I love everything about hockey.
WAYNE GRETZKYI love everything about hockey.
WAYNE GRETZKYIt’s an honour and a thrill and a privilege just to play in the NHL.
WAYNE GRETZKYI’m probably the only guy in hockey who can win a scoring title and everybody is saying I had a bad year. I don’t worry about it.
WAYNE GRETZKYWhen 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.
WAYNE GRETZKYWhen 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.”
WAYNE GRETZKYOne 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.
WAYNE GRETZKYI don’t like my hockey sticks touching other sticks, and I don’t like them crossing one another, and I kind of have them hidden in the corner. I put baby powder on the ends. I think it’s essentially a matter of taking care of what takes care of you.
WAYNE GRETZKYWe played in an era where you were taught to hate your opponent. But life changes. I raise my kids differently than my mom and dad raised their kids.
WAYNE GRETZKYI couldn’t beat people with my strength; I don’t have a hard shot; I’m not the quickest skater in the league. My eyes and my mind have to do most of the work.
WAYNE GRETZKYIn one sense we are a favorite because we won a gold medal in 2002.
WAYNE GRETZKYI 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.
WAYNE GRETZKYI think that from the time you start playing sports as a child you see that your responsibility to your team is to play the best that you can play as an individual. And yet, not take anything away from being part of a team.
WAYNE GRETZKYEverything I did in hockey, I worked for.
WAYNE GRETZKYI 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.
WAYNE GRETZKYOne hundred percent of shots not taken don’t go in.
WAYNE GRETZKYWhat 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.
WAYNE GRETZKY