Wayne Gretzky

My hero is Wayne Gretzky. He was a professional hockey player between 1978 and 1999. When Gretzky was ten he scored 378 goals playing in the Brantford’s atom league. By the age of 14 he already had people asking for his autograph. He often played against people much older than he was as a teenager. In May of 1978 at the age of 17 he turned pro.

When Indianapolis collapsed he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers. In his first season with the Oilers he scored 46 goals and 70 assists. This was a start of a long and legendary career as a professional hockey player. In 1979 the Edmonton Oilers became an NHL franchise. Gretzky made his NHL debut on October 10,1979 and added his first career point when he assisted on Kevin Lowes goal against Chicago. In the 1979-1980 season he scored 51 goals and won his first of 8 Hart trophies for MVP of the league. He became the youngest player at the age of 19 to hit the 50 goal milestone in a single season. On February 151981 he sets an NHL record for most assists in a game with 7. In only Gretzky’s second season he wins his first of 7 consecutive Art Ross trophies for leading scorer of the league. On February 18 1981 Gretzky ties the record for most goals scored in a period at 4. December 30 1981 he scores an unimaginable 50 goals in 39 games. In 1981, he broke Phil Espistito’s record for most goals in a season with 92.

The first several years of Gretzky’s career was a unimaginable- record setting phenomenon. In this first few years Gretzky set as a rookie of only 19 just under 10 NHL records. But he doesn’t stop there.

In the post season of 1983, Gretzky set a record for most points scored in the Stanley Cup playoffs with 26 goals and 12 assists. In that same season he set a record of 10 hat tricks (three goals scored in a game) in a single season breaking his own record. In 1984, Gretzky led the way for the Edmonton Oilers first Stanley Cup as their captain. In 1984 he reaches the 1,000 career point milestone in his magnificent career. Later in 1985 Gretzky rewrites his own record with 30 assists and 17 goals in a single post season.

Wayne Gretzky played until 1999. He still at this point holds 3 records: most assists in a season, most points in a career and most goals and assists in a career. He currently now lives in Florida. He is a hero to me because he was the greatest hockey player right now and most likely will continue to be. No wonder he is known as the “Great One.”