Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky CCis a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey Leaguefor four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "The Great One", he has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters, players, and the NHL itself. He is the leading scorer in NHL history, with more goals and more assists than any other player. He scored more assists than any other player scored total points,...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionHockey Player
Date of Birth26 January 1961
CityBrantford, Canada
CountryCanada
I don't understand it. We played two tremendous games Thursday and Saturday. The success of this team is pretty simple. We're not a great goal-scoring machine, so if we think that we're going to play that way we're never going to be successful. The success this team has had is when it has played methodically well, sound defense and doesn't give any chances to the opposition.
One of the key qualities that you need to be a great hockey player is fantastic anticipation and feel for the game - if you know where the puck is going before it is hit, that is half the battle.
I knew at a young age, whether I was playing baseball or hockey or lacrosse, that my teammates were counting on me, whether it be to strike the last batter out in a baseball game or score a big goal in a hockey game.
Look at guys like Larry Bird and George Brett and John McEnroe; that's what they did in their careers. They all wanted to be the guy under the microscope late in the game or late in the match. So you just take on that know-how that that's part of your responsibility, and you learn that's what makes it exciting. That's what makes it fun!
People talk about skating, puck handling and shooting, but the whole sport is angles and caroms, forgetting the straight direction the puck is going, calculating where it will be directed, factoring in all the interruptions. Basically, my whole game is angles.
When emotions are high, things are said, things are done. Ultimately, these players want to play. I know too many of them love the game too much.
I don't think any one person will ever be bigger than the game.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.
The sad thing about this whole scenario is that Rick is a wonderful person and a great guy, so I hope everything works out in his favor. It's hard because I love the guy. He's a great guy, you know. I just hope it all works out for him.
Blake takes a nice shot, and I think that changed the momentum of the hockey game. We just couldn't find our way back into it.
The success of Team Canada got me interested in teaching again which is something I really enjoy doing,
Every game is a stepping stone to getting to the final game. We had a really good first period and all of a sudden the tide turned.
As I said seven days ago, it doesn't involve me. I'm not involved. I've said it for seven days, it's over and done with.
At the end of the day, everybody lost. We almost crippled our industry. It was very disappointing what happened.