Wayne Gretzky

This report is on “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky. Wayne was born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, being a natural Hockey player. He lived in an apartment with his parents. He was the oldest in the family and had 2 brothers and a sister. Wayne was such a great player all his life and held so many records, that people started calling him “The Great One” and that is one of his famous nicknames.

At the age of 2, Wayne was already right into Hockey. His dad, Walter’s parents owned 27 acres of land where they made an outdoor rink for Wayne. He started skating everyday at the age of only 2 and 10 months! Walter was always there for Wayne and helping him on the ice everyday. He continued to practice, practice, practice and at the age of six, was too good to play against his own age level. He was playing against 10 year olds!
By the age of 10, he had 378 goals and 120 assists in 85 games, that’s almost 500 points! He continued his astonishing play and played against 16 year olds at the age of 13. He moved to Toronto at 14 to play Junior B hockey. He moved on to the Ontario Hockey League and won the Scoring Title at the age of 16. He was truly an amazing young player.

Gretzky went on to the World Hockey Association and signed by the Indianapolis Racers. The Racers could not keep Gretzky as they were short money. Gretzky and 2 other Racers were put on a private plane not knowing where they would land and what their new team would be. The Racers owner worked out the deal on the plane and ended up landing in Edmonton. Gretzky played with the Oilers for 10 years (1978-1988) and got traded to the Los Angeles Kings because of more money problems. The Oilers did not have enough money to pay Gretzky. It was probably the most shocking trade of the century! Gretzky played with the Kings for 8 years (1988-1996.) Gretzky was unhappy in Los Angeles after 8 years and signed with the St.Louis Blues. Gretzky only played 31 games and signed with the New York Rangers which was the team he ended his career with. Gretzky retired in 1999.

Through those years, Wayne won lots of awards for his outstanding skills and great class. He has had 9 Hart Trophies which is the most valuable player in that season. He has won 4 Lady Byng Trophies which is the most “Gentlemanly” Player in the NHL. He won 6 Lester B. Pearson awards which is Player of the Year. He won 10 Art Ross Trophies which are the Top Scorer in the Regular Season. He won 4 Stanley Cups with his first team, the Edmonton Oilers. Wayne was truly “The Great One” and has earned himself into the Hall Of Fame in 1999.

Wayne Gretzky has 61 NHL records. He has 40 records for the Regular Season, 15 Playoff records and 6 All Star Game records. Some of his records that he is more proud of in the Regular season are: Most Goals in a Career: 894 and Most Points in his Career: 2,856. 2 Playoff records he has earned are: Most Playoff goals in a Career: 122 and Most Playoff Assists in a Career: 260. Wayne should be very proud of himself for all these accomplishments he has reached in his hockey career.

In conclusion, Wayne Gretzky was born and raised in Brantford, Ontario. He was the oldest in his family. He got the nickname “The Great One” because he was so great at hockey. When Wayne was only 2, Walter, his dad, made a rink in his parents’ land. Wayne and Walter would practice there everyday. At the age of 6, Wayne played against 10 year olds as he was so dominate. He continued to play against 10 year olds until he was 10. He got 378 goals against kids 13 and 14! At 14, Wayne and his family moved to Toronto as Wayne was playing Hockey with a Toronto team. He was drafted to the Ontario Hockey League where he won the Scoring Title at only the age of 16. He was drafted to the World Hockey Association where he played only 8 games with the Indianapolis Racers and was traded to the Edmonton Oilers. With the Oilers, he won 4 Stanley Cups. These were his best years he has played. Wayne won over 20 awards in his NHL Career! He also has over 60 NHL records! After playing in Edmonton for 10 years, he got traded to the Los Angeles Kings because of money problems with the Oilers. He started getting older in those years and didn’t play as well as he did with the Oilers. After 8 years with the Kings, Wayne requested a trade and got traded to the St. Louis Blues where he only played 31 games. He got traded to the New York Rangers and played with his long-time teammate, Mark Messier the rest of his career. Wayne retired emotionally in 1999. He did not win any Stanley Cups with either of the Kings, Rangers or Blues. Without a regret, Wayne was a true legend of Hockey!