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To be given the tag of the great one in any sport is an achievement in itself. In cricket Michael Hussey was given the tag Mr Cricket however if you were to make a decent comparison to anyone in cricket Sachin Tendulkar or Sir Donald Bradman would probably be your man. Hockey however is decidedly different to cricket. In Rugby the 'great one' would probably depend on where you live in the world. Jonah Lomu comes to mind but so does Tim Horan for example. Again hockey is decidedly different to Rugby. I could carry on with comparisons but in Ice Hockey if you mention the 'great one' everybody knows just who you are talking about. In our beloved sport nobody around the world dares to even disrespect the number 99 by even wearing it at practice or in a game anymore. As with all things in this world there will always be a debate about who is the best but in the instance of Wayne Gretzky the numbers unfortunately do not lie.
Wayne Gretzky was born in the same place as Alexander Bell - the dude that invented the telephone - in 1961.By the age of 17, he was tearing up the Ontario Hockey League, scoring 182 points in 64 regular season games for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhouds. A year before he would have been eligible for the NHL draft, 17-year-old Wayne Gretzky signed up with the Indianapolis Racers of the WHA in 1978 for an unprecedented $825,000. After just 8 games, however, the hotshot prospect found himself traded to Edmonton, along with Peter Driscoll and Eddie Mio, in exchange for cash. The Racers were in deep financial trouble, and the move had to be made. In the 1981-82 campaign, Gretzky obliterated the record for goals in a season with an unthinkable 92 and points in a season with 212. No one else had ever broken the 200-point barrier, or even come close, but Gretzky would do it three more times. Even more impressive was his breach of hockey's mythical 50-goals-in-50-games barrier. Only two other players had ever achieved that milestone — Rocket Richard and Mike Bossy — and it took both the full 50 games to do it; Gretzky scored number 50 in the 39th game of the season.
When you watch Gretzky play one thing is obvious...he knew how to score. Coaches around the world search for what is referred to as a 'goal scorer'. Many coaches and players believe that it is one of the attributes which cannot be taught - you either have it, or you don't. In 99's case, he had it. Gretzky went on to be traded to the LA Kings and played for the Blues and the Rangers later on in his career. His NHL totals at the end of his NHL career read a staggering:
Games: 1487 Goals: 894 Assists: 1963 Totals points: 2857
If you have never watched Wayne Gretzky play ice hockey, do yourself a favour a watch. He had an uncanny ability to find space and anticipate where the puck would be before it got there.
Gusto Hockey salutes the great one #99.