Reaction To Wayne Gretzky for People Who Don't Watch Hockey

Reaction To Wayne Gretzky for People Who Don't Watch Hockey
This is my reaction to Wayne Gretzky for People Who Don't Watch Hockey
In this video I react to Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky in a hockey video showing his career highlights, stats and achievements.
Original Video - • Wayne Gretzky for peop...

[@dorisquinn2135]

We from Edmonton were so lucky to watch him start his NHL career and mourned when he was sold to LA. It’s worth looking into his Dad, Walter Gretzky. He was a major factor behind Wayne’s success.

[@nightwolf4185]

Yes we were.

[@jq8974]

I agree - Walter was on the journey with him through his entire career, not just in his childhood. He was instrumental in the move to LA, as well.

[@DwaynesWorld007]

I'm from Brantford Wayne's hometown. He was truly the great one, and his dad Walter is basically a Saint here.

[@ThomMorrison]

i lived in Brantford...early '60s....we used to "rumble" with his side of the "cut off"-in my day an abandoned old railroad line (it sunk in the swamp) today the 403 goes through it winter time we would have huge hockey games against sides....40-50 kids....1/2 mile between the nets through the Red Gad (dogwood bushes) serious body contact games -in those days there were no local arenas....i never played a league game inside Brantford was a great town to grow up the best of memories

[@RyanE8787]

Met Walt at a Peewee hockey tourny in Brantford win the late 90's. All class and a true gentleman he was.

[@johndoh5479]

The best explanation I’ve ever heard of what made Gretzky so great came from an interview with Glen Sather, his coach in Edmonton. Sather said, any time Gretzky was on the ice, if you were to turn off the arena lights at any given time such that it was pitch dark, Wayne could tell you where every player on the ice was. He possessed exceptional situation awareness. If you watch old videos and see him making passes to teammates who are barely in the frame of the camera without even looking, you can believe it.

[@thatbzguy916]

One of my favorite parts of Gretzky Stats is how utterly ridiculous they really are. For example this past season both Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov reached 100 assists in a single, becoming the 4th and 5th players in league history to achieve the milestone. Mario Lemieux achieved the feat in the 1988-89 regular season and Bobby Orr was the first to hit that plateau in 1970-71. WAYNE GRETZKY DID IT 11 TIMES BETWEEN 1979 AND 1999

[@BelleDede01]

For a man to have over 70 records and still to this day has 67 records unbeaten, he is not just the Great one, but the Greatest. He changed how hockey is played, for the world, not just for Canada.

[@billfarley9167]

Unfortunately it was the Russians who changed the way our hockey was played. Wayne was the greatest, however he was known as a whiner in the NHL.

[@SyrupIsWin]

@@billfarley9167 Sid was also known as a whiner in his early years but we'd still consider him one of the best, I don't think that really changes how good he was

[@jeffreycairns767]

I will never believe Gretzky is the greatest. Yes he was a great player and yes he used his knowledge well but between the refs on his side, the loopholes he used and the unwritten rule that you don't touch him, no other player had the same rules applied to them. If you need these things to be the best, you're not the best

[@radbaron]

@@jeffreycairns767 There was never a rule about touching Gretzky, it's just that most players COULDN'T. And if you did, Dave Cementhead would come over and remind you why you shouldn't.

[@jeffreycairns767]

@radbaron Exactly what I said, an unwritten rule. No other player had that upper hand. It's a hell of a lot easier to be top dog when you never have to worry about anybody head hunting you. Having a team full of other great players definitely helps too. Again, I'm not saying he wasn't great or didn't have great hockey knowledge, I'm saying he wasn't the "greatest"

[@wolfecanada6726]

National hero. He did more for the sport of ice hockey than any other single person.

[@masterchiefburgess]

I still remember his rant to the media at the 2002 Olympics after Team Canada got off to a somewhat shaky start. He lashed out at the media and took the heat, which diverted their attention from the players. It allowed the players, to get on with their jobs.They went on to win the gold medal, defeating the US 5-2. Many people in Canada (including the players) felt this was the turning point of the series for Team Canada, and it showed the kind of leadership skills Gretzky had, and how much he was respected.

[@michellestenton6430]

Ontario ( Hespeler born and raised) Canada hockey girl here. Growing up my father was very involved in our town’s hockey and my brother played right up to junior B. When my brother was 8, making Wayne Gretzky 10, Brantford hosted a hockey tournament. To this day my father recalls watching Wayne play and knew that he was going to be great. He scored 40 goals during the tournament….40 over 3 days!!! Being from a hockey town and family, I raised my daughter in one. I have had the opportunity many times to meet Walter Gretzky and speak with him. He truly is the ultimate “ hockey dad” who raised his son with such strong morals and a driven work ethic. Both men are celebrated Canadians in my book!

[@amanontheland7892]

Gretzky's Dad Walter, was also respected by hockey Dad's and Son's all across the country. It was a beautiful time to be alive during the Gretzky era.

[@masterchiefburgess]

Gretzky's greatest ability was his anticipation. You could shoot the puck into your opponents end; he knew EXACTLY where to go in a straight line to pick it off the boards as it came around. When he got the puck, he knew EXACTLY where his line mates would be. Reading the play, getting to the puck first and knowing where to put it, was his special skill, and he did it better than anyone in the game (IMHO).

[@radbaron]

He knew where everyone would be on the ice 2 seconds before they did, pretty much.

[@lambo6012]

Yeah crazy hockey iq

[@masterchiefburgess]

@@lambo6012 😃👍

[@diannaw3034]

Brantford girl here as well.. and I remember his name being super famous all growing up.. and watching our local aquatic centre becoming the Wayne Gretzky Sports centre. His father was a huuuuuuge part of Wayne's success... and always did so much to help out the city with various endeavors.. he's such a special person. No one I knew was surprised when Wayne's number was retired.. but rather we probably all thought it was the right thing to do! lol I moved to Belleville, Ontario when I was teen.. only to watch both of Wayne's brothers Keith and Brent play for the OHL team the Belleville Bulls for a few years. His brother Keith has at the elite level scouted... coached and been and Asst. General Manager over the years. Wayne himself has coached our Canadian Men's Olympic Hockey team.. and I think there has been Hlinka Gretzky Cup played in Europe with the Under 18 players representing different countries. Anyways... this family goes very deep in the hockey world. Cheers from Canada! 🏒🍁

[@jq8974]

I had the honour of growing up in Edmonton during the Gretzky years. We had two season tickets we shared with the neighbour up in the blue seats. There were six in our family and four or five in theirs, so I only got to one or two games in season, but it was worth it. When he was on the ice, you just didn’t know what would happen. There could be two minutes left and we could be down three points and still win. It was an amazing feeling to know that anything can happen at any time when you have a player like him. And yes, he made the whole team light up. I am a girl and I could name the entire team when I was 11 because they were all fun to watch with him on the ice. He brought out the best in everyone and was such a gentleman and thoughtful guy in the community. Edmonton is not a big city and hockey is one of the few things that was going on there in the 70s and 80s. Just as he needed his father, I think we needed him. And I think he did better in a place where hockey was truly honored. When he moved to LA, he talked about not enjoying playing in Edmonton because the arena is so small when he was on the ice he kind of knew who was in the arena and itwas just personal for him. I can definitely say it was personal for us, too. When he left, he was still ours. And even though he was on the opposing team, when he passed Gordie Howe’s lifetime scoring record he was in Edmonton playing against us and we all stopped to give him a standing O. After he was traded, I couldn’t watch our team play for years. Decades. I watched junior hockey, but to trade someone like that ruined the pro game for me. The owners betrayed my trust and I just couldn’t support the team after that. It was pretty tough. My grandmother was upset! What a time.

[@SuperToronto416]

FYI: Christine Sinclair Is a Canadian soccer player. She played 331 matches for Canada, during which she scored 190 international goals. That's more than Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Pelé, Abby Wambach, Mia Hamm or any other soccer player in history.

[@dscott6629]

But Wayne Gretzky scored 400 goals in one season in Pee Wee - if you want to comment about what is essentially a different sport (women's football) and lower talent league (women's football). FYI: Gretzky was playing as a defenceman that year.

[@judithanntoole8900]

The day Wayne officially retired it was a very emotional day in our home. As we watched his interview... Questions like ...how have you stayed so grounded...Because of my Father. Why didn’t you get a big head?....My Dad wouldn’t let me. He so honoured his Father on that day over and over again. You could see the huge role his Father had played in shaping the brilliant Wayne Gretzky on and off the ice.

[@goldenhorseshoemediadistri6097]

Gretzky understood the game better than anyone, and he could apply his understanding of the game in an instant. When Gretzky was a kid he would watch hockey on TV with a sheet of paper and a pencil in his hand and as the game went on he would trace out where the puck travelled. This taught him how the puck typically moved around the ice and therefore he was almost always be one or two steps ahead of the play. He was a joy to watch.

[@denisegreene8441]

He's also just a really nice guy.

[@jenniferpickering7808]

I lived in Calgary and loved the flames and our rivals were the oilers. I would go to the games & scream and cheer for Lanny & the boys but you could just NOT help but admire the pure skill/natural talent of Wayne. Watching him live with Yari was something to behold. Love you Wayne ( don't tell my flames ).

[@jocelynerousseau7098]

I grew up in same city as Wayne. Same age, even as a kid heard and seen him play plenty of times. He is the great one!

[@Ultra54able]

Wayne played in the OHL for my home town Sault Ste. Marie and went to my high school. Wayne had the ability to see the game and what was about to unfold before anyone. Everyone was playing checkers while Wayne was playing chess.

[@maplobats]

As one of the only Canadians who actually dislikes hockey (too many years of having it shoved down my throat perhaps?), I still have huge respect for Wayne, amazing player who excelled in all hockey skills. Also wish I still had that rookie Gretzky card that I traded away for a chocolate bar when I was in grade 6.

[@dscott6629]

You traded your Wayne Gretzky rookie card for a chocolate bar??? Speaking as someone who, as a child, also traded hockey cards (literally every boy traded hockey cards in elementary school) I have to wonder if "fat" proceeded your name whenever it was called out. 😆 But seriously, I lived in Edmonton during the Gretzky era, met him shopping in Henry Singers once, and I couldn't stand the Oilers mania surrounding them.

[@astewart9410]

I played hockey growing up in the 1980s and only ever went to one NHL game. It was the mid-80s Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers, including Wayne Gretzky against the Toronto Maple Leafs. At that time, Toronto was pretty terrible, but watching Gretzky fly on the ice and make plays, it was clear he was otherworldly. Decades later, we met his father, Walter at a charity event in our town, and he could not have been more humble and polite and kind and self effacing as we enthused about his sons abilities. Truly stellar.

[@leechap3]

A typical star player is a able to create a few high danger scoring chances in a game. Wayne Gretzky did it nearly every time his team entered the offensive zone. He dominated his sport like no other professional athlete. He is being modest when he says he wasn't the best player.

[@avenged7peep958]

In true canadian fashion

[@brentdallyn8459]

A few players asked for more money during their contract negotiations in the early Gretzky years with the Oilers, Bill'Cowboy'Flett was one, he was told by Glen Sather a fire hydrant can score 40 goals on a line with Gretzky...rejected!

[@hilariousname6826]

Knew a guy who played organized hockey in southern Ontario as a young teenager - he said there was a lot of talk about this Gretzky kid who was supposed to be a real hotshot ... !

[@CanadianPunker62]

My hometown is where he got the number 99. He played for our local Sault Greyhounds in the OHL. He was a big fan of Gordie Howe and wanted to wear the number 9, but it was already being worn by another player so they settled on 99 instead. He's the only player to have a 200+ point season and he did it 4 times in 5 seasons

[@exile220ify]

Fun fact: in some of his junior years, Wayne wore the #9 in honour of his hockey hero Gordie Howe, but was forced to abandon it because many teams had retired that number. So he just added another "9", and the Legend Of Ninety-Nine was born

[@newfiescreech7328]

2 of the players on the top 10 points list are there (partly) because they were Wayne's team mates.

[@Kimmy6519]

🇨🇦

[@TreantmonksTemple]

It was like he could see the future, he wasn't where he needed to be, he was where he was going to need to be.

[@firestrike9917]

I had the extreme lucky time to watch Gretzky in juniors and then over to Edmonton & his mind breaking records of the 80s. His career was amazing.

[@pittsky]

I saw Gretzky play in person many times. He was the greatest. I saw him slap shot a puck into the right top of the net over Mike Vernon's shoulder from outside the blue line to advance into the layoffs. The entire Saddledome went silent because that doesn't happen, He was and is the greatest.

[@exile220ify]

I'm from Calgary and a supporter of the Calgary Flames. We hated the arch-rival Edmonton Oilers and Wayne Gretzky in particular. But not without respect - we just hated how they kept beating us up. When Wayne retired, not only did the league retire his #99 league-wide, it waived its mandatory 3-year waiting period for induction into the Hockey Hall Of Fame. Flames fans now regard him with the utmost respect. But he's not the only one to have his number retired league-wide. Jackie Robinson, the first black player to break the colour barrier in Major League Baseball, had his #42 retired league-wide posthumously.

[@pattaccone]

1:15 that’s how it is here. Gretzky Crosby , bedard , mcdavid and others were being followed as children until turning pro ! We’re hockey obsessed

[@theblackbear211]

I grew up in the US in an area where there were no hockey teams... but I knew who Wayne Gretzky was... during his career, (and for some time after) I cannot recall anyone talking about hockey, and not talking about Gretzky. Remember too - many teams focused their entire defensive scheme on stopping Gretzky - and he still scored all those goals.

[@rllangevin3841]

Great reaction to the GOAT of any sport, much-less hockey. Please keep the hockey content coming! I will be here for it.

[@denisobrien4253]

Gretzky had gave vision almost like he could she the future and would pass to where his teammates would be.He has more assists than any other player's combined totals of goals and assists. He was a generational player. These days there is a young woman playing basketball that reminds me of him.

[@Fred-vy1hm]

I like to use the Gretzky analogy when describing how CC plays as well. 😊

[@capnceltblood5347]

And note the other 2 below him on the all time scoring list were team mates of Gretzky along with Paul Coffee. Crazy good team. The one player that was always argued to be better the Gretzky was Mario Lemieux. But he had medical problems that shortened his career.

[@avenged7peep958]

Such a bummer about Lemieux's career

[@jeffreycairns767]

I still believe Mario was the better player. Despite having a shorter career, didn't have the "don't touch" rule, no real enforcer to help him, didn't need loopholes or the refs help, etc., he was still an amazing player. Same goes for Jagr

[@Fred-vy1hm]

McDavid is the most talented hockey player ever, Lemieux (when not injured) was the most physically gifted, Bossy was the most skilled sniper but there really isn't an adjective you can put on Gretzky to describe what made him the greatest. He was small, wasn't very strong or fast, didn't have a hard shot but he was just a magician when he had the puck.

[@jeffreycairns767]

@Fred-vy1hm FAR more talented players then McDavid. Different eras but it's based around other players in the league at the time. Kucherov is up with McDavid is assists and Matthews is a better goal scorer. McDavid doesn't have speed as Bure was still faster then McDavid today, even with the old equipment. McDavid might be the best overall offensive player of today but when we're talking ever, he's not even in the conversation

[@lachazaroony]

Fun fact: In the 80`s they had a promotion in chocolate bars. When you opened it, there was a random number in the package, if at the end of the season you had the matching points you won a huge prize. The numbers went up to 200, and he got 215 that year. Lol

[@christinefougere]

He's the greatest hockey player who ever put on skates, no one will equal what he's done He did a lot for the game and the country. I think he became known to the country as a 16 year old during the 78 jr tournament, he won the scoring title. He was a phenom.

[@christophersnyder1532]

On my father's side, we are related to former Toronto Maple Leafs, Darryl Sitler, And my dad got an autograph from him, and gave it to me years ago. I had a pen with Wayne Gretzky's autograph, not a real autograph mind you, but it was nice. I gave my American nephew a 1/64 Chevrolet Corvette with the Edmonton Oilers logo on it. Take care, and all the best.

[@-R.Gray-]

The best video I've seen is on the NHL channel : " Wayne Gretzky all time leader in goals, points " (6:46) - This one is not just a series of highlights, but goes into the way his popularity paved the way for the expansion of the league into Southern American cities. It also has a variety of players describing his talents.

[@ll7868]

Stan Lee wrote comics, he didn't draw them, that was Jack Kirby. Todd McFarlane wrote and drew comics, he recreated the way Spider-Man and his webs were drawn and created Spawn. He also designed the Oilers "Spawn" 3rd jerseys they used from 2000/01-2007/08 as well as a series of NHL trading cards and action figures/statues. Todd's an Alberta lad and Wayne was his favourite player growing up.

[@monicamason3414]

I respected him as a kid when he played for Edmonton. Though on the flipside disliked him as he was a thorn in the side of my team - Calgary Flames.

[@chadgrov]

Hey Mert. Another great video to watch is Wayne Gretzky Above and Beyond. it’s pretty old but fantastic film on Way e

[@O_Towne_Bear]

I love Gretzky and I use him as an example to young players regarding Team First Playing. As great as he was (and was Great!) he never won another Cup without a team around him like Edmonton. However, the Oilers would win one more without him.

[@judyyurchuk4904]

Good guy too❤🇨🇦

[@teamsaunz]

If you take away every single goal he scored (894) he would still be in first place on just assists alone…that’s everyone else’s goals and assists combined.Jaromir Jagr had 766 goals and 1155 assists for a total of 1921 which is good enough for 2nd place all-time. Gretzky had 1963 assists and did it with 300 less games.

[@ll7868]

First time I saw Wayne play live was in the final WHA AVCO Cup playoff game in 1979, Jets won the game 7-3 and the series in Game 6 at home. Dave Semenko scored the last WHA goal and Wayne was just 18 years old, they were mobbed by people looking for autographs, myself among them, both of them signed my ticket stub but unfortunately I lost that a long time ago. I can still see bits and pieces of the game in my head sometimes. The following year when the WHA merged into the NHL my favourite Jet Bobby Hull signed with the Hartford Whalers and my Jets were just a bad team so Wayne became my favourite NHL player to watch. When I got a 1980/81 #99 Oilers jersey for Festivus I got into two fights at school the first time I wore it, my teacher told me I couldn't wear it to school anymore so it became my shinny/road hockey jersey. The Oilers were the Jets' biggest rivals in the WHA and most Winnipeg fans hated Wayne in the NHL because he made the Jets look like fools on the ice.

[@Oiceoptoma]

In the '80-'90, only one player came close to the talent of Gretzky: Mario Lemieux. Unfortunatly, he suffered several injuries and even a cancer. Contrarly to Gretzky, he was a big and strong man and was more physical than Gretzky; he even get 100 penalty minutes in a saison, which is high for a top player. Nonetheless, he get similar numbers than Gretzky in term of point-per-game as seen at the start of the video: 1.92 for Gretzky and 1.88 for Lemieux. Also, only him and Guy Lafleur make a comeback after being inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

[@jeffreycairns767]

I truly believe Mario was better

[@flyingbeaver57]

When Wayne Gretzky came to Edmonton to play in the short-lived professional World Hockey League, he was already a "name" that had spread among teams all across Canada - and he was barely 17. When the WHL folded, and the Edmonton Oilers hockey team joined the NHL - the "big league" - it was simply jaw-dropping to watch his play on the ice. The person who made that video is very correct - Wayne played what he believed - that it was the whole team who would win or lose a game. Back when I could still afford a ticket up in the "cheap seats" I used to go down and watch the Oilers. When Wayne was on the ice, he was just as likely to be "stooging around" behind the opposing team's goalie as he was to be in the 'front 3' line. He would just 'lurk' there, waiting for a missed shot or a loose puck, and then BANG - he would bring it around and put in in the goal but more often, he would see who on his team was "open" in front of the opposing team's goal, and flick a pass - like greased lightning - to that player, who would then have a short, quick shot past the other team's goalie, who would often be out of position - expecting Wayne to bring the puck around himself. He had complete "situational awareness" - he knew where every other player on his team was during his time on the ice, which way they were moving, and who on the other team was in a position to intercept a pass, or block a shot on goal. It was magic to watch - truly. Wayne has said in interviews that he was not the best skater or stick-handler ever (he often said Gordie Howe held that spot), but all of his team-mates knew that they should not just be looking to get the puck away from the opposing team, but should have one eye on where Wayne was, and which direction he was moving. I'm no hockey expert, but the skill that Gretzky brought to the game, and his focus on "team play" rather than "stars" changed the game up forever. It also caught many opposing teams by surprise - they would be relying on two or three "big name" players or lines, rather than how the team as a whole worked together. I can't think of anyone else who is anywhere near that good at any sport, or who had that mental attitude and "mental calculator" telling him where every player would be in the next 5-10 seconds, for both teams. Then, he'd add himself into that picture, and look for every opportunity - whether it was to intercept, to pass, to see an opening for a shot on goal, or to see who else on his team was "in the clear" to put the puck into the net if Wayne made a quick pass. People who know much more about the game than me have written books about, or spoken about Wayne's talent. By pure happenstance, Wayne and a couple of the other guys on the Oilers team were living across the back lane from me, sharing a house on a dead-end quiet street just outside of downtown. It was as common (perhaps more so) to see him at the grocery store as to see him in person at a game, for the first few years of the Oilers' "Dynasty." Wayne re-made the game, as far as it being a team sport, and I don't think there are many young players since Wayne was in the NHL who had not learned that lesson. All the good ones sure have!

[@robdas1]

I'm from Edmonton and I remember the Edmonton Oilers hockey dynasty from the 1980's. We were the champions! While Gretzky was here back then, Edmonton pretty much owned the Stanley Cup (the holy grail of professional hockey). He even won an Olympic gold medal for leading Team Canada in 2002. So to answer your question, where does he rank in the greatest sports people of all time, he's number one. He is The Great One. Gretzky is to hockey, what Ali was to boxing. None better.

[@glen3679]

Wish we could see Wayne Gretzky against Bobby Orr when he was in his prime i believe that would be epic

[@NobodyImportant74]

Thank You.

[@kayecastleman6353]

Gretzky was a superior strategist. Apparently when he was a child and his dad was teaching him how to play, his dad used to tell him not to play to where the puck is, but to where it WILL BE. Gretzky was like a chess player on the ice. He was always thinking multiple moves ahead. He truly was a phenomenon.

[@ll7868]

NO WAIT!! I had to delete my last comment regarding that last clip of Wayne scoring. The night before I saw Wayne score that first goal against Vancouver and Glen Hanlon on Sunday, Oct 14, 1979 (last clip) it wasn't the Corvette Summer/Boys In Company C/Jaws 2/Dawn of the Dead drive-in marathon, that was in October of 1978. I did have the broken arm and go to the El Dorado Drive-In the night before that October 14, 1979 game but the movies were The Warriors and Mad Max and it was with my friend Jared and his parents. I've seen so many movies at the El Dorado I get them confused sometimes.

[@BaloneySandwichWithKetchup]

his key to success was knowing how to play *without* the puck. he had *peak* positioning. behind the net was known as "Wayne's Office". many of his assists came from back there.

[@Bruhaha9]

If you compare him to players in other sports, in their own sports, I think he's also at the top. If you use the metric of how far ahead of any other player in the history of their own sports top players are, he proportionally has more points than his peers. Proportionally more than Ronaldo, Jordan, Bonds, and Rice have ahead of their peers.

[@BrendaVanden]

Wayne did what he did before the league changed the rules and made it much easier for the players to play and scorers to score. And he's still the GOAT.

[@glennmorin7431]

Wayne Gretzky (from Brantford, Ontario) played Major Junior hockey with the Sault Ster. Marie Greyhounds (OHL). He then turned Pro ( signing a Personal Services Contract with the Owner of the WHA (World Hockey Association; a rival Pro league to the NHL) Indianapolis Racers, Nelson Skalbania at the age of 17. At the time the NHL only signed young players to there first contract at the age of 20. ( this was all challeged in US/Canadian Courts). Skalbania (Racers owner) sold Gretzky to the Edmonton Oilers (an other team in the WHA). Skalbania was friends with Oilers Owner Peter Pocklington. The sale was consummated over a game of Back Gammon, on Pockingtond private jet. Nelson Skalbania folded (closed up) the Indianapolis Racers half way through the season due to poor attendance at the Market Square Arena (same arena as the Indiana Pacers of the NBA).

[@beerandchips2545]

Even if Gretzky had all of his goals taken away, he would still be the all-time points leader in hockey history because of his assists.

[@starpetalarts6668]

Some perspective: every single record of Swimmer Michael Phelps has been taken in the Olympics... 67 records of Wayne's are still untouched with only one likely to be taken from him that being his goals scored which is to be taken by Ovichkin. Michael Jordan has had 4 people overtake him in the NBA in most points scored... there is not a single player in the NHL able to touch Gretzky's point record nor is there projected to be anyone to take it.

[@ParkaPal]

Worth looking into Mario Lemieux as well. If you notice the chart, while Gretzky has a large lead, Lemieux down there at the bottom is near on par in points per game. Unfortunately he was plagued by injuries and health problems through his career, though he still won 2 cups as a player and captained the men's olympic team to gold in 2002. there's a lot of debate on if he had been able to play as many games if he would have been able to catch more of Wayne's records

[@Sparkplug4712]

My grandson has been playing hockey since he was 5 and is now 15. When he was 10 in that year alone, he had 81 goals. His average in total goals in a season is between 60-65. He is always the number one pick with all the coaches fighting over him each season to have him on their team. His mom has been hounded to put him in the top league, but my grandson does not want to go there and won't play if she does. He does not want to be a pro player he always has wanted to be a cop. He loves hockey but does it for fun and to hang with his friends, nothing more than that. He also excelled in soccer and once the coaches were pushing him to play on the advanced team or league, he refused to play and stopped because they took the fun out of it for him.

[@filmcrew3531]

Yeah, Love Wayne! Such a great guy as well as being the Great One! Grew up in Edmonton and was in my teens throughout the Oilers dominating hockey. Knew most of the Oilers and was even "part of the team", and what I mean by that is my connection was through the Moss family, lots of kids, and my Dad taught most of them. A friend at the time Steve Moss and his brother Joey (both of whom have sadly passed away) kinda brought me in through that and then my dad's relationship with the Moss family. Their sister Vicki also date Wayne for 6-7 years I think. Joey was the long time locker room boss for not only The Oilers but also the Edmonton Eskimos (CFL) football team. I was always in the Oilers orbit. For me as young kid loved it. Another connection we had was through Mark Messier's uncle, forgive do not his name, but he also taught with my dad. So I knew Mark. I got to know many of the Oilers over those years and was always welcomed at their parties and into the dressing room after a win. But I know The Great One is great because of his upbringing. You should watch a doco on that mate!

[@DwaynesWorld007]

Dude react to The Yard from HBO Canada a forgotten classic

[@peterzimmer9549]

Let’s not forget about the original “great one”…Bobby Orr!

[@judithanntoole8900]

Number 4 Bobby Orr!!!

[@michaelkuntsi5086]

I had the privilege to see him play as a young junior aged player of 16 in my hometown. He was playing in a league dominated by 17 to 19 year olds...the older the better as it were. He was dominant even then despite the age differences. For the football fans out there it is NOT hyperbole to say he IS the Lionel Messi of hockey.

[@davidkillens8143]

Gretzky completely changed the game by making the area behind the goal a place to score goals. That may seem like a weird concept, but he was able to use that area to his advantage in setting up goals. I was in a hockey league during his playing years and his impact was so profound we all agreed that he would not be listed as a player in the league because whoever won the draw was guaranteed to win because he could pick Gretzky.

[@BostonShovinstuff]

Have ypu done a hockey hit reaction bud ? That would be cool . God bless

[@alittlebitgone]

Yup, he was on the national news in Canada when he was 9, we knew what was coming.

[@MrYoup11]

I remember in his Oiler days, he had a line mate named BJ McDonald that scored 50 goals playing with Gretzky, McDonald got traded and I doubt he scored 50 goals the rest of his career. After that there was a joke, a fire hydrant could score 50 goals in a season playing next to Gretzky.

[@JoannDavi]

Poor Canada. Missed the Top 10 at the 2022 Winter Olympics (unlike the US which was 3rd). Canada also missed the Top 10 both in Tokyo (11th) and now Paris (12th) -- unlike the US, first both in Tokyo and now Paris.

[@adrianmcgrath1984]

As a Calgarian, I saw him play many times as both Edmonton and LA are in the same league. He definitely had some moves, but it was always difficult to assess his actual skill. His main 'talent' was in being untouchable. Other teams simply weren’t allowed to go know near him, meaning he could skate freely - not just because he was surrounded by minders, but because referees protected him and another teams players would just leave him alone. He also never went into corners but would hang back around the blue line so that if a puck was passed out, he was he was already several steps ahead of most of the other players. Any sense of seeing a great player at work was tempered by the fact that he held such an exalted position and played with such a protected state, and a heavy support group dedicated to just supporting him. You’d get the feeling that a good proportion of his team mates weren’t playing for the team, they were playing in support of him. There were other great players in league - Mario LeMieux, Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, Jaromir Jagr and many others who were great players but were not given anything like the untouchable status enjoyed by Gretzky. There were years where he racked up as little as two or six minutes in penalties. In hockey there is also a stat that other sports do not have and that is a players 'plus minus' +/- . It is a a way of assessing a players overall usefulness. It ignores more personal performance, and is strictly a measurement of how many goals were scored, and how many were given up during the time that a player was on the ice. There are some variables such as playing on special teams such as penalty killing or powerplays, but overall it gives an idea of whether the team scores more or gives up more goals when you are on the ice. After leaving the Oilers, Gretzky had more years with a minus than a plus - which as a forward, isn’t great. There are other stats - not officially kept until 2005, was the stat of how many shots a player has blocked. Gretzky will tell you that he never blocked a shot 'because it was the goal keepers job' whereas a player like Mark Giordano holds the record at well over 2000 blocks. So Gretzky may have scored 1000 goals in his career, but here is a defence man who could jump into the offence, and while it’s impossible to say how many of those blocked shots would have gone in, it would likely have been quite a few. And it says more about a player, that they will literally 'take one for the team', compared to one has no blocked shots, very few penalties and a plus/minus that for the latter part of your career is more often a minus on the year

[@adrianmcgrath1984]

It’s not an aspect of the game that 'reactors' seem to know about, but blocking shots is a skill and also requires a lot of guts. This is just one intense sequence, but to put in context, the Red Wings are trapped in their zone, when this happens players are generally struggling very quickly, they are unable to make line or player changes and become exhausted, a broken stick - not an unusual occurrence makes things even harder - a broken stick must be discarded immediately leaving the player with nothing but their bodies. It may be a single block, it may be a sequence like this, but there are no other sports where a player exposes themselves this way kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6HUkqx3l9mEnNUsi=qAjmF-dXqPJC1iQ-

[@adrianmcgrath1984]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnyton59adt2Y5osi=U8OCaP3gfbERIrYT

[@adrianmcgrath1984]

Blocked shots are also something often seen in penalty killing. And penalty killing is something that reactors don’t seem to have picked up on too. A single penalty will leave a team short of a player for some minutes, sometimes they may incur a second penalty along with the first one , sometimes a short while earlier while trying to kill the penalty. It can leave 3 players defending against 5 for minutes at a time, with little opportunity for line changes. The short handed team will mostly be trying to get the puck out of the zone, causing the team on the power play to exit and reform. Sometimes they can break out enough for a full or partial line change, sometimes they can break out and score a short handed goal. It’s one of the most exciting aspects of the game, and when a home team is killing a 5 on 3, you will not hear a stadium any louder

[@Dee-JayW]

This barely touched the surface Mert!

[@nightwolf4185]

I am from Edmonton.

[@hilariousname6826]

I'm not.

[@jeffreycairns767]

Good for you

[@Niagara2022]

The most dominant athlete in any sport....EVER!

[@Karen_in_Canada]

Gretzky always said watch where the ouch is going not where it is. The NHL also had to change the rules on player age so he could play.

[@416TreasureHunters]

Wayne is the greatest person to ever strap skates to his feet.

[@Fred-vy1hm]

Noone except Gretzky ever had a 200 pt season, Wayne (who did it 4 times) averaged that in a five year span early in his career.

[@jimmiller3139]

When Wayne started in the NHL, he looked like someone from a beer league. His shirt and pants were too big and his helmet looked like at came from a yard sale. If you lined up any random other 10 players from the NHL and asked someone who didn't know to pick out the one who didn't belong, it would be Gretzky. Nonetheless, as mentioned below, he thought the game better than anyone else. He seemed to know what everyone was going to do next and made passes to nowhere that turned out to be the exact right location and speed to be picked up by a winger flying past the defenceman. i think his non-typical look adds to the mystique of "The Great One" and he was always one of my favourite players to watch.

[@shawnwharry952]

He might also be the most humble person of all time.

[@beerandchips2545]

Furthermore, the NHL season was extended after the careers of other great players like Maurice Richard. Having more games in a season allowed for more opportunities to pad stats

[@freddiegillespie_05]

Wayne Gretzky has a brother who also had a short NHL career. Between the two of them, they hold the league record for most points by a pair of brothers in the league. Wayne is responsible for all but four of those points. If you look at records by members of the same family, the Gretzky brothers come in third or fourth, behind legendary families with many more players sometimes across different generations. And, again, Wayne is responsible for all for four of those points.

[@edwardlea3413]

Bad math here, 1.92 ppg is not double Mario's 1.88 ppg

[@jeffreycairns767]

Mario was better

[@jebgordon6608]

He is known for being humble, much like Pele is, and it endeared him to fans - unless you were from Calgary.

[@randyhuke3773]

Gretzky was and is the greatest playmaker ever. Mario Lemieux was and is the greatest and most reliable scorer ever even if he excelled in playmaking as well. Bobby Orr was and still is the most impactful player of all time. He could score goals and assists at the highest level; he could single handedly control games; his speed was unmatched because he could propel himself to top speed just after a single stride; in addition to his offensive numbers, his defensive numbers were unparalleled; he could hit and fight; he often sacrificed his own body to make plays which ultimately shortened his career due to knee injuries; even on one knee he was usually the best player on the ice.l

[@markelroy7774]

He is so humble; maybe Lebrone should watch this.

[@beerandchips2545]

Gretzky also had the advantage of some tough teammates who would flatten any players who touched the great one.

[@jamesjacques6344]

First graph is organized my assists and not overall points, which kinda skews the point being made. Second place from that graph would be Jagr and 1921 points, not the 1798 points from Ron Francis being referenced. Still, the man was a beast.

[@tysmaar148]

I still go with Bobby Orr !

[@quebecforce111]

Gretzky never be the most spectacular player but he see the games 3 or 4 move before the other. He are the best hockey IQ ever. Best athlete of all time top 5: 1 - Wayne Gretzky (never an athlete dominate is own sport like him) , 2- Michael Jordan, 3- Mohamed Ali, 4- Djokovich , 5- Babe Ruth . maybe 6 Lionel Messi but soccer are just to easy sport compare to others.

[@jebgordon6608]

Wayne was not the first player to wear #99, but he is the last. The other two are pub trivia answers at best.

[@aerialarboreal9005]

Even if others do beat his records... They will still never be him...

[@capnceltblood5347]

The record for the most points in the NHL for 2 brothers is held by the Gretzky Brothers.... The lesser known Gretzky had only 1 point :)

[@pdog547]

Actually Brent had 4 points total in 14 NHL games (for Tampa).

[@capnceltblood5347]

@@pdog547 I stand corrected Cheers.

[@Sid-gu5qk]

He has more assists than any other player has total points.

[@EdmontonRealEstate01]

If you get a chance, look up Mario Lemieux. Some say if not for his back injuries, he may have been the greatest of all time.

[@mikemarr7842]

He's basically the unofficial mayor of canada. He's is the greatest hockey player ever. He has more assists then anyone has points. Then he has the most goals ever.

[@Jbissful]

In my opinion, Mario Lemieux may have been a better player but injuries and longevity took that possibility away from him. Also, because it was so long ago, he tends to get forgotten but Bobby Orr must also get some respect in the greatest hockey player ever. He revolutionized how defence is played to this day. He played in the 1970’s when defencemen stayed back and simply moved the puck to their forwards. Then along comes Orr and to this day holds the fifth highest ppg average behind Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Connor McDavid, and Mike Bossy. Imagine a football backline defender scoring as many goals and assists as Christiano Ronaldo while still defending the back field.

[@ryans413]

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Wayne Gretzky.

[@chadgrov]

Yes Wayne was in the newspaper often as a child. He was basically a child celebrity because he was so insanely good at hockey. This of course wasn’t all positive. Jealousy from other kids parents and other peers meant that he would often be harassed and boo’d and not just during games. Some ppl resented this wunderkind who was destroying everyone he played against. They had to move him up leagues to play with older kids cuz he was so good, and of course jealous parents and teammates came along with that as well.

[@angusmacleod5652]

Gretzy - 1.92 points per game, Mario Lemieux - 1.88 points per game. Yes, Gretzky was "the great one", but don't forget Lemieux! :)

[@Statsy10]

Fun Gretzky stat; Typically just the best players in the NHL hit just around the 100 point mark. It's the plateau that says you had an awesome season. On four occasions Gretzky eclipsed *200* points in a season, and from 1981-86, Gretzky led the league in scoring by an average margin of 73 points over the next highest scorer. WTF?!