Documentary on the greatest
NHL hockey player of all time:
Wayne Gretzky: the
Life and Times.
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC (born
January 26,
1961) is a
Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the
National Hockey League (NHL) for 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 point-scorer in
NHL history, with more assists than any other player has points, and is the only NHL player to total over
200 points in one season -- a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, he tallied over
100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 40 regular-season records, 15 playoff records, and six All-Star records. He won the
Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and performance five times, and he often spoke out against fighting in hockey.
Born and raised in
Brantford, Ontario,
Gretzky honed his skills at a backyard rink and regularly played minor hockey at a level far above his peers.
Despite his unimpressive stature, strength and speed, Gretzky's intelligence and reading of the game were unrivaled. He was adept at dodging checks from opposing players, and he could consistently anticipate where the puck was going to be and execute the right move at the right time. Gretzky also became known for setting up behind his opponent's net, an area that was nicknamed "Gretzky's office" because of his adept skills in that area.
In 1978, he signed with the
Indianapolis Racers of the
World Hockey Association (
WHA), where he briefly played before being traded to the
Edmonton Oilers. When the WHA folded, the Oilers joined the NHL, where he established many scoring records and led his team to four
Stanley Cup championships. His trade to the
Los Angeles Kings on August 9,
1988, had an immediate impact on the team's performance, eventually leading them to the
1993 Stanley Cup Finals, and he is credited with popularizing hockey in
California. Gretzky played briefly for the
St. Louis Blues before finishing his career with the
New York Rangers. Gretzky captured nine
Hart Trophies as the most valuable player, ten
Art Ross Trophies for most points in a season, five
Lady Byng Trophies, five
Lester B. Pearson Awards, and two
Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff
MVP.
After his retirement in 1999, he was immediately inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame, making him the most recent player to have the waiting period waived.
The NHL retired his jersey number 99 league-wide, making him the only player to receive this honour. He was one of six players voted to the
International Ice Hockey Federation's (
IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team. Gretzky became executive director for the Canadian national men's hockey team during the
2002 Winter Olympics, in which the team won a gold medal. In
2000, he became part owner of the
Phoenix Coyotes, and following the 2004--05
NHL lockout he became the team's head coach.
In September 2009, following the franchise's bankruptcy, Gretzky resigned as coach and relinquished his ownership share.
- published: 25 Oct 2013
- views: 165594