Wayne Gretzky learned how to skate in a back yard rink. Wayne was born on January 26, 1961, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, of Russian and Polish descent. Wayne has an alternative name/nickname, "The Great One". In the 1983 NHL All-Star game, Wayne scored 4 goals in the third period, set three records, tied one, and won a car. On his first shift in a game in L.A., he’d been checked cleanly, fallen against the boards and felt something give in his right shoulder. A bruise, he thought. As the days went by, it got worse, they thought it might be a sprain. 2 days after the All-Star game, they X-rayed it. The shoulder wasn’t bruised and it wasn’t sprained. It was separated. They called it “Class 1”. He played with a separated shoulder. In 4 NHL years, he’d set 24 league records and shared 10 others.
Monday, December 17, 2007
focus paragraph
Wayne Gretzky learned how to skate in a back yard rink. Wayne was born on January 26, 1961, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, of Russian and Polish descent. Wayne has an alternative name/nickname, "The Great One". In the 1983 NHL All-Star game, Wayne scored 4 goals in the third period, set three records, tied one, and won a car. On his first shift in a game in L.A., he’d been checked cleanly, fallen against the boards and felt something give in his right shoulder. A bruise, he thought. As the days went by, it got worse, they thought it might be a sprain. 2 days after the All-Star game, they X-rayed it. The shoulder wasn’t bruised and it wasn’t sprained. It was separated. They called it “Class 1”. He played with a separated shoulder. In 4 NHL years, he’d set 24 league records and shared 10 others.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
quotes
- "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it is."
- "The only way a kid is going to practice is if it's total fun for him... and it was for me."
- "You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take."
- "The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it."
Post-retirement
- Gretzky was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 22, 1999, becoming the tenth player to bypass the three-year waiting period. The NHL then stated that he would be the last player to do so. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2000. In addition Gretzky's #99 was retired league-wide at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game.
- Later that year, he became Alternate Governor and Managing Partner of the Phoenix Coyotes NHL team. Rumours began regarding Gretzky becoming the head coach of the team, but were nixed by Gretzky and the rest of the Coyotes' ownership.
- on August 8 2005 Gretzky agreed to become the new coach of the Coyotes.
- Gretzky made his coaching debut on October 5, 2005, the opening night of the 2005-06 NHL season, losing 3-2 to the Vancouver Canucks. His first coaching victory was October 8, 2005, beating the Minnesota Wild 2-1.
- Gretzky took an indefinite leave of absence as coach on December 17, 2005 to care for his ill mother in Brantford, Ontario. His mother lost her battle to lung cancer two days later, passing away on December 19, 2005. Assistant coach Rick Tocchet assumed the position until Gretzky's return on December 28. Coyotes' CEO Jeff Shumway announced on June 5, 2006 that Gretzky has agreed to a new five-year contract to remain as head coach.
Off the ice
- Gretzky met American actress Janet Jones in 1984 when he was a judge on Dance Fever and she was a dancer on the show. They began dating after running into each other at a Los Angeles Lakers game in 1987.
- Janet was four months pregnant with Paulina when they married on July 17, 1988.
- "The Royal Wedding" was broadcast live throughout Canada from Edmonton's St. Joseph's Basilica, although neither Gretzky nor Jones is Roman Catholic. Members of the Fire Department acted as guards at the church steps. The lavish event reportedly cost Gretzky over US$1 million.
- They have 4 other children: Ty Robert (b. July 9, 1990), Trevor Douglas (b. September 14, 1992), Tristan Wayne (b. August 2 2000), and Emma Marie (b. March 28, 2003). Gretzky also obtained American citizenship after the marriage and currently resides in the United States. His son Ty lived with Wayne in Arizona during the 2005-06 NHL season while the other children lived with Janet in the family's Thousand Oaks Georgian home.
transactions
- June 12, 1978 - Signed as a free agent with the Indianapolis Racers
- November 2, 1978 - Traded by the Indianapolis Racers, along with Eddie Mio and Peter Driscoll, to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for $700,000 and future considerations.
- August 9, 1988 - Traded by the Edmonton Oilers, along with Mike Krushelnyski and Marty McSorley. to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, Los Angeles' 1989, 1991 and 1993 1st round draft choices and cash.
- February 27, 1996 - Traded by the Los Angeles Kings to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Roman Vopat, Craig Johnson, Patrice Tardif, St. Louis' 1996 5th round draft choice and St. Louis' 1997 1st round draft choice.
- July 21, 1996 - Signed as a free agent with the New York Rangers.
some more awards
-Lou Kaplan Trophy (WHA rookie of the year) — 1979
-Hart Memorial Trophy (most valuable player) — 1980–87, 1989
-Art Ross Trophy (scoring champion) — 1981–87, 1990, 1991, 1994
-Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff most valuable player) — 1985, 1988
-Lester B. Pearson Award (outstanding player, voted by the players) — 1982–85, 1987
-Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (sportsmanship) — 1980, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1999
-NHL Plus/Minus Award (best plus-minus rating) — 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987
-Chrysler-Dodge/NHL Performer of the Year – 1985–87
-Lester Patrick Trophy (outstanding service to hockey in the United States) — 1994
-Lou Marsh Trophy (Canadian athlete of the year) — 1982, 1983, 1985, 1989
-NHL All-Star Game MVP — 1983, 1989, 1999
-NHL First All-Star Team — 1981–87, 1991
-NHL Second All-Star Team — 1980, 1988–90, 1994, 1997, 1998
-In 1998, he was ranked number 1 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey -Players
-Officer of the Order of Canada
-First international recipient of the Horatio Alger Award
-Received star on Canada's Walk of Fame
more info
- Was born on January 26, 1961, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, of Russian and Polish descent.
- His father, Walter, had hoped himself to become a hockey player but was discouraged because of his size.
- Wayne displayed an early interest in skating and recieved his first pair of skates when he was 3 years old. He learned how to skate on the Ninth River near his grandfather's farm in Canning, Ontario, and at public rinks on weekends. But it was the rink built for him by his father behind the little house on Varadi Avenue in Brantford that recieve the acclaim of being the birthplace of his skating skills.
- He was only 6 years old when he saw his first year in organized hockey, scoring one goal, the lowest yearly total of his career. As a 9 year old in 1970-71 he scored 196 goals in 76 games, with 120 assists. The next year he scored 278 goals in 82 games.
- In 1972-73 he scored 105 goals in the major pee wee league, and in 1974-75 he scored 90 goals in the major bantam league.
- During his career Gretzky, a left-handed shooting center, developed a style that was as distinctive as it was exciting to watch. Listed in the program as 6 feet and 170 pounds, he always stayed away from fights, preferring to drift and glide around the ice.
- In becoming the leading scorer in NHL history, he set a new record for assists (more than 1,300) in just 12 seasons. In 1989, he passed his idol Gordie Howe's all-time point record of 1,850. Howe supported Gretzky, according to Maclean's and called Gretzky "a great kid," and "great for hockey."
- He was centre and captain for the Edmonton Oilers (1979-88), he lead the team to 4 Stanley Cup Victories, becoming the first player to average more then 2 points a game.
- He was traded successively to the Los Angeles Kings (1988), the St. Louis Blues (1996), and the New York Rangers (1996). When he ended his career in 1999, he held 61 National Hockey League (NHL) records. He holds the all-time NHL records for goals (894), assists (1,963), and points (2,857), as well as corresponding seasonal records (92 goals, 163 assists, 215 points). He is the only player to have led the league in scoring for seven consecutive years (1980 – 87) and the only one named most valuable player for eight consecutive seasons (1979 – 87).
- Wayne has a altenative name or a nickname and it is "The Great One".
- His 47 playoff points in 1985 and 31 assists in 1988 are still records for a single post-season round, and he holds the record for career playoff goals (122), assists (260), points (382), hat tricks (10), and game winning goals (24).
- Gretzky set impressive records in both regular season and post-season play, holding the record for most career regular season goals (894), assists (1,963), points (2,857), and hat tricks (50).
- The regular season records include most goals in a season (92), most assists in a season (163), and most points in a season (215). He also holds the record for the fastest 50 goals, accomplishing that feat in only 39 games and the record for most goals in a 50 game period (61, which he accomplished twice). In 1983-84, he had a 51-game point-scoring streak that has been compared to "Joltin' Joe" DiMaggio's streak in baseball, during which he scored 61 goals and received credit for 92 assists (153 points).