I think the Americans are ready to play, they want to beat us. I think that players like Chris Chelios and his leadership over there goes a long way.
WAYNE GRETZKYIt really doesn’t matter or concern me what people are saying or who thinks who is the favorite. The bottom line is you have to play.
More Wayne Gretzky Quotes
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I played everything. I played lacrosse, baseball, hockey, soccer, track and field. I was a big believer that you played hockey in the winter and when the season was over you hung up your skates and you played something else.
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Kids don’t fight in minor hockey anymore. There’s very few fights in junior and college hockey. So growing up, all these guys are not fighting.
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I don’t think any one person will ever be bigger than the game.
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A lot of times, I can turn and pass without even looking.
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Hockey is my life. I love every minute of it.
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The greatest thing about playing obviously is winning, and you can’t replace that experience with anything.
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I think sports for kids is the greatest thing in the world because it teaches you how to share, about winning and losing and pressure. But I don’t think you should force your kid to become a professional athlete.
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Sometimes people ask, ‘Are hockey fights real?’ I say, ‘If they weren’t, I’d get in more of them.
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One of the key qualities that you need to be a great hockey player is fantastic anticipation and feel for the game – if you know where the puck is going before it is hit, that is half the battle.
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When people come up to me and say, “I was at your Game 7 in the playoffs in Toronto,” or, “I saw your first goal in the NHL,” that triggers memories. But I don’t sit around my kitchen table and tell my kids, “You know, one year I got 92 goals.”
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One of the key qualities that you need to be a great hockey player is fantastic anticipation and feel for the game – if you know where the puck is going before it is hit, that is half the battle.
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Skating alone is an art. Doing it on a substance? I don’t know. That’s got to be tough.
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In one sense we are a favorite because we won a gold medal in 2002.
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Most people marry their mother. I married my father.
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What you want to do with your best players is, it doesn’t matter how many goals and assists they get, but when they get goals and assists. The best players get them at the most important times, and that’s when we need those guys to come through.
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I can remember hockey. It was my life, my passion. It’s what I love the most.
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I wasn’t naturally gifted in terms of size and speed; everything I did in hockey I worked for, and that’s the way I’ll be as a coach.
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I think a lot of parents live their lives through the kids. Because they didn’t make it [achieve something], they want their kids to make it. It puts a lot of undue pressure on the kids.
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We’re in a tough situation because of teenage children, and then we have a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old, so my family and my responsibilities is sort of a juggle.
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One hundred percent of shots not taken don’t go in.
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Everything I did in hockey, I worked for.
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We feel fortunate [with Canada hockey team]. We have got a lot of guys who love to play, but they also love to win even more. We are pretty happy. Although we are young, we like our group of players.
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I really wanted to write a book [99: Stories of the Game] on the tradition and history of the league, where kids can pick it up and read it and learn things and say, “Geez, I didn’t know that. That’s pretty cool.”
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He brings something special. I don’t know what it is, but if you ask him, you couldn’t understand his answer.
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When I played in a 21-team league, there were six or seven goalies who were just average, and the equipment and pads were smaller. I came in the right era. I played for the right team. It was all speed, and creativity and imagination.
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As a player, you have one responsibility, to focus yourself and be ready for the game. As a coach, your responsibility is to get 20 guys ready and have them all on the same page. If you can’t get every guy ready every night, you’re going to struggle.
WAYNE GRETZKY