Wayne D. Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky

The hero I have chosen is Wayne Gretzky, he has changed the NHL world forever. Wayne Gretzky(born January 26, 1961) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is the current part-owner, head of hockey operations, and head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League.

Wayne was born in Brandford Ontario and gained all his skill from a backyard rink. Many scouts said he wouldn't be as good a hockey player as he has become because he had the wrong posture, lacked in strength, and lacked speed. He was good at avoiding players checks so that made up for his lack of strength. One of his biggest strengths was behind the net in playing the puck and that's why behind the net is called "Gretzky's office."

Wayne Gretzky began his career with the Indianapolis Racers in the World Hockey Championship(WHA), he played there before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers(WHA) where they joined the National Hockey League(NHL) and the Indianapolis Racers and the WHA had folded. With Edmonton Gretzky broke many scoring records and also won the Oilers 4 Stanley cups. He was then traded to the Los Angeles Kings(NHL) where he made an immediate impact bringing them to the Stanley Cup finals in 1993. Gretzky also played a little for the St. Louis Blues(NHL) and the New York Rangers(NHL). In his career, Gretzky won nine Hart Trophies as the most valuable player, ten Art Ross Trophies for most points in a season, five Lady Byng Trophies for sportsmanship and performance, five Lester B. Pearson Awards, and two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP.

"Nicknamed "The Great One", Gretzky was called "the greatest player of all time."" Gretzky has been considered one of the best to ever play hockey by many writers, players, and coaches. Gretzky finshed his career on a high note, he held forty regular season records, he excelled in the playoffs with fifteen playoff records, and in the all-star game he also excelled with 6 records. Wayne Greztky was amazing in regular season where he exceeded 200 points in a single season, something he has accomplished four times. Also, he tallied over 100 points in 15 NHL seasons, 13 of them consecutive. Gretzky's #99 has been retired by all teams in the National Hockey League(NHL).