaters from being reclaimed by the established NHL teams. Under normal circumstances, Gretzky would have been removed from the Oilers and placed in the pool for the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, but his personal services contract prevented this.^[45]

Edmonton Oilers (1979–1988)

A statue, located outside Rexall Place in Edmonton, of Gretzky hoisting the Stanley Cup, which the Oilers won four times with him.

In his first NHL season, 1979–80, Gretzky proved his critics wrong. He was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the League’s Most Valuable Player (the first of eight in a row) and tied for the scoring lead with Marcel Dionne with 137 points.^[46][47] Although Gretzky played 79 games to Dionne’s 80, Dionne was awarded the Art Ross Trophy since he scored more goals (53 vs. 51).^[48] The season still stands as the highest point total by a first year player in NHL history. Gretzky became the youngest player to score 50 goals but was not eligible for the Calder Memorial Trophy, given to the top NHL rookie, because of his previous year of WHA experience.^[49] The Calder was awarded to Boston Bruins defenceman Ray Bourque.^[50]

In his second season, Gretzky won the Art Ross (the first of seven consecutive) with a then-record 164 points, breaking both Bobby Orr‘s record for assists in a season (102) and Phil Esposito‘s record for points in a season (152).^[28] He won his second straight Hart Trophy.^[46] In the first game of the 1981 playoffs versus the Montreal Canadiens, Gretzky had five assists. This was a single game playoff record.^[51]

During the 1981–82 season, he surpassed a record that had stood for 35 years: 50 goals in 50 games. Set by Maurice “Rocket” Richard during the 1944–45 NHL season and tied by Mike Bossy during the 1980–81 NHL season, Gretzky accomplished the feat in only 39 games. His 50th goal of the season came on December 30, 1981 in the final seconds of a 7–5 win against the Philadelphia Flyers and was his fifth of the game.^[52] Later that season, Gretzky broke Esposito’s record for most goals in a season (76) on February 24, 1982, scoring three goals to help beat the Buffalo Sabres 6–3.^[53] He ended the 1981–82 season with records of 92 goals, 120 assists, and 212 points in 80 games, becoming the first and only player in NHL history to break the two hundred–point mark.^[54] That year, Gretzky became the first hockey player and first Canadian to be named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.^[55] He was also named 1982 “Sportsman of the Year” by Sports Illustrated.^[56] The Canadian Press also named Gretzky Newsmaker of the Year in 1982.

The following seasons saw Gretzky break his own assists record three more times (125 in 1982–83, 135 in 1984–85, and 163 in 1985–86); he also bettered that mark (120 assists) in 1986–87 with 121 and 1990–91 with 122, and his point record one more time (215, in 1985-86).^[57][58] By the time he finished playing in Edmonton, he held or shared 49 NHL records, which in itself was a record.

The Edmonton Oilers finished first overall in their last WHA regular season. The same success was not immediate when they joined the NHL, but within four seasons, the Oilers were competing for the Stanley Cup.^[59] The Oilers were a young, strong team featuring forwards Mark Messier, Gretzky, Glenn Anderson and Jari Kurri, defenceman Paul Coffey, and goaltender Grant Fuhr. Gretzky was its captain from 1983–88. In 1983, they made it to the Stanley Cup Final, only to be swept by the three-time defending champion New York Islanders.^[60] The following season, the Oilers met the Islanders in the Final again, this time winning the Stanley Cup, their first of five in seven years.^[61] Gretzky was named an officer of the Order of Canada on June 25, 1984, for outstanding contribution to the sport of hockey. Since the Order ceremonies are always held during the hockey season, it took 13 years and 7 months—and two Governors General—before he could accept the honour.^[62] He was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in 2009 “for his continued contributions to the world of hockey, notably as one of the best players of all time, as well as for his social engagement as a philanthropist, volunteer and role model for countless young people”.^[63] The Oilers also won the Cup with Gretzky in 1985, 1987 and 1988.^[64]

 “The Trade”

Two hours after the Oilers won the Stanley Cup in 1988, Gretzky learned from his father that the Oilers were planning to deal him to another team.^[65] Walter had known for months, but kept it from Gretzky so as to not upset him. According to Walter, Gretzky was being “shopped” to Los Angeles, Detroit, New York and Vancouver. According to Gretzky, Pocklington needed money as his other business ventures were not doing well (a similar reason to the cause of Babe Ruth being sold to the New York Yankees), and had gone “sour” on Gretzky and wanted to move him.^[66] At first, Gretzky did not want to leave Edmonton, but he later received a call from Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall while on his honeymoon asking permission to meet and discuss the deal. Gretzky informed McNall that his prerequisites for a deal to take place were that Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski join him as teammates in Los Angeles. After the details of the trade were finalized by McNall and Pocklington, one final condition had to be met: Gretzky had to call Pocklington and request a trade.^[67] When Pocklington revealed his plans to trade Gretzky to Oilers general manager and head coach Glen Sather, Sather went to work trying to stop the trade, but, when he found out Gretzky played a part in it, he changed his attitude to GM as he requested Luc Robitaille in exchange. The Kings refused, instead offering Jimmy Carson.^[68]

On August 9, 1988, in a move that heralded significant change in the NHL, the Oilers traded Gretzky, along with McSorley and Krushelnyski, to the Kings for Carson, Martin Gelinas, $15 million in cash, and the Kings’ first-round draft picks in 1989 (later traded to the New Jersey Devils – New Jersey selected Jason Miller), 1991 (Martin Rucinsky), and 1993 (Nick Stajduhar).^[58] “The Trade”, as it came to be known,^[69] upset Canadians to the extent that New Democratic Party House Leader Nelson Riis demanded that the government block it,^[70] and Pocklington was burned in effigy outside the Northlands Coliseum.^[16] Gretzky himself was considered a “traitor” by some Canadians for turning his back on his adopted hometown, and his home country; his motivation was widely rumoured to be the furtherance of his wife‘s acting career.^[71]

Edmontonians bore no grudge against Gretzky. On his first appearance in Edmonton after the trade—a game that was nationally televised in Canada—he received a four-minute standing ovation.^[72] The arena was sold out, and the attendance of 17,503 was the Oilers’ biggest crowd ever to that date.^[72] Large cheers erupted for his first shift, his first touch of the puck, his two assists, and for Mark Messier‘s body check of Gretzky into the boards.^[72] After the game, Gretzky took the opportunity to confirm his patriotism: “I’m still proud to be a Canadian. I didn’t desert my country. I moved because I was traded and that’s where my job is. But I’m Canadian to the core. I hope Canadians understand that.”^[72] After the 1988–89 season, a life-sized bronze statue of Gretzky was erected outside the Northlands Coliseum, holding the Stanley Cup over his head (picture shown above, to the right).^[73]

 Los Angeles Kings (1988–1996)

The Kings named Gretzky their alternate captain. He made an immediate impact on the ice, scoring on his first shot on goal in the first regular-season game.^[74] The Kings got off to their best start ever, winning four straight on their way to qualifying for the playoffs. Despite being underdogs against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Oilers in the Smythe Division semifinals, Gretzky led the Kings to a shocking upset of his old squad, spearheading the Kings’ return from a 3–1 series deficit to win the series 4–3. He was nervous that Edmonton would greet him with boos, but they were eagerly waiting for him.^[75] For only the second time in his NHL career, Gretzky finished second in scoring, but narrowly beat out Pittsburgh‘s Mario Lemieux (who scored 199 points) for the Hart Trophy as MVP.^[76] In 1990, the Associated Press named him Male Athlete of the Decade.^[77]

Gretzky’s first season in Los Angeles saw a marked increase in attendance and fan interest in a city not previously known for following hockey. The Kings now boasted of numerous sellouts.^[78] Many credit Gretzky’s arrival with putting non-traditional U.S. hockey markets on “the NHL map”; not only did California receive two more NHL franchises (the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and San Jose Sharks) during Gretzky’s tenure in L.A., but his popularity in Southern California proved to be an impetus in the league establishing teams in other parts of the U.S. Sun Belt.^[79]

Gretzky was sidelined for much of the 1992–93 regular season with an upper back injury, the only year in which he did not lead his team in scoring.^[80] However, he performed very well in the playoffs, notably when he scored a hat trick in Game 7 of the Campbell Conference Finals against the Toronto Maple Leafs.^[28] This victory propelled the Kings into the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history, where they faced the Montreal Canadiens. After winning the first game of the series by a score of 4–1, the team lost the next three games in overtime, and then fell 4–1 in the deciding fifth game where Gretzky failed to get a shot on net.^[81]

The next season, Gretzky broke Gordie Howe‘s career goal-scoring record and won the scoring title,^[28] but the team began a long slide, and despite numerous player and coaching moves, they failed to qualify for the playoffs again until 1998.^[82] Long before then, running out of time and looking for a team with which he could win again, Gretzky had been traded from the Kings at his request.

During the 1994–95 NHL lockout, Gretzky and some friends (including Mark Messier, Marty McSorley, Brett Hull, and Steve Yzerman) formed the Ninety Nine All Stars Tour and played some exhibition games in various countries.

St. Louis Blues (1996)

On February 27, 1996, Gretzky joined the St. Louis Blues in a trade for Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat, Craig Johnson, and two draft picks.^[58] He partially orchestrated the trade after reports that he was unhappy in Los Angeles surfaced.^[83] At the time of the trade, the Blues and New York Rangers emerged as front-runners, but the Blues met his salary demands.^[84] Gretzky was immediately named the team’s captain. He scored 37 points in 31 games for the team in the regular season and the playoffs,^[57] and the Blues came within one game of the Conference Finals.^[85] However, the chemistry that everyone expected with winger Brett Hull never developed, and coach Mike Keenan publicly criticized him.^[86] Gretzky rejected a three-year deal worth $15 million with the Blues, and on July 22, he signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent, rejoining longtime Oilers teammate Mark Messier for a two-year $8 million (plus incentives) contract.^[87]

New York Rangers (1996–1999)

Gretzky in a New York Rangers uniform in 1997

Gretzky ended his professional playing career with the New York Rangers, where he played his final three seasons and helped the team reach the Eastern Conference Finals in 1997.^[88] The Rangers were defeated in the Conference Finals in 5 games by the Philadelphia Flyers, despite Gretzky leading the Rangers in the playoffs with 10 goals and 10 assists.^[57] For the first time in his NHL career, Gretzky was not named captain,^[89] although he briefly wore the captain’s ‘C’ in 1998 when captain Brian Leetch was injured and out of the lineup.^[90] After the 1996–97 season, Mark Messier signed a free agent contract with the Vancouver Canucks, ending the brief reunion of Messier and Gretzky after just one season.^[91] With Messier’s departure from the Rangers, the spotlight was on Gretzky once again. The Rangers, however, did not return to the playoffs during the remainder of Gretzky’s career.^[92]

In 1997, prior to his retirement, The Hockey News named a committee of 50 hockey experts (former NHL players, past and present writers, broadcasters, coaches and hockey executives) to select and rank the 50 greatest players in NHL history. The experts voted Gretzky number one.^[21]

Gretzky in 1997 with New York Rangers

The 1998–99 season was his last season. He reached one milestone in this last season, breaking the professional total (regular season and playoffs) goal-scoring record of 1,071, which had been held by Gordie Howe. Gretzky was having difficulty scoring this season and finished with only nine goals, but his last goal brought his scoring total for his combined NHL/WHA career to 1,072.^[93] As the season wound down, there was media speculation that Gretzky would retire, but he refused to announce his retirement. His last NHL game in Canada was on April 15, 1999, a 2–2 tie with the Ottawa Senators, the Rangers’ second-to-last game of the season.^[94] Following the contest, instead of the usual three stars announcement, Gretzky was named the game’s only star. (Gretzky was named all three stars).^[95] It was only after this game, after returning to New York that Gretzky announced his retirement, before the Rangers’ last game of the season.^[96]

The final game of Gretzky’s career was a 2–1 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 18, 1999, in Madison Square Garden. The national anthems in that game were adjusted to accommodate Gretzky’s departure. In place of the lyrics “O Canada, we stand on guard for thee”, Bryan Adams ad-libbed, “We’re going to miss you, Wayne Gretzky”.^[97] The Star-Spangled Banner, as sung by John Amirante, was altered to include the words “in the land of Wayne Gretzky”.^[98] Gretzky ended his career with a final point, assisting on the lone New York goal scored by Brian Leetch.^[97] At the time of his retirement, Gretzky was the second-to-last WHA player still active in professional hockey, Mark Messier, who himself attended the game along with other representatives of the Edmonton dynasty, being the last.^[99]

Gretzky told Scott Morrison that the final game of his career was his greatest day.^[100] He recounted:

Madison Square Garden photographer George Kalinsky‘s image of Gretzky waving to the crowd at the Garden, like his image of Messier after the Rangers won game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals five years earlier, would become an iconic image to the Rangers and their fans, documenting one of the greatest moments at the Garden,^{[101][102][103]} and even to hockey fans.

Gretzky made his first international appearance as a member of the Canadian national junior team at the 1978 World Junior Championships in Montreal, Quebec. He was the youngest player to compete in the tournament at the age of 16. He went on to lead the tournament in scoring with 17 points to earn All-Star Team and Best Forward honours. Canada finished with the bronze medal.^[104][105]Gretzky debuted with the Team Canada’s men’s team at the 1981 Canada Cup. He led the tournament in scoring with 12 points en route to a second-place finish to the Soviet Union,^[104] losing 8–1 in the final. Seven months later, Gretzky joined Team Canada for the 1982 World Championships in Finland. He notched 14 points in 10 games, including a two-goal, two-assist effort in Canada’s final game against Sweden to earn the bronze.^[104] Gretzky did not win his first international competition until the 1984 Canada Cup, when Canada defeated Sweden in a best-of-three finals. He led the tournament in scoring for the second consecutive time and was named to the All-Star Team.^[104]Gretzky’s international career highlight arguably came three years later at the 1987 Canada Cup. Gretzky has called the tournament the best hockey he had played in his life.^[106] Playing on a line with Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Mario Lemieux, he recorded a tournament-best 21 points in nine games. After losing the first game of a best-of-three final series against the Soviets, Gretzky propelled Canada with a five-assist performance, including the game-winning pass to Lemieux in overtime to extend the tournament.^[106] In the deciding game three, Gretzky and Lemieux once again combined for the game-winner. With the score tied 5–5 and 1:26 minutes to go in regulation, Lemieux one-timed a pass from Gretzky on a 3–on–1 with defenceman Larry Murphy. Lemieux scored to win the tournament for Canada; the play is widely regarded as one of the most memorable plays in Canadian international competition.^[106]The 1991 Canada Cup marked the last time the tournament was played under the “Canada Cup” moniker. Gretzky led the tournament for the fourth and final time with 12 points in seven games. He did not, however, compete in the final against the United States due to a back injury.^[104] Canada nevertheless won in two games by scores of 4–1 and 4–2. Five years later, the tournament was revived and renamed the World Cup in 1996. It marked the first time Gretzky did not finish as the tournament’s leading scorer with seven points in eight games for fourth overall.^[104] The 1996 World Cup also ended Canada’s winning streak at the tournament (including the Canada Cups), losing in three games of a best-of-three final.Leading up to the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, it was announced that NHL players would be eligible to play for the first time. Gretzky was named to the club on November 29, 1997.^[104] However, Gretzky, was passed over for the captaincy, along with several other Canadian veterans including Steve Yzerman and Ray Bourque in favour of the younger Eric Lindros.^[107] Expectations were high for the Canadian team, but the team lost to the Czech Republic in the semi-finals.^[108] The game went to a shootout with a 1–1 tie after overtime, but Gretzky was controversially not selected by coach Marc Crawford as one of the five shooters.^[109] Team Canada then lost the bronze medal game 3–2 to Finland to finish without a medal.^[110] The Olympics marked Gretzky’s eighth and final international appearance, finishing with four assists in six games. He retired from international play holding the records for most goals (20), most assists (28), and most overall points (48) in Best-on-best hockey.^[111][edit] Influences and skillsGretzky’s basic athletic abilities were not considered impressive. He was 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, weighing only 160 pounds (73 kg) as an 18-year-old NHL rookie in 1979, and 185 pounds (84 kg) at the end of his career in 1999. At the beginning of Gretzky’s NHL career, many critics opined that Gretzky was “too small, too wiry, and too slow to be a force in the NHL”.^[112] During his years with the Oilers, the team twice annually conducted individual strength and stamina tests. According to Gretzky himself, he always finished dead last in peripheral vision, flexibility and strength, and could only bench press 140 pounds (64 kg).^[113] On the other hand, his intelligence and reading of the game was unrivalled, and he could consistently anticipate where the puck was going to be and execute the right move at the right time.^[27] It was said that he “seems to have eyes in the back of his head” and had a knack of “rolling with a check”.^[114] One commentator said, “He could envision the whole rink in his mind and how players were moving within it.” Because of this “vision,” Gretzky was sometimes called the “Einstein of Hockey.”^[115]Hall of Fame defenceman Bobby Orr said of Gretzky, “He passes better than anybody I’ve ever seen. And he thinks so far ahead.”^[116] Gretzky himself referred to it as having “… a feeling about where a teammate is going to be, a lot of times, I can turn and pass without looking.”^[2]Much has been written about Gretzky’s highly-developed hockey instincts, but he once explained that what appeared to be instinct was in large part the effect of his relentless study of the game and a resulting deep understanding of its shifting patterns and dynamics. Veteran hockey journalist Peter Gzowski says that elite athletes in all sports understand the game so well, and in such detail, that they can instantly recognize and capitalize upon emerging patterns of play. Analyzing Gretzky’s hockey skills, he says, “What we take to be creative genius is in fact a reaction to a situation that he has stored in his brain as deeply and firmly as his own phone number.” Gzowski presented this theory to Gretzky, and he fully agreed. “Absolutely,” Gretzky said. “That’s a hundred percent right. It’s all practice. I got it from my dad. Nine out of ten people think it’s instinct, and it isn’t. Nobody would ever say a doctor had learned his profession by instinct; yet in my own way I’ve put in almost as much time studying hockey as a medical student puts in studying medicine.”^[117]Gzowski says that Gretzky seemed to be able to, in effect, slow down time. “There is an unhurried grace to everything Gretzky does on the ice. Winding up for the slapshot, he will stop for an almost imperceptible moment at the top of his arc, like a golfer with a rhythmic swing.” Gzowski explains that another skill often possessed by elite athletes, is that they have, in effect, “more room in the flow of time” than do ordinary athletes.^[118] “Gretzky uses this room to insert an extra beat into his actions. In front of the net, eyeball to eyeball with the goaltender . . . he will . . . hold the puck one . . . extra instant, upsetting the anticipated rhythm of the game, extending the moment. . . He distorts time, and not only by slowing it down. Sometimes he will release the puck before he appears to be ready, threading the pass through a maze of players precisely to the blade of a teammate’s stick, or finding a chink in a goaltender’s armour and slipping the puck into it . . . before the goaltender is ready to react.”^[119]But Gretzky’s skill as an athlete was not all mental. Along with Gordie Howe, Gretzky shared “an exceptional capacity to renew his energy resources quickly.” In 1980, an exercise physiologist tested all of the Edmonton Oilers, and when he saw the results of Gretzky’s test of recuperative abilities, he said “he thought the machine had broken.” Wayne often had his best moments in the third period.^[120]He was, in fact, an exceptional all-round athlete. Growing up, he was a competitive runner, and he batted .492 for the Brantford CKCP Braves in the summer of 1980. As a result, he was offered a contract by the major-league baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays.^[121] History repeated itself in June, 2011, when Gretzky’s 17-year-old son, Trevor, was offered a contract with the Chicago Cubs. He signed with the Cubs in July, 2011.^[122]Gretzky’s skills were developed on a backyard rink at his home, with extraordinary dedication and the encouragement and teachings of his father Walter. Walter Gretzky had played Junior B hockey, but was slowed by chicken pox and failed in a tryout for the Junior A Toronto Marlboros, ending his playing career.^[123] Walter cultivated a love of hockey in his sons and provided them with a backyard rink and drills to enhance their skills.^[15] On the backyard rink, nicknamed the “Wally Coliseum”, winter was total hockey immersion with Walter as mentor-teacher as well as teammate. According to Brent Gretzky, “It was definitely pressed on us, but we loved the game. Without the direction of the father, I don’t know where I’d be.”^[124]The rink itself was built so that Walter could keep an eye on his boys from the warmth of his kitchen, instead of watching them outdoors on a neighbourhood rink, as Wayne put in long hours on skates.^[125] Walter’s drills were his own invention, but were ahead of their time in Canada. Gretzky would later remark that the Soviet National Team’s practice drills, which impressed Canada in 1972, had nothing to offer him: “I’d been doing these drills since I was three. My dad was very smart.”^[126]Where Gretzky differed from others in his development was in the extraordinary commitment of time on the ice. In his autobiography, he wrote:

All I wanted to do in the winters was be on the ice. I’d get up in the morning, skate from 7:00 to 8:30, go to school, come home at 3:30, stay on the ice until my mom insisted I come in for dinner, eat in my skates, then go back out until 9:00. On Saturdays and Sundays we’d have huge games, but nighttime became my time. It was a sort of unwritten rule around the neighbourhood that I was to be out there myself or with my dad.^[127]Gretzky would prod next-door neighbour Brian Rizzetto to play goal after sundown to practice his backhand.^[126]Gretzky also excelled at baseball and box lacrosse, which he played during the summer. At age ten, after scoring 196 goals in his hockey league, he scored 158 goals in lacrosse.^[128] According to Gretzky, lacrosse was where he learned to protect himself from hard body checking: “In those days you could be hit from behind in lacrosse, as well as cross-checked, so you had to learn how to roll body checks for self-protection.”^[129] Wayne, who weighed far less than the NHL average, adroitly applied this technique as a professional player, avoiding checks with such skill that a rumour circulated that there was an unwritten rule not to hit Gretzky.^[130] But Wayne himself dispelled this rumor at the end of one grueling season with the Edmonton Oilers, in which he had suffered a mild concussion as a result of what writer Michael Benson called a “cheap shot” from Winnipeg Jets player Dale Hawerchuk. “People say there is an unwritten rule that you can’t hit Gretzky,” Wayne said, “but that is not true.”^[131] Fellow hockey Hall-of-Famer Denis Potvin compared attempting to hit Gretzky to “wrapping your arms around fog. You saw him but when you reached out to grab him your hands felt nothing, maybe just a chill. He had the strongest danger radar of anyone on the ice.” Gordie Howe once said that parting Gretzky’s hair would reveal a third eye.^[132] Potvin, a 205-pounder who was three times voted the NHL’s top defenseman, also said that part of the problem in hitting Gretzky hard was that he was “a tough guy to dislike… what was there to hate about Gretzky? It was like running Gandhi into a corner.”^[133]Gretzky became known for setting up behind the net, an area that was nicknamed “Gretzky’s office” because of his skills there.^[3] He could pass to teammates like Luc Robitaille and Jari Kurri, or jump out quickly for a wrap-around shot. Gretzky became accustomed to the position after watching and studying Bobby Clarke play in that zone.^[134] In honour of that, for his last game there were two large “99”s painted on the ice behind the goal.^[135][edit] Post-retirementGretzky was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 22, 1999, becoming the tenth player to bypass the three-year waiting period.^[136] The Hall of Fame then announced that he would be the last player to do so.^[137] He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2000.^[138] In addition, Gretzky’s jersey number 99 was retired league-wide at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game. Gretzky’s jersey number 99 is only the second number ever to be retired league-wide by a major North American sports league, the other being Jackie Robinson‘s number 42, which was retired by Major League Baseball in 1997.^[139] Edmonton honoured Gretzky by renaming the freeway that passes by the Oilers arena, Capilano Drive, one of Edmonton’s busiest, to “Wayne Gretzky Drive” in October 1999.^[140] Also in Edmonton, the local transit authority assigned a rush-hour bus route numbered #99 which also runs on Wayne Gretzky Drive for its commute.^[141] In 2002, the Kings held a jersey retirement ceremony and erected a life-sized statue of Gretzky outside the Staples Center; the ceremony was delayed until then so that Bruce McNall, who had recently finished a prison sentence, could attend.^[142] His hometown of Brantford, Ontario, renamed Park Road North to “Wayne Gretzky Parkway” as well as renaming the North Park Recreation Centre to The Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre. Brantford further inducted Gretzky in to its “Walk of Fame” in 2004.^[143][edit] Phoenix CoyotesAlmost immediately after retirement, several NHL teams approached him about an ownership role.^[144] In May 2000, he agreed to buy a 10% stake in the Phoenix Coyotes in a partnership with majority owner Steve Ellman, taking on the roles of alternate governor, managing partner and head of hockey operations.^[145] The Coyotes were in the process of being sold and Ellman convinced Gretzky to come on board, averting a potential move to Portland, Oregon.^[145] The sale was not completed until the following year, on February 15, 2001, after two missed deadlines while securing financing and partners before Ellman and Gretzky could take over. The sale completed with the addition to the partnership of Jerry Moyes.^[146] Gretzky convinced his long-time agent Michael Barnett to join the team as its General Manager.^[147]In 2005, rumors began regarding Gretzky becoming the head coach of the team, but were denied by Gretzky and the Coyotes.^[148] He agreed to become head coach on August 8, 2005.^[149] Gretzky made his coaching debut on October 5,^[150] and won his first game on October 8 against the Minnesota Wild.^[151] He took an indefinite leave of absence on December 17 to be with his ill mother. Phyllis Gretzky died of lung cancer on December 19.^[152] Gretzky resumed his head-coaching duties on December 28.^[153]In 2006, Moyes became majority owner of the team, and Ellman majority owner of the Glendale Arena and Westgate development.^[154] There was uncertainty about Gretzky’s role ^[155] until it was announced on May 31, 2006 that he had agreed to a five-year contract to remain head coach.^[156]On May 5, 2009, the Coyotes’ holding company, Dewey Ranch Hockey LLC, filed for Chapter 11bankruptcy. An ownership dispute involving Research in Motion‘s Jim Balsillie (with the intention of relocating the team) and the NHL itself arose, which eventually ended up in Court. Gretzky did not attend the Coyotes’ training camp, leaving associate head coach Ulf Samuelsson in charge, due to an uncertain contractual status with the club, whose bankruptcy hearings were continuing. Bidders for the club had indicated that Gretzky would no longer be associated with the team after it emerged from bankruptcy, and on September 24, 2009, Gretzky stepped down as head coach and head of hockey operations of the Coyotes.^[157][edit] Winter OlympicsGretzky was Executive Director of the Canadian men’s hockey team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. On February 18, he lashed out at the media at a press conference, frustrated with media and fan comments regarding his team’s uninspiring 1–1–1 start.^[158] His temper boiled over after Canada’s 3–3 draw versus the Czech Republic, as he launched a tirade against the perceived negative reputation of Team Canada amongst other national squads, and called rumours of dissent in the dressing room the result of “American propaganda”. “They’re loving us not doing well”, he said, referring to American hockey fans.^[158] American fans online began calling Gretzky a “crybaby”; defenders said he was merely borrowing a page from former coach Glen Sather to take the pressure off his players. Gretzky addressed those comments by saying he spoke out to protect the Canadian players, and the tirade was not “staged”.^[159] The Canadian team won the gold medal, its first in 50 years.^[160]Gretzky again acted as Executive Director of Canada’s men’s hockey team at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, though not with the success of 2002; the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals and failed to win a medal.^[161] He was asked to manage Canada’s team at the 2005 Ice Hockey World Championships, but declined due to his mother’s poor health.^[162]

Gretzky, Steve Nash, Nancy Greene and Catriona LeMay Doan participate in the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

Gretzky also served as an ambassador and contributor in Vancouver winning the bidding process to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. He went to Prague, Czech Republic and was part of the presentation team.^[163]Gretzky was the final Olympic torchbearer at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He was one of four who lit the cauldron at BC Place Stadium during the opening ceremony (although one was unable to due to technical difficulties with one of the cauldron’s “arms” which failed to raise) and then jogged out of the stadium, where he was then driven by police escorts through the streets of downtown Vancouver to light a second, outdoor cauldron near the Vancouver Convention Centre located in the city’s downtown waterfront district.^[164] Under IOC rules, the lighting of the Olympic cauldron must be witnessed by those attending the opening ceremony, implying that it must be lit at the location where the ceremony is taking place. Although another IOC rule states that the cauldron should be witnessed outside by the entire residents of the entire host city, this was not possible since the ceremony took place indoors. However, VANOC secretly built a second outdoor cauldron next to the West Building of the Vancouver Convention Centre, and Gretzky was secretly chosen to light this permanent cauldron.^[165] Quickly word spread through the downtown Vancouver area that Gretzky was indeed the final torchbearer, and very soon a crush of people came running after the police escort to cheer Gretzky on and hopefully catch a glimpse of him carrying the torch to the outdoor cauldron.^[166]For the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he was named Special Advisor to the Canada men’s national ice hockey team.^[167][edit] Heritage ClassicMain article: Heritage ClassicAlthough Gretzky had previously stated he would not participate in any “old-timers exhibition games”,^[168] on November 22, 2003, he took to the ice one last time to help celebrate the Edmonton Oilers’ 25th anniversary as an NHL team. The Heritage Classic, held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, was the first NHL game to be played outdoors.^[169] It was preceded by the Mega Stars game, which featured Gretzky and many of his Oiler Dynasty teammates against a group of retired Montreal Canadiens players (whose likes included Claude Lemieux, Guy Lafleur and others). Despite frigid temperatures, the crowd numbered 57,167, with an additional several million watching the game on television.^[170] The Edmonton alumni won the Megastars game 2–0,^[171] while Montreal went on to win the regular season game held later that day, 4–3.^[169] The game was subsequently released on DVD entitled Heritage Classic: A November to Remember.^[172][edit] Off the iceGretzky has made several TV appearances, including a Dance Fever celebrity judge, and an ‘unforgettable appearance’, acting in a dramatic role along side with Victor Newman in The Young and The Restless in 1981.^[173] In 1984, he travelled to the Soviet Union to film a television program on Russian goaltender Vladislav Tretiak.^[174] Gretzky hosted the Saturday Night Live comedy program in 1989.^[175] A fictional crime-fighting version of him served as one of the main characters in the cartoon ProStars in 1991.^[176][177] Gretzky has made over 40 movies, network television and video appearances as himself, according to IMDB, as of May 1, 2008.^[178][edit] FamilyWhile serving as a celebrity judge on Dance Fever, Gretzky met his future wife, American actress Janet Jones.^[179] According to Wayne, Janet does not recall him being on the show.^[179] They met regularly after that, but did not become a couple until 1987 when they ran into each other at a Los Angeles Lakers game that Wayne and Alan Thicke were attending.^[180] Wayne proposed in January 1988,^[181] and they were married on July 17, 1988 in a lavish ceremony the Canadian press dubbed “The Royal Wedding”.^[182] Broadcast live throughout Canada from Edmonton’s St. Joseph’s Basilica, members of the Fire Department acted as guards at the church steps. The event reportedly cost Gretzky over US$1 million.^[183]The couple have five children: Paulina Mary Jean (December 19, 1988), Ty Robert (July 9, 1990), Trevor Douglas (September 14, 1992), Tristan Wayne (August 2, 2000), and Emma Marie (March 28, 2003). Ty played hockey at Shattuck-Saint Mary’s,^[184] but quit, and returned home. He now attends Arizona State University. Trevor graduated from Oaks Christian High School, where he played baseball and varsity football, in 2011. He signed a letter of intent to play baseball at San Diego State University, currently coached by Hall of FamerTony Gwynn,^[185] and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2011 MLB draft. His teammates on the football team included wide receiver Trey Smith, son of Will Smith, and quarterback Nick Montana, son of former NFL quarterback Joe Montana.^[186][187] Gwynn told the Toronto Sun that Trevor had signed with the Cubs, a signing that was not immediately announced by the team, and thus would not play for him at San Diego State.^[185]