When it came to growing the game, Wayne Gretzky truly was ‘The Great One’
By Will MacLaren
Wayne Gretzky ranks no. 3 on the CHL’s Top 50 Players of the Last 50 Years
Volumes have been written attesting to Wayne Gretzky’s importance within the world of hockey. One of the rare people who turned the game on its ear, The Great One wasn’t just the best of his (or, many would argue, any) era on the ice, he was a trailblazer. But before he made the game a popular trend in any number of new markets throughout the United States, Gretzky became the first prototype for youthful phenom. A key part of that story took place in Sault Ste. Marie.
Before Eric Lindros, Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid emerged on hockey fans’ radars as pre-teens, there was Walter Gretzky’s kid from Brantford, Ontario. People’s curiosity with the skinny adolescent who worshipped Gordie Howe was alive and well by the time he descended upon the OHA. First, there was a three-game emergency call up with the Peterborough Petes at 15. Then, in the 1977-78 campaign, the 16-year-old slapped on the red and white Soo sweater with a ‘99’ on the back and tore through the league like, well, a greyhound.
Seventy goals and 182 points later, not to mention two points per game in the postseason, and even the most casual fan knew the name Gretzky. Shoehorned within one of the CHL’s most explosive seasons was a trip to Montreal for the World Junior Hockey Championship. Gretzky held the holiday crowd in the palm of his hand as deftly as he manipulated the puck on his stick, an undersized buzzsaw on skates. Seventeen points in just six games for the bronze medal winning Canadians was the first – but far from the last – time Gretzky rose to the occasion on the biggest stage.
From the ‘O’, Gretzky helped solidify another trend; entering the pro ranks as a teenager. In the era of the 20-year-old draft age, the young Great One elected to turn pro in the WHA. At just 17, Gretzky filled nets (if not the arena) with the Indianapolis Racers before a fateful trade to the Edmonton Oilers. Gretzky would lead the Oilers into the NHL the following season in 1979; ironically, just four months after the league lowered its draft age to 18. From there, and for much of the next two decades, the world’s best hockey league became Wayne’s World.
It’s not just the plethora of records Gretzky set and reset; it’s the sheer absurdity of some of them. Who will step up to challenge 50 goals in 39 games? Or 92 goals in a season? How about 215 points in a year, or 2,857 regular season points? And that’s to name but a few. This, combined with 10 scoring titles, nine Hart Trophies and five Stanley Cups make for a career that will likely never be equalled in sheer volume of accolades. When he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999, the mandatory three-year waiting period was waived in lieu of immediate induction. Two months later, the number 99 was retired league wide by the NHL, the only number so honored.
At the CHL level, the great former Greyhound’s presence remains in full force. The Wayne Gretzky Trophy is awarded to the OHL’s Western Conference Playoff Champions. The playoff MVP is handed the Wayne Gretzky ‘99’ Award. He might’ve spent just 80 total games in the CHL but Wayne Gretzky’s presence will be felt at the junior ranks for generations to come.
