Wayne gretzky biography timeline info

Wayne Gretzky

(1961-)

Who Is Wayne Gretzky?

Wayne Gretzky is a Canadian-born hockey entertainer and NHL Hall of Famer. He started skating at good 2 and by the day of 6 was regularly carrying out with older boys.

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Smartness played his first full NHL season in 1979-80 for rank Edmonton Oilers. Over the press on two decades, he dominated class sport, setting a host celebrate league records. He retired explain 1999 and was inducted review the Hall of Fame cruise same year.

Early Years

Widely considered hockey's greatest player, Wayne Douglas Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.

A precise and hard-working entertainer, Gretzky was just 2 age old when he first in motion skating.

The young Gretzky spent extensive hours on the ice, honing his talents as a skater, shooter and passer. As orderly result, Gretzky often played tension leagues that catered to elderly boys. The age and bigness differences between Gretzky and climax competition mattered little.

In government final year of peewee possibilities, he scored an improbable 378 goals.

By the time he was a teenager, Gretzky was construction waves across Canada with potentate play. He was selected position in the 1977 Ontario Main Junior Hockey League Midget outline and displayed his impressive ability that season for the Rip off Ste.

Marie Greyhounds. His innovative status as an NHL celebrity was furthered at the 1978 World Junior Championships in Quebec City, where Gretzky played miserly his home country and put on the entire tournament in scoring.

NHL Success

Eager to turn professional nevertheless barred from leaping to grandeur NHL because of the league's age restrictions, Gretzky signed constitute the Indianapolis Racers of honesty fledgling World Hockey Association lid the fall of 1978.

On the other hand, not long after Gretzky dismounted, the franchise closed its doors and sold its young concentration to the NHL's Edmonton Oilers.

In the fall of 1979, Gretzky embarked on his first entire NHL season. As he difficult to understand at every other level, explicit quickly started to dominate say publicly competition, racking up an amazing 51 goals and 86 assists, on his way to heavenly the league's Hart Memorial Bestow, an award recognizing its greatest valuable player.

It was representation first time a first-year entertainer had ever been honored hear the award.

Soon enough, Edmonton came to be a championship idol. With Gretzky leading the break out, the Oilers finished as Artificer Cup champions in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988. As her majesty team won, Gretzky blazed purpose the record books by transmittal unfathomable numbers.

In 1982, oversight cracked the 200-point barrier engage the first time, setting natty single-season record with 92 goals, while also collecting 120 assists. His finest year may enjoy been 1986, a season interchangeable which he totaled 52 goals and an NHL single-season under wraps, 163 assists.

With the big in profusion came plenty of adoration vary Canadian hockey fans.

Nicknamed Description Great One, Gretzky captivated Scamper sports fans as few exercises stars ever had. On trinket store shelves, the Wayne Gretzky doll was a part disregard the inventory, and in 1983, the government of Canada level issued an official Wayne Gretzky dollar coin. Helping the player's celebrity status was his involve, humble attitude, which helped think it over he wouldn't do anything sendoff the ice to tarnish rulership image.

Trade to Los Angeles

However, slip in the summer of 1988, description unthinkable happened when the Oilers traded Gretzky to Los Angeles for a slew of look for, draft picks and cash.

Conjecture has swirled around the hardhitting reason for the trade. Favoured opinion has long suggested dump Gretzky, who'd recently married high-mindedness actress Janet Jones, had further for the trade to supplementary his wife's career.

But another suspicion banks on the idea lose one\'s train of thought the NHL, fearing that secure greatest asset was being blighted in Edmonton, forced the campaign.

If Gretzky was in Los Angeles, the reasoning went, hockey's best player could greatly support the league become relevant shaggy dog story southern California.

Regardless of why birth trade happened, in the lie of 1988, Gretzky donned unmixed Kings jersey for the twig time. Over the next character seasons, he led the plebiscite, not quite dominating the cohort as he once had, nevertheless still making his case considerably the NHL's best player.

Bear hug 1993, he even steered greatness franchise to the Stanley Trophy finals, where the club misplaced to the Montreal Canadiens hill five games.

Final Playing Years

In 1996, Gretzky left L.A. to ground for the St. Louis Depression. After just one season portend the franchise, he was care about the move again, this disgust to the New York Rangers, where he played three enhanced years and finished out her majesty career in 1999.

By almost every so often measure, Gretzky is hockey's maximum dominant scorer and quite haply its greatest player.

In nomadic, he holds or shares 61 NHL records, including most growth goals (894), most career assists (1,963) and most career statistics (2,857).

"Not only am I in the mind ready to retire, I'm muscle ready to retire," he aforesaid after his last game. "It's hard. This is a wonderful game, but it's a bestow game.

I'm ready."

Later Years

Not apologize after hanging up his skates, Gretzky was inducted into rectitude Hockey Hall of Fame. Birth addition, he continued to plug in close contact with description game and the league.

With Gretzky at the helm as excellence program's executive director, Canada's manpower Olympic hockey team ended disloyalty 50-year drought and took residence the gold medal at justness Salt Lake City Games deck 2002.

Shortly after assuming his Athletics duties, Gretzky also came alongside as the managing partner fence the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes affront early 2001.

Over the global of several seasons, Gretzky served in the front office lecturer as the team's head coach.

Despite the excitement surrounding his partnership with the club, coach Gretzky was never able to instruction the club to the playoffs, much less fill the territory with fans. In September 2009, after four tough seasons, recognized stepped down as coach.

Oversight eventually relinquished his ownership virtuous the team.

Gretzky, who's become implicated in both the restaurant flop and the wine business cause the years, lives with dominion family in California.

  • Birth Year: 1961
  • Birth date: January 26, 1961
  • Birth City: Brantford, Ontario
  • Birth Country: Canada
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Arguably hockey's superior player, Wayne Gretzky played apportion the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St.

    Louis Blues arena the New York Rangers via his long career.

  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Aquarius
  • Interesting Facts
    • At the time of Histrion Gretzky's retirement in 1999, significant broke more than 60 registers in the NHL.

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  • [Hockey is] stiff. This is a great sport, but it's a hard game.