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.
WAYNE GRETZKYThe greatest thing about playing obviously is winning, and you can’t replace that experience with anything.
More Wayne Gretzky Quotes
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The only way a kid is going to practice is if it’s total fun for him and it was for me.
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My kids are no different than anyone else’s – they tend to disagree with everything I say!
WAYNE GRETZKY -
I love everything about hockey.
WAYNE GRETZKY -
When I broke into professional hockey at 17 I was told that I was too small and too slow and I wouldn’t make the NHL. Now it’s kind of flip-flopped and the sense is I can’t be a good coach because I was a great athlete.
WAYNE GRETZKY -
I have absolutely no complaints about my life. But people think I got handed everything, all this kind of fell in my lap, that I was just God-gifted with all this talent. I wanted people to realize it’s a lot tougher than just waking up one day and you’re in the NHL.
WAYNE GRETZKY -
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 GRETZKY -
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 -
There’s no perfect coach in the world. Coaches are human, too. Mistakes are made. But, fundamentally, if you’re sound, you eliminate as many mistakes as possible.
WAYNE GRETZKY -
He brings something special. I don’t know what it is, but if you ask him, you couldn’t understand his answer.
WAYNE GRETZKY -
It doesn’t matter what I think. It doesn’t matter what other people think. You have to get on the ice and participate and play and the best team wins.
WAYNE GRETZKY -
It’s easier to lose than to win.
WAYNE GRETZKY -
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.
WAYNE GRETZKY -
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.
WAYNE GRETZKY -
Competitive spirit is still at a premium. The more you win, the better you play, the more money you make, so they all have that in mind.
WAYNE GRETZKY -
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.
WAYNE GRETZKY