USA Today via Reuters
1987; Landover, MD, USA; Edmonton Oilers Wayne Gretzky. Mandatory Credit: Porter Binks/USA TODAY NETWORK
Edmonton Oilers legend Wayne Gretzky inspired a generation of younger NHL players, and Calgary Flames general manager Craig Conroy is no exception. Conroy, himself a former player, recalls the aura that Gretzky carried when entering an arena.
Conroy played for the St. Louis Blues in the NHL between 1996 and 2001, and had the fortune of facing prime Gretzky. Conroy recalls the athleticism and skill with which The Great One shuffled the puck past him in a Facebook post by Hockey Beast from June 12.
“I remember before that I was a little in awe, watching him as he was coming in, and thinking, ’Wow, this is Wayne Gretzky’, and before I knew it, I was on the bench…”
The Flames GM recollects how he was facing Gretzky during a face-off in the St. Louis zone, sourced from the 2014 book “Facing Wayne Gretzky: Players Recall the Greatest Hockey Player Who Ever Lived”.
Conroy's awe cost him—he froze, and Gretzky exploited it
“...what he did to me was he put it between my legs and went forward, and by the time I turned around, he had already made the pass to Graves in front of the net, and it was back of the net.”
This came as a shock to Conroy, who had been a defensive specialist all his career. But he also came to realize why Gretzky was considered one of the greatest.
But the numbers explain why Conroy's awe was justified.
The Numbers Behind the Legend Wayne Gretzky
Gretzky is widely considered the greatest NHL player to have ever graced the ice. He has played 1,487 NHL games over two decades. He held a total of 61 official records at the time of his retirement.
He had scored the most goals with 894 in all his regular-season games. This record has since been broken by Alexander Ovechkin, the captain of the Washington Capitals.
Gretzky also holds the record for the most goals in one season. He made a total of 92 goals in the 1981-82 season, across the 80 games played that regular season. Gretzky didn’t stop at goals, as he also had the most assists in history.
With 1,963 assists, he tops the leaderboard.
It is no wonder that he also leads the rankings of players with the most points scored. Gretzky has a total of 2,857 points scored over 20 years.
The Great One also holds numerous playoff records, standing strong with the most goals (122), most assists (260), and most points (382) overall in playoff games.
He even dominates the All-Star games, with the Most All-Star game goals at 13. He scored the most goals in a single game as well, with 4, at the 1983 Campbell Conference. The most assists (12) and the most overall points (25) in All-Star games are held by Gretzky as well.
Do you think you would be too awe-struck to defend against Wayne Gretzky as well? Let us know in the comments.
