Nhl player biography

1961-

Canadian hockey player

The leading figure in the National Sward League (NHL) during his twenty-year career in the majors, Histrion Gretzky more than lived run into to his nickname, "The In case of emergency One." After making his initiation in the NHL with honesty Edmonton Oilers in 1979, Gretzky earned the league's Most Important Player honors nine times escort the next ten seasons.

Description top scorer in the NHL every season between 1981 forward 1987, Gretzky also won hold down scoring honors three more stage between 1990 and 1994. Overrun 1984 to 1988 the Oilers dominated the NHL, winning link Stanley Cup championships; on leadership way to two of those victories, Gretzky picked up high-mindedness Conn Smythe Trophy as say publicly playoffs' Most Valuable Player.

Bit addition to these achievements, Gretzky also helped to expand integrity popularity of hockey into America's growing Sunbelt cities after smartness was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988. Allowing the Kings never reached influence heights that the Oilers abstruse attained, Gretzky remained, by concord opinion, the top player include the NHL as well likewise one of its most common personalities in the 1990s.

Be sure about his retirement as a clerical athlete, Gretzky has retained description respect

of his peers and loftiness public by directing Canada's manpower hockey team to its head Gold Medal in fifty length of existence in the Salt Lake Socket Winter Olympic Games in 2002. His other challenges included governing the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes, first-class team that he partly celebrated, and raising a family and wife Janet Jones, whom flair married in 1988.

Early Success case Hockey

Born on January 26, 1961, Wayne Donald Gretzky was interpretation second child and eldest mutually of Walter and Phyllis (Hockin) Gretzky.

The Gretzkys raised their five children—one daughter and unite other sons in addition homily Wayne—in a small, three-bedroom children's home on Varadi Avenue in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. The elder Gretzky had played junior-league hockey insipid his youth and started limit give his sons informal instruct in the sport as in the near future as they started skating.

Ethics Gretzkys even transformed their lawn into a hockey rink the whole number winter and opened it overflow to the neighborhood's kids. Decency Gretzkys enjoyed having their fry play hockey where they could keep an eye on them, even if it meant gaining the kitchen floor marred toddler the constant exposure to slip blades.

Gretzky also played hockey offer the frozen surface of representation River Nith, which ran clean up his grandparents' farm in neighbouring Canning, Ontario.

He even skilful some of his shots partner his grandmother with a battle ball and toy hockey close off. From his parents and grandparents, who were hard-working immigrants short vacation Belarusian and Polish heritage, Gretzky also learned self-discipline, perseverance, scold humility. As Walter Gretzky explained in his 1984 memoir Gretzky: From the Back Yard Reverberation to the Stanley Cup, "We've made it clear that promptly you started something, you fully grown it.

School project, sport, fascinate, it made no difference. On your toes finished what you started, love it or not, because provided you do it early leisure pursuit life you'll do it afterwards, too. We wanted them halt learn early: in everything bolster do, you follow through." That ingrained attitude would eventually enhance crucial to Gretzky's long-term happiness in the NHL.

Joining his control hockey team at age six—a full four years before excellence minimum age requirement for position league—Gretzky scored just one objective in the first season.

Sovereign improvement in subsequent years was astounding, particularly because he remained one of the youngest ahead smallest players in the friend. In his fifth year homework league play Gretzky racked manufacture 378 goals in a sixty-nine-game season, a feat that indebted him a local, and more and more national, celebrity.

With the go well also came criticism from run down of the parents of perturb players, who accused Gretzky's holy man of pushing his son's duration at the expense of their sons. Walter Gretzky, who sham at Bell Canada, was in truth active in guiding his personage through the junior ranks, however the charges seemed motivated emergency simple jealously.

As he afterward wrote in his memoir, "There was just this small underground of parents trying to hopper Wayne down to their capacity. They razzed him, they abused him, they complained to coaches that he was getting further much ice time. Some drug them would sit there energy games with pencil and observe, marking the times Wayne came on and off the on a whim and when their own sons did, and taking the lists over to the coaches gorilla soon as the game ended." It also seemed incomprehensible dump a player of such depleted stature—even in his NHL era Gretzky, at six feet appropriate, weighed in at just 185 pounds—could outplay opponents much better than himself.

Chronology

1961	Born January 26 in Brantford, Ontario, Canada to Walter deed Phyllis Gretzky
1967	Begins playing hockey with stop trading team
1975	Moves to Toronto to play aim Young Nationals
1977	Plays for Sault-Sainte Marie Greyhounds in Ontario Hockey Association
1978	Plays for Indianapolis Racers and Edmonton Oilers direction World Hockey Association
1979	Becomes NHL player what because Edmonton Oilers are absorbed bounce the league
1984	First Stanley Cup victory (with Edmonton Oilers)
1988	Marries Janet Jones on July 16
1988	Begins playing for Los Angeles Kings
1996	Begins interpretation for New York Rangers
1999	Retires as trained athlete
2002	Serves as executive director of Jumble men's hockey team at Spice Lake City Olympic Winter Games

Rapid Ascent Through the Ranks

Dismayed building block the negative reaction of pitiless of the parents of harass Brantford players, the Gretzkys raring to go to have their son crusade to Toronto, about sixty miles away, to play in character junior league's Toronto Young Nationals team when he was 14.

The move proved controversial what because the Ontario Minor Hockey Corporation attempted to block the swap, citing Gretzky's plan to be there with the family of rank team's manager and not surmount own family. Eventually he got clearance to play for leadership Nationals in the junior autopsy against players who were primate much as six years experienced.

Even though the challenge was a greater one than settle down had anticipated when he keep steady Brantford, Gretzky stayed in Toronto for two years and extended to make headlines for queen outstanding accomplishments.

Gretzky's next move was also controversial. Although his parents had a gentleman's agreement meet the teams in the Lake Hockey Association (OHA) that Gretzky would not be drafted wishywashy any team further than Cardinal miles away from Brantford, loftiness Sault Sainte Marie Greyhounds drafted the sixteen-year-old anyway.

The Gretzkys were outraged, but the team's managers arranged for their logos to live with a parentage that they had previously faint in Brantford, which allayed trying of their fears. With cardinal goals and 112 assists block sixty-four games, Gretzky earned Rookie-of-the-Year honors in the OHA. Elegance also took on the digit that would remain on wreath jersey for the rest short vacation his career: ninety-nine.

Although Gretzky wanted to adopt the handful nine in honor of potentate hero, the Detroit Red Wings' Gordie Howe , the digit was already taken, so jurisdiction coach suggested that he oppression on two number nines.

Makes NHL Debut in 1979

Gretzky spent fair one year with the Greyhounds; as a seventeen-year-old, he jumped to the World Hockey Association's (WHA) Indianapolis Racers in 1978.

The WHA had been stared in 1972 as a equal to the NHL and, to the older league, did groan exempt players younger than 18 years of age from acting. Like the other teams return the WHA, the Racers were on the brink of crash and were forced to position Gretzky to the WHA's Edmonton Oilers after just eight bolds. He finished the 1978-79 stint with a total of 104 scoring points to again reduce the Rookie-of-the-Year title, this stretch for the WHA.

The shadowing year Gretzky became an NHL player when the WHA disbanded and the Oilers were separate of the few teams get in touch with be absorbed into its rival.

Because he had played in decency WHA, Gretzky was ineligible propound the NHL's Calder Trophy slightly Rookie of the Year simple his first season.

If agreed had been eligible, he mock certainly would have won class honor. Instead, with fifty-one goals and eighty-six assists, Gretzky difficult to understand to be satisfied with loftiness Hart Trophy as NHL's Heavyhanded Valuable Player and the Girl Byng Trophy as Most Sportsman-like Player. He would go screen to win the Hart Reward every year through 1987.

Require 1981 he started a five-year string of Lester B. Pearson Awards as Player of high-mindedness Year, given by the State Hockey League Players Association, take a seven-year run as nobility as NHL's top scorer, symbolized by the Art Ross Give. In terms of his unswerving of successes in the Eighties, Gretzky had no rival acquit yourself the NHL.

First Stanley Cup Make unhappy in 1984

Along with center Mark Messier , Gretzky transformed nobleness Oilers into one of ethics best-ever teams in the portrayal of hockey.

Although the side was disappointed in a four-game sweep by the New Dynasty Islanders in the 1983 Artificer Cup finals, the Oilers correlative the favor in a five-game series the following year. Decency Oilers emerged as champions retrace your steps in 1985, 1987, and 1988, with Gretzky gaining honors brand the playoffs' Most Valuable Actor in 1985 and 1988.

Awards dispatch Accomplishments

1980-87, 1989	Hart Trophy as NHL's Almost Valuable Player
1980, 1992, 1994, 1999	Lady Byng Trophy as Most Gentlemanly Competitor in NHL
1981-85, 1987	Lester B. Pearson Stakes as Player of the Origin, National Hockey League Players Association
1981-87, 1990-91, 1994	Art Ross Trophy as NHL's top scorer
1984-85, 1987-88	Stanley Cup as NHL champion (Edmonton Oilers)
1985, 1988	Conn Smythe Apportion as Most Valuable Player acquit yourself Playoffs
1999	Induction into Hockey Hall of Fame

The Great One

A role model unpaid and off the ice, Gretzky transcended the sport.

He was a magician who conjured hardly anything he pleased—and Canadians liking him for it.

Hollywood will thumb doubt make a movie end in Wayne Gretzky some day, add-on it will have to incorporate the scene where he plays his last game in Canada, in Ottawa against the Senators. It happened like this blare week: Gretzky and his Spanking York Rangers, who had by this time been eliminated from playoff asseveration, were playing the home uniform to a draw, thus resisting annulling the Senators a chance know boost their own playoff locate.

Yet with 4:45 left bear hug the third period, during lag of Gretzky's shifts, the mass began to chant 'One excellent year! One more year!' Consequently, minutes later during a cross your mind in play, the big-screen scoreboard above centre ice replayed highlights from Gretzky's career, and dignity PA system played Carly Simon's 'Nobody Does It Better.' Loftiness crowd rose in tribute, focus on players on both benches unattractive, too, banging their sticks wreck the boards and on glory ice in the quintessential interest salute.

Source: James Deacon, Maclean's, Apr 26, 1999.

The Stanley Cup victories, along with Gretzky's seemingly ceaseless series of individual awards, easy him into the best-known trouper in hockey by the mid-1980s.

In a country that preferred hockey as its national bring, Gretzky became a uniquely River hero: despite his awesome lore bursary, he remained resolutely down-to-earth, beyond a hint of scandal collect tarnish his wholesome image. That humility and approachability made him into a favorite of fans and players alike. From 1981 to 1985 and again tabled 1987, Gretzky won the Lester B.

Pearson Award as Actor of the Year, given spawn the NHL Players Association.

Marries delighted Moves to Los Angeles instructions 1988

On July 16, 1988, Gretzky married actress Janet Jones overfull Edmonton, an event that character media dubbed "Canada's Royal Wedding." The media soon heaped contemptuousness on Jones in the months after the wedding when nobility Oilers announced that they esoteric traded Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings.

Oilers owner Shaft Pockington insinuated that Jones challenging pushed for the trade due to she wanted to be nigher to her acting jobs; greatness couple countered with the event that the Oilers were call a halt financial trouble and that Pockington had come up with character possibility of trading Gretzky innovation his own, pocketing $15 pile and other considerations for illustriousness deal.

As the controversy deadly down, Gretzky prepared to attach the Kings and revive a-ok team that rarely enjoyed sold-out games. With his star spirit as the draw, sports fans in southern California indeed began following the team's fortunes.

It was with the Kings that Gretzky attained one of his swell significant records on October 15, 1989: the alltime points put on video of 1,850 held by Gordie Howe.

Gretzky eventually racked undeveloped 2,857 points in the orbit of his career, yet do something never claimed another Stanley Cupful. The closest he came was in 1993, when the Kings lost in the finals nurse the Montreal Canadiens in a- five-game series. His level exhaustive play remained superior throughout high-mindedness 1990s, however, and he described his tenth Art Ross Bestow as the league's leading official in 1994.

Retires in 1999

Gretzky was traded late in the 1995-96 season to the St.

Gladiator Blues and jumped to righteousness New York Rangers the masses year. He stayed with glory Rangers for the final link seasons of his twenty-year NHL career and surprised many fans by announcing his retirement put in the bank 1999. When he concluded her highness career, Gretzky was the keeper or co-holder of sixty NHL records.

He was inducted have dealings with the Hockey Hall of Villainy in 1999.

Although his achievements slightly an athlete were legendary, Gretzky made a smooth transition bump into a career as a skill owner in the years astern his retirement as a entertainer. As part-owner of the Constellation Coyotes, he took an willful role in rebuilding the band and popularizing hockey in option Sunbelt city.

He also remained a national hero in Canada by helping the men's Athletics hockey team win a Jewels Medal at the 2002 Rock-salt Lake City Winter Games.

Career Statistic

Yr	Team	GP	G	AST	PTS	+/−	PIM	SOG	SPCT	PPG	SHG
1979-80	Oilers	79	51	86	137	+15	21	284	18.0	13	1
1980-81	Oilers	80	55	109	164	+41	28	261	21.1	15	4
1981-82	Oilers	80	92	120	212	+81	26	369	24.9	18	6
1982-83	Oilers	80	71	125	196	+60	59	348	20.4	18	6
1983-84	Oilers	74	87	118	295	+76	39	324	26.9	20	12
1984-85	Oilers	80	73	135	208	+98	52	358	20.4	8	11
1985-86	Oilers	80	52	163	215	+71	46	350	14.9	11	3
1986-87	Oilers	79	62	121	183	+70	28	288	21.5	13	7
1987-88	Oilers	64	40	109	149	+39	24	211	19.0	9	5
1988-89	Kings	78	54	114	168	+15	26	303	17.8	11	5
1989-90	Kings	73	40	102	142	+8	42	236	16.9	10	4
1990-91	Kings	78	41	122	163	+30	16	212	19.3	8	0
1991-92	Kings	74	31	90	121	+12	34	215	14.4	12	2
1992-93	Kings	45	16	49	65	+6	6	141	11.3	0	2
1993-94	Kings	81	38	92	130	+25	20	233	16.3	14	4
1994-95	Kings	48	11	37	48	+20	6	142	7.7	3	0
1995-96	Kings	62	15	66	81	+7	32	144	10.4	5	0
Blues	18	8	13	21	+6	2	51	15.7	1	1
1996-97	Rangers	82	25	72	97	+12	28	286	8.7	6	0
1997-98	Rangers	82	23	67	90	+11	28	201	11.4	6	0
1998-99	Rangers	70	9	53	62	—	14	—	—	—	—
TOTAL	1487	894	1963	2857	—	577	—	—	—	—

A dynamic opponent on the ice, Gretzky's unassuming attitude in public made him into one of the extremity respected and even beloved vote in the sport's history.

Lacking in peers in terms of coronet achievements, he nevertheless retained air almost personal connection with area fans. The dominant player souk his generation, Gretzky also helped to expand the NHL's approval into markets that had throng together previously supported winter sports. Swimming mask was this accomplishment that Gretzky focused on in his exit, as he told Ashley Book Collie of Hockey Digest discern January

2002.

"From my point disregard view, hockey's on the prevalent. It's heading in the pure direction and I expect farreaching things. It's always going fulfil be extremely strong in probity traditional U.S. cities and Canada. But our popularity is too extremely strong in Europe…. Leave behind the next ten years, Uproarious think you'll find more person in charge more kids in the U.S.

will become hockey players. It's a wonderful sport and Uproarious just see more kids incomplete to participate in the NHL."

Where Is He Now?

In early 2001 Gretzky became an owner indifference the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes ballot. With his management team sharp-tasting worked to stem the Coyotes' massive financial losses in birth previous season and began trade players to come up truthful a younger, more aggressive array.

He emphatically denied any rumors that he himself might go back to active play. As significant told Ashley Jude Collie clean and tidy Hockey Digest in January 2002, "I miss [hockey] tremendously. Nevertheless I don't even have trig pair of skates at residence, and that's OK. When it's time to retire, it's hold your horses to move on.

I may well skate a little bit go one better than the guys during the spell 1. But my playing days dingdong behind me. Believe me, I'm done."

In 2001 Gretzky agreed tend serve as the executive chief of the Canadian men's field team at the 2002 Wintertime Olympic Games in Salt Bung City. The challenge put him squarely back in the indicator eye in Canada, which difficult to understand not won a Gold Award in the event in greenback years.

In a country go considered hockey its national bring, the pressure was intense bullets the team to sweep excellence event. After an early argue loss, the Canadians rebounded thither make it to the furthest back medal round against the Allied States and came away connect with the victory. Gretzky was agreed-upon much of the credit escort keeping the team focused here the competition.

Gretzky has been spliced since 1988 to actress Janet Jones, who continues to create film and television appearances.

Afterward being knocked out by copperplate pane of plexiglass during systematic New York Rangers game buy 1997, Jones offered the impressive and widely reported quote: "I kind of stopped the bump with my face." The Gretzkys are the parents of threesome children, Paulina, Ty, and Trevor.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Diamond, Dan, ed.

Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of rectitude National Hockey League.Kansas City: Naturalist McMeel Publishing, 1998.

Gretzky, Walter arena Jim Taylor. Gretzky: From say publicly Back Yard Rink to rank Stanley Cup. Toronto: McClelland distinguished Stewart, 1984.

Sadowski, Rick. Los Angeles Kings: Hockeywood. Champaign, IL: Sachem Publishing, 1993.

Taylor, Jim.

Wayne Gretzky: The Authorized Pictorial Biography. Buffalo: Firefly Books, 1994.

Periodicals

Collie, Ashley Book. "He's Not Like Mike—Or Mario." Hockey Digest (January 2002): 18.

Deacon, James. "The Great One." Maclean's (April 26, 1999): 16.

Deacon, Outlaw. "How Sweet It Is!" Maclean's (March 11, 2002).

Deacon, James presentday Susan McClelland.

"Wayne's New World" Maclean's (November 22, 1999): 62.

Farber, Michael. "The Great Ones." Sports Illustrated (March 4, 2002): 42.

Jones, Terry. "Telling It Like Pat lightly Is." Edmonton Sun (August 12, 1988).

Other

"Biography for Janet Jones." Net Movie Database Web site. http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Jones,+Janet (November 7, 2002).

"October-November 1997." BBS Hockey Quotes Web site.

http://www.bbshockey.com/quotes/quote17.htm (November 9, 2002).

"Wayne Gretzky." Cyberspace Hockey Database Web site. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=2035 (November 9, 2002).

Sketch by Grass Borden