It was a cold wet, yet it was a spectacular season for the Edmonton Oilers. The year was 1984. The crowds screamed and cheered as the buzz sounded. The championship game was over. Also, Oilers had won! They have just been awarded the Stanley Cup. What’s more is that Wayne had just experienced the thrill and excitement of winning this spectacular cup. Nobody realized that in a few years, this young hockey player would shine out and win three more Stanley Cups.
During the time of 1961, Wayne Gretzky was born. Son of Walter and Phylis Gretzky, he was born in a small town called, Brantford, Ontario, which is a place located in Canada. His dad, an amateur hockey player was determined to teach Wayne hockey. His dad put Wayne in skates when Wayne was just two! By then, Wayne’s dad would even flood the backyard so Wayne and his family could skate.
Wayne comes from a very big family. He was the oldest of the 5 kids born by Walter Gretzky and Phylis Gretzky. His brother, Brent, Glen and Keith all loved hockey too. Brent, one of Wayne’s brothers even played professional hockey once! Wayne had only one sister, her name is Kim.
When Wayne Gretzky was 5 years old, he was practically a local attraction. He was scoring and playing with kids much older then him. Some of those kids even became jealous of him! Soon, when he was a few years older, he practiced and joined an official local hockey team. However, the year with the hockey team was horrible because he and the rest of the team had a very bad season. Soon, some people even became to doubt his ability!
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”
Even though he had maybe one of the worst seasons of his life, he still worked very hard. He started to practice everyday, hoping to improve his skills in hockey. His dad, even setup the lights of the backyard in the winter, so Wayne could skate at night! Soon, as he entered the team again, he amazed everyone with his talent, skills and teamwork. But, even after all that, nobody actually believed he could go and play professional hockey.
Wayne’s goal and dream is to be in the same league as his idol “Gordie Howe”. Gordie Howe was a professional player for the Detroit Red Wings. Gordie was commonly referred as “Mr. Hockey” because of his amazing ability to play hockey. The chances for Wayne to be able to play professional hockey were slim. To be able to play as good as Gordie Howe was slimmer. But Wayne’s determination and hope, Wayne soon ended up playing With the Indianapolis of the WHA*.
Wayne’s first professional career started at 1978, when he was just at the age of 17! During the time while he was playing with the Indianapolis team, many teams in the WHA began to form with the NHL** instead. During this time, the Indianapolis decided to trade Wayne to the Edmonton Oilers, a team which had just been recently moved to the NHL. He dazzled his way to fame in 1979 when he joined the Oilers. He amazed everyone by leading this team playing
*WHA is the World Hockey Association.
**NHL is the National Hockey League.
Center to many championships! With Wayne as the team’s center they managed to get three Stanley Cups! His dream had come true. He was playing professional hockey and was a well respected member on the team. Also, he even got to play with and meet Gordie Howe!
While off the ice, Wayne meet an actress called “Janet Jones”. They became engaged in 1988. Soon, in a while, they had 3 kids: Ty, Paulina (now working as a model), and Trevor Gretzky. There were three more added to the Gretzky family now.
While in 1988 was a happy day for Gretzky for he was engaged, it was also very sad day for all hockey fans in Canada. The Oilers had traded Gretzky. Many were heart-broken to see Gretzky go. The Oilers had wanted to keep him, but they had a huge financial problem with keeping him. Soon, he was flying to Los Angelo, where he would play as a member of the L.A. Kings. Now as a fellow member of the L.A Kings, he still managed to always play hard and try his best. Soon, while still in the L.A. Kings, he had passed his idol, Gordie Howe’s scoring record!
After, 7 years had passed, Wayne Gretzky was traded yet again, this though to the St. Louis Blues. The trade was made for Roman Volpat, Patrice Tardiff and two draft picks. The time spent with the St, Louis Blues was short, because in 1996 he was traded again.
In 1996, he was on his way to be playing with the N.Y. Rangers (New York Rangers). Now, playing with the N.Y. Rangers, he was working as a free agent, soon, in three years time, he retired.
The only way a kid is going to practice is if its total fun for him… and it was for me.”
Wayne Gretzky, now 46, is still involved in hockey. Working in the NHL, but now as the head coach of the “Coyotes” he is very happy and content. Right now, he has achieved many goals, trophies, awards, etc. His advice to kids and adults that hope to become a hockey player is, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”
