Hockey in Canada is rightfully considered the number one sport. Each city, even the smallest, has its own indoor ice rink. Each educational institution is represented by a hockey team. Accordingly, such a frenzied popularity of this sport gives rise to its idols. In Canada, the incredible Wayne Gretzky has become such a well-deserved one. Legend of the National Hockey League, a hockey player who has 61 personal records for his professional career. The hockey player’s nickname, received from the fans - the Great says a lot.
The first steps
The future hockey player Wayne Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961 in the small Canadian town of Brantford in the southwest of Ontario. Wayne's parents were far from sport, but the hockey boom that captured Canada in the 60s could not get past his family. In addition to popularity, hockey made it possible to earn very good money. Professional hockey players of that time received around $ 100,000 per season. And often parents tried to connect the lives of their children with professional sports.
The first hockey court in the life of little Wayne was in the backyard of his own house. And already from the age of three, dad began to put his son on skates. At the age of five, Gretzky Wayne played for the children's team in his city. And by the age of ten, the first popularity had come. The performance with which the young hockey player performed forced Canadian newspapers to write about the rise of a new hockey star. As time has shown, they were right.
Hockey Canada needed a new hero. The time of Gordy Howe and Bobby Ora was running out. The only season spent at the junior level confirmed the advances that Gretzky generously distributed. Wayne scored 70 goals in the Junior Team Su Greyhounds, who played in the Ontario Hockey League. It was obvious that Gretzky’s junior level had already outgrown. It remained to prove their viability at an adult level.
Professional career
In 1978, hockey North America was torn between two leagues: the World Hockey Association (WHA) and the National Hockey League (NHL). It was clear that hockey player Wayne Gretzky would continue his further career in one of them. To some extent, the point of age restriction when going on ice helped to determine the choice. In the NHL there was an age qualification, playing was allowed only after the age of 18. So there wasn’t much choice, and the first professional contract was signed with the BHA club - Indianapolis Racers. Amazed by the amount of the contract. To the 17-year-old hockey player, the club undertook to pay an amount in the region of 100 thousand dollars a month.
In May 1978, Wayne Gretzky made his debut in adult hockey. And already at the end of the month Gretzky was in another club. "Edmonton Oilers" has become exactly the club in which the young player turned into a world hockey star.
In 1979, a significant event took place in the life of North American hockey. Of the two big leagues, only the NHL remains afloat. Several clubs from the BHA, including Edmonton, are moving to the NHL.
Hockey experts were initially quite skeptical of Gretzky’s prospect in the NHL. The league promoted the power style of the game, and the leading players had quite impressive dimensions. Gretzky, with an increase of 182 centimeters and a weight of 80 kilograms, looked quite slender against their background. But already the first season in the NHL shamed all skeptics. Prize to the most valuable player of the season - 51 abandoned puck. Already in the first season, Gretzky Wayne became the youngest sniper to score 50 goals. At that time he was 19 years old and 2 months old.
The years spent by Gretzky as part of Edmonton were the best for both the player and the club. Four victories in the Stanley Cup, for 6 years in a row the team scored more than 100 points in the regular championship. And a huge number of individual prizes. But it all ends sometime ...
Career after Edmonton
In August 1988, the hockey world was shocked by the news of the sale of Wayne Gretzky. The next club of the great hockey player was the Los Angeles Kings, an outsider of the league. This transfer put an end to Gretzky’s hopes of winning another Stanley Cup. The composition of the “kings", even with the acquisition of Gretzky, did not allow to count on it.
The transition to another club did not affect the personal performance of the hockey player. He still scored a lot and assisted partners. But the maximum that the “kings" were able to achieve was to reach the final. Realizing that in Los Angeles you have to forget about champion ambitions, Gretzky Wayne asks for an exchange. And on February 27, 1996, he becomes a St. Louis Blues player. But in the semifinal series, the team loses to Detroit, and immediately after the end of the season, Wayne signs a contract with the New York Rangers. This club is the last in a successful hockey player career.
Gretzky Wayne: Number 99
Wayne Gretzky began his hockey career at number 19. As a child, Wayne's idol was the legendary Gordy Howe, who performed at number 9. In the first club, this number was busy, and the hockey player chose 19 numbers for himself. But at the insistence of the General Manager of the Greyhounds, after a while he changed it to 99.
In the NHL there is a tradition of withdrawing from circulation the numbers of players who left a noticeable mark in the history of the team. Wayne Gretzky’s number was retired by two teams: the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings. Later it was decided to completely remove the 99 number from circulation.
Wayne Gretzky: statistics
Wayne Gretzky's performance from the first season amazed everyone. During his career, Wayne scored 894 goals in the regular season and 122 goals in the playoff series. This result is a record in the NHL. Among the current players, you can’t also see those who could come close to the result of Gretzky. In addition to goals scored, he has 1963 assists, which is also the best result in league history. These indicators, together with the won titles, give an answer to the question of why Wayne Gretzky is called the Great.