An icon of Ice Hockey: Legend of the month V - Wayne Douglas Gretzky

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Following the steps of a memorable series of edition started by Nescio, the next edition continues into its fifth month, with this month the focus on Wayne Douglas Gretzky.

Nicknamed “The Great One”, Gretzky was called “the greatest player of all time” in Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of the NHL. He is generally regarded as the best player in history, and has been called “the greatest hockey player ever” by many sportswriters, players, and coaches. Upon his retirement on April 18, 1999, he held forty regular-season records, fifteen playoff records, and six All-Star records. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season—a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, he tallied over 100 points in 15 NHL seasons, 13 of them consecutively. He is the only player to have his number (99) officially retired by the NHL for all teams.

Opinions/thoughts/comments/views?

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Re: An icon of Ice Hockey: Legend of the month V - Wayne Douglas Gretzky

I have never been a fan of ice hockey.... have watched it a little ...

Thanks for the thread.... nice Clip... some awesome moments from the game.

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Re: An icon of Ice Hockey: Legend of the month V - Wayne Douglas Gretzky

This guy is very much responsible for my adiction to INTERnational ice hockey.
I have had no love for this game, but when I started watching this guy on the ice, (I still remember the world championships back in 1996 thrilling me, I believe It was USA vs. Canada, where US won the gold). The way this guy gets his goals on the ice is just remarkable. The one timers, the no-look passes, the back-handers...I just miss them.
Funny is he was only 1m 80cm and had like 80 kgs, not much for an ideal ice hockey player and yet he was quite some magic.
When he retired It's pretty much the turning point for me. Which resulted in me becoming a die hard fan of the Russian team.
Players like Yashin and Ovechkin are not to be compared to Gretzky, but they do have some fantastic skills and abilities too. And dont forget that Gretzkys roots are Russian too ;-)

I'm not sure to classify him as the greatest of the great, since I believe there are a number of other players are great as well. He is one of the best, but maybe not the best.

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Re: An icon of Ice Hockey: Legend of the month V - Wayne Douglas Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky, now Headcoach of the Phoenix Coyotes is truly the icon of icehockey! Will anyone ever break his record for scoring the most goals in a season (only the regular season) in which he scored 93 Goals?

It's hard to tell because the NHL in his time was different. Most of all the individual play was crucial and in this part Gretzky was the magician. The game has changed alot, especially after the rule changes which were implented after lockout in 2005/2006...There is no 2 line pass rule anymore, they have changed the offside rules, now when you're offside you simply leave the offensive zone and skate back. Before they changed the rule the team which was offside had to wait till the puck was played out of the zone, now even if the puck is in the offensive zone, you skate out and skate in back...

I miss the brawls guys...I miss the Red Wings- Avalanche Rivalry...Bloodbath I tell you, all kidding aside...The game isn't intense anymore, only in the Playoffs...There the referees let the play go. These new rules, they destroyed the game, but gave players like Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, Zetterberg, Datsyuk a place to shine and a place to show their skills...

For Hockey Fans except me

Western Conference Finals:

Dallas Stars - Detroit Red Wings @ Joe Louis Arena, Detroit

Game 1

Thursday, 8 May 7. 30 PM ET

Eastern Conference Finals

Philadelphia Flyers - Pittsburgh Penguins @ Mellow Arena, Pittsburgh

Game 1

Friday, 9 May 7.30 ET

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Re: An icon of Ice Hockey: Legend of the month V - Wayne Douglas Gretzky

Which are the two top teams in ice hockey and what rivalries have been popular in recent times?

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Re: An icon of Ice Hockey: Legend of the month V - Wayne Douglas Gretzky

I'd say the Detroit Red Wings and the second, this is very hard to say, because the other 29 teams are gettin' better and better...You can call Detroit the Bayern Munich of Icehockey...Detroit is for sure the top team RIGHT NOW...Won the Presidents Trophy this season (goes to the team with the most wins, points in the regular season). It's the fourth throphy in 6 years! This team has power. Are you hockey fan? This is a puck possesing team, fast, skilled, OMG...I hope they make it...The Cup belongs to hockeytown!

Since 17 consecutive years they made it to the playoffs...Last Championship was in 2002. Right now Detroit is ahead 2 games to nothing against the Stars in the Western Conference Finals. In 45 minutes the third game is starting in Dallas...I'm so excited...can't wait for the puck drop! GO WINGS GO

2 Rivales? The Red Wings and the Ave's...No doubt. I'll post something on this Rivalry soon.

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Re: An icon of Ice Hockey: Legend of the month V - Wayne Douglas Gretzky

Gretzky is still probably the 2nd most recognized face in hockey, 1st being Sidney "The Next One" Crosby.