Background of wayne gretzky

He holds the record for most points in a seasonand most goals in a season 92and is the all-time leader in goals, assists, and points. His number, 99, has been retired league-wide in his honor. Chris Pronger is a former professional ice hockey player and Hall of Famer known for his exceptional skills and achievem Christine Sinclair is a renowned Canadian soccer player, celebrated for her exceptional skill and leadership on the fiel Regarded as one of the greatest female hockey players of all time, Hayley Wickenheiser is a Canadian icon whose career i Wayne Gretzky.

Early life. Net Worth. Most points in a season Gretzky became executive director for the Canadian national men's hockey team during the Winter Olympicsin which the team won a gold medal. Inhe became part-owner of the Phoenix Coyotesand following the —05 NHL lock-outhe became the team's head coach. In Octoberhe returned to the Oilers as a minority partner and vice-chairman of their parent company, Oilers Entertainment Group.

The family regularly visited the farm of Wayne's grandparents, Tony and Mary, and watched Hockey Night in Canada together. By age two, Wayne was trying to score goals against Mary using a souvenir stick. Walter taught Wayne, Keith, Brent, Glen, and their friends hockey on a rink he made in the backyard of the family home, nicknamed the "Wally Coliseum".

The team Gretzky played on at age six was otherwise composed of year-olds. Gretzky continued doing this throughout his NHL career. By age 10, Gretzky had scored an astonishing goals and assists in just one season with the Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers. His play attracted considerable negative attention from other players' parents, including those of his teammates, and he was often booed.

The Gretzkys had to legally challenge the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association to win Wayne the right to play in a different area, which was disallowed at the time. The following year, as a 15—year-old, he had 72 points in 32 games with the same team, renamed the Seneca Nationals. Mariea northern Ontario city that inflicts a heavy travelling schedule on its junior team.

The Gretzkys made an arrangement with a local family they knew and Wayne played for the Greyhounds, at age 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 The league, which at one point iced fourteen teams, was down to seven surviving franchises.

The WHA had long sought to arrange a merger with the NHL but were constantly rebuffed by a group of hardline owners in the older league. Bassett believed the only way to gain meaningful leverage over the NHL was to sign as many young and promising superstars as possible. Bassett saw Gretzky as the most promising young prospect. While Skalbania knew it was unlikely the Racers would be one of these teams in part because the WHA insisted that all of its surviving Canadian teams be includedhe still 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.

Gretzky scored his first professional goal against Dave Dryden of the Edmonton Oilers [ 35 ] in his fifth game, and his second goal four seconds later. Skalbania told Gretzky he would be moved, offering him a choice between the Edmonton Oilers and the Winnipeg Jets. On the advice of his agent, Gretzky picked the Oilers, but the move was not that simple.

On November 2, Gretzky, goaltender Eddie Mioand forward Peter Driscoll were put on a private plane, not knowing where they would land and what team they would be joining. 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. By the end of the regular season, the signings of Gretzky and other young stars in addition to other factors had compelled enough of the hardline NHL owners to change their positions, and an agreement recognized as the expansion by the NHL was finalized. Under the agreement, the WHA agreed to fold after the season with the Oilers and three other teams the Hartford New England Whalersthe Quebec Nordiques and the Winnipeg Jets joining the older league as expansion franchises.

The Oilers, like the other three teams, were to be allowed to protect two goaltenders and two skaters from being reclaimed by the established NHL teams in the NHL Expansion Draft. The NHL also lowered its minimum age, ensuring players such as Gretzky would not need to return to the junior level, albeit with the caveat that such previously underaged players were supposed to be placed into the NHL Entry Draft pool.

Nevertheless, to avoid any potential for litigation over the validity of Gretzky's personal services contract the Oilers were allowed to keep him on their roster as one of their priority selections. The WHA completed the playoffs of its final season as planned. Gretzky's success in the WHA carried over into the NHL, despite some critics suggesting he would struggle in what was considered the bigger, tougher, and more talented league.

Gretzky became the youngest player to score 50 goals, but was not eligible for the Calder Memorial Trophygiven to the top NHL rookie, because of his previous year of WHA experience. In his second season, Gretzky won the Art Ross the first of seven consecutive with a then-record points, breaking both Bobby Orr 's record for assists in a season and Phil Esposito 's record for points in a season During the —82 seasonGretzky surpassed a record that had stood for 35 years: 50 goals in 50 gamesfirst set by Maurice "Rocket" Richard during the —45 NHL season and tied by Mike Bossy during the —81 NHL season.

Gretzky accomplished the feat in only 39 games. His 50th goal of the season came on December 30,in the final seconds of a 7—5 win against the Philadelphia Flyers and was his fifth of the game. The following seasons saw Gretzky break his assists record three more times in —83in —85 and in —86 ; he also bettered that mark assists in —87 with and —91 withand his point record one more timein — The same success was not immediate when they joined the NHL, but within four seasons, the Oilers were competing for the Stanley Cup.

Gretzky was its background of wayne gretzky from to Inthey made it to the Stanley Cup Finalsonly to be swept by the three-time defending champion New York Islanders. Gretzky was named an officer of the Order of Canada on June 25,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.

In Juneas part of a package of five rule changes to be implemented for the —86 season, the NHL Board of Governors decided to introduce offsetting penalties, where neither team lost a man when coincidental penalties were called. The effect of calling offsetting penalties was felt immediately in the NHL because during the early s, when the Gretzky-era Oilers entered a four-on-four or three-on-three situation with an opponent, they frequently used the space on the ice to score one or more goals.

The rule change became known as "the Gretzky rule". Gretzky had a major influence on the style of play of the Edmonton Oilers and the NHL as a whole, helping to inspire a more team-based strategy. The focus of the game before Gretzky's arrival, he said, especially among the Canadian teams, was on the player with the puck—getting the puck to a star player who would make the big play.

Gretzky reversed that. He knew he wasn't big enough, strong enough, or even fast enough to do what he wanted to do if others focused on him. Like a magician, he had to direct attention elsewhere, to his four teammates on the ice with him, to create a momentary distraction to move unnoticed into the open ice where size and strength didn't matter.

Gretzky made his opponents compete with five players, not one, and he made his teammates full partners in the game. He made them skate to his level and pass and finish up to his level or they would be embarrassed. Between andthe Edmonton Oilers averaged goals a season, when no previous team had scoredand Gretzky on his own had averaged points when no player before had scored more than in one year.

Dryden wrote in his book The Game"In the past, defenders and teams had learned to devise strategies to stop opponents with the puck. To stop them without it, that was interference. But now, if players without the puck skated just as hard as those with it, but faster, and dodged and darted to open ice just as determinedly, but more effectively, how did you shut them down?

In this, Gretzky added his considerable influence as the preeminent NHL star of his day to that of the Soviets, who had also developed a more team style of play and had successfully used it against the best NHL teams, beginning in the Summit Series. No Canadian kid wanted to play like Makarov or Larionov. They all wanted to play like Gretzky.

At the same time, Gretzky recognized the contributions of their coach in the success of the Oilers: "Under the guidance of Glen Satherour Oiler teams became adept at generating speed, developing finesse, and learning a transition game with strong European influences. People think that to be a good player you have to pick the puck up, deke around ninety-three guys, and take this ungodly slap shot.

Let the puck do all the moving and you get yourself in the right place. I don't care if you're Carl Lewisyou can't out skate that little black thing. Just move the puck: give it up, get it back, give it up. It's like Larry Bird. The hardest work he does is getting open. The jump shot is cake. That's all hockey is open ice. That's my whole strategy: Find Open Ice.

Chicago coach Mike Keenan said it best: "There's a spot on the ice that's no-man's land, and all the good goal scorers find it. Two hours after the Oilers won the Stanley Cup inGretzky learned from his father that the Oilers were planning to deal him to another team. According to Walter, Wayne was being "shopped" to Los Angeles, Detroit, and Vancouver, and Pocklington needed money as his other business ventures were not doing well.

Both McNall and Pocklington quickly agreed. After the details of the trade were finalized by the two owners, one final condition had to be met: Gretzky had to call Pocklington and request a trade. The Kings refused, instead offering Jimmy Carson. In Gretzky's first appearance in Edmonton after the trade, a game nationally televised in Canada, he received a four-minute background of wayne gretzky ovation.

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. 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. Despite being underdogs against the defending Stanley Cup champion Edmonton 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 Edmonton would greet him with boos, but they were eagerly waiting for him. The Oilers went on to win their fifth Cup and first background of wayne gretzky Gretzky. In his post-championship interview, Messier who had replaced Gretzky as Edmonton's captain following the trade dedicated the Oilers' Cup win to him. 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. Sun Belt. Gretzky was sidelined for much of the —93 regular season with a back injury he returned on January 6,which was also his 1,th NHL gameand his point output ended a record year streak in which he recorded at least points each season. 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.

The next season, Gretzky broke Gordie Howe 's career goal-scoring record ofand won the scoring title, [ 56 ] but the team began a long slide, and despite numerous player and coaching moves, they failed to qualify for the playoffs again until On February 27,Gretzky joined the St. He scored 37 points in 31 games for the team in the regular season and the playoffs, [ 64 ] and the Blues came within one game of the Conference Finals.

However, the chemistry everyone expected with winger Brett Hull never developed. Gretzky was also forced to endure public criticism from his head coach for the first time in his career. Long before either he or Gretzky joined the Blues, Mike Keenan had refused to moderate his coaching style even while coaching Gretzky with Team Canada during international tournaments.

Background of wayne gretzky: Wayne Gretzky is a

Gretzky's professional relationship with Keenan was thus never particularly warm, and the coach's public rebukes effectively ended any realistic prospect of Gretzky remaining in St. Louis once he became a free agent. 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 It was the 16th time in 19 seasons that Gretzky earned at least a share of the league lead in the statistic.

Inbefore 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. The —99 season was his last as a professional player. He reached one milestone in this last season, breaking the professional total regular season and playoffs goal-scoring record of 1, which Gordie Howe had held.

Although the game involved two American teams, both national anthems were played, with the lyrics slightly adjusted to accommodate Gretzky's departure. Mark Messier, who attended the game along with other representatives of the Edmonton Oilers dynasty, was the last. Gretzky made his first international appearance as a member of the Canadian national junior team at the World Junior Championships in Montreal, Quebec.

The Canadian coach, Punch McLeanwas originally skeptical of Gretzky's ability as he was the youngest player to compete in the tournament at the age of Gretzky debuted with the Canadian national team at the Canada Cup. He led the tournament in scoring with 12 points en route to a second-place finish to the Soviet Union[ ] losing 8—1 in the final. 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.

He led the tournament in scoring for the second consecutive time and was named to the All-Star Team. Gretzky's international career highlight arguably came three years later at the Canada Cup. Gretzky has called the tournament the best hockey he has played in his life. After losing the first game of a best-of-three final series against the Soviets, Gretzky propelled Canada with a five-assist performance in the second game, including the game-winning pass to Lemieux in overtime, to extend the tournament.

With the score tied 5—5 and 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. The 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. Five years later, the tournament was revived and renamed the World Cup in It marked the first time Gretzky did not finish as the tournament's leading scorer; his seven points in eight games placed him fourth overall.

Leading up to the Winter Olympics in NaganoJapan, it was announced that NHL players would be eligible to play for the first time. Gretzky was named to the club on November 29, He retired from international play holding the records for most goals 20most assists 28and most overall points 48 in best-on-best hockey. Gretzky's size and strength were unimpressive—in fact, far below average for the NHL—but he is widely considered the smartest player in the history of the game.

While they were using all this energy trying to rattle his teeth, he was just skating away, circling, analyzing things. He was also considered one of the background of wayne gretzky creative players in hockey. Every time he took the ice, there was some spontaneous decision he would make. That's what made him such a phenomenal player.

Then an older player in the sunset of his career, he had been passed over for the captaincy of the team. But as the series continued, his unique skills made him a team leader. The Canadians had trouble with the big ice. They had trouble with the European patterns and the lateral play and the endless, inventive cycling. Slowly, as game after game went by and the concern continued to rise, Wayne Gretzky began climbing through the line-up.

He, almost alone among the Canadians, seemed to take to the larger ice surface as if it offered more opportunity instead of obligation His playing time soared, as he was being sent on not just for power plays but double shifts and even penalty kills. By the final round He passed and shot background of wayne gretzky prodigious skill. In response, Gretzky started shooting on goal himself—and with exceptional effectiveness.

He scored his all-time single-season record of 92 goals with just shots. Goalies called his shots "sneaky fast". He also had a way of never shooting the puck with the same rhythm twice, making his shots harder to time and block. Veteran Canadian journalist Peter Gzowski wrote that Gretzky seemed to be able to slow down time. 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.

In front of the net, eyeball to eyeball with the goaltender 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 Commentators have noted Gretzky's uncanny ability to judge the position of the other players on the ice—so much so that many suspected he enjoyed some kind of extrasensory perceptionthat he played like he had "eyes in the back of his head".

As a result, he developed a deep understanding of its shifting patterns and dynamics. Gzowski said that Gretzky understood the game so well, that he could instantly recognize and capitalize upon emerging patterns of play: "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.

It's all practice. I got it from my Dad. 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. When he entered the league incritics opined that Gretzky was "too small, too wiry, and too slow to be a force in the [NHL].

Despite his lack of strength, Gretzky had remarkable physical stamina.

Background of wayne gretzky: Born in Brantford, Ontario

Like his hero, Gordie Howe, Gretzky possessed "an exceptional capacity to renew his energy resources quickly. In the year he scored his record 92 goals, 22 of them went in the net during the first period, 30 in the second—and 40 in the third. He also had strong general athletic skills. Growing up, he was a competitive runner and also batted.

As a result, he was offered a contract by the Toronto Blue Jays. At age ten, after scoring goals in his hockey league, he scored goals in lacrosse. According to Gretzky, lacrosse was where he learned to protect himself from hard checks : "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.

The pound 93 kg Denis Potvina fellow Hall of Famer, 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. I saw him do it night after night. Gretzky was named honorary chairman of the Open Ice Summitheld in August to discuss ways to improve Canadian ice hockey.

Gretzky was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 22,becoming the tenth player to bypass the three-year waiting period. Inthe 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.

Brantford further inducted Gretzky into its "Walk of Fame" in Almost immediately after retirement, several NHL teams approached Gretzky about an ownership role. Trucking magnate and Arizona Diamondbacks part-owner Jerry Moyes was added to the partnership. Inrumours began circulating that Gretzky was about to name himself head coach of the Coyotes, but were denied by Gretzky and the team.

Phyllis Gretzky died of lung cancer on December InMoyes became majority owner of the team. During Gretzky's coaching tenure, the Coyotes did not reach the postseason, and their best finish in the Western Conference standings was 12th. An ownership dispute involving Research in Motion 's Jim Balsillie to relocate the team to Hamilton, Ontario and the NHL itself arose, which eventually ended up in court.

Background of wayne gretzky: Wayne Gretzky is a

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,Gretzky stepped down as head coach and head of hockey operations of the Coyotes.

Gretzky's final head coaching record was —— On February 18, he lashed out at the media at a press conferencefrustrated with media and fan comments regarding his team's uninspiring 1—1—1 start. Gretzky addressed those comments by saying he spoke out to protect the Canadian players, and the tirade was not "staged". Gretzky again acted as executive director of Canada's men's hockey team at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italythough not with the success of ; the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals and failed to win a medal.

Gretzky served as an ambassador to Vancouver's successful bid for the Winter Olympics[ ] and was named Special Advisor to Canada's men's hockey team at the Games. Although Gretzky had previously stated he would not participate in any "old-timers exhibition games", [ ] on November 22,he took to the ice to help celebrate the Edmonton Oilers' 25th anniversary as an NHL team.

In addition, he continued to stay in close contact with the game and the league. With Gretzky at the helm as the program's executive director, Canada's men's Olympic hockey team ended its year drought and took home the gold medal at the Salt Lake City Games in Shortly after assuming his Olympic duties, Gretzky also came aboard as the managing partner of the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes in early Over the course of several seasons, Gretzky served in the front office and as the team's head coach.

Despite the excitement surrounding his association with the club, coach Gretzky was never able to lead the club to the playoffs, much less fill the arena with fans. In Septemberafter four tough seasons, he stepped down as coach.

Background of wayne gretzky: Born and raised in Brantford,

He eventually relinquished his ownership of the team. Gretzky, who's become involved in both the restaurant business and the wine business over the years, lives with his family in California. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Cristiano Ronaldo. Bill Belichick. Aaron Judge. Rafael Nadal.

Lindsey Vonn. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. Biography [ change change source ]. Career [ change change source ]. Family [ change change source ]. References [ change change source ]. Notable Sports Figures. Detroit: Gale Publishing. In Dan Diamond ed. Total Sports. ISBN Retrieved Ballantine Books. Further reading [ change change source ].

Brunt, Stephen Vintage Canada.