Gretzky is said to be the greatest hockey player ever. This may be because he is the leading NHL scoring or maybe because he has more assists then any other player has points. No one but Wayne has had over 200 total points in one season and he has done it four times. He has over 100 points in 16 seasons and 14 of the seasons were consecutive. When he retired he had 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 All-Star records. This could be why he is considered "The Great One".
Gretzky was not really known for being the strongest, biggest or fastest but he had a high hockey IQ and could dodge his opponents that would try checking him. It just seemed like he knew how to make the right move or shot at just the right time.
Gretzky started in the World Hockey Associations (WHA) in 1978 with the Indianapolis Racers. He was traded to the Edmonton Oilers and shortly after the Oilers joined the NHL. He led the team to four Stanley Cups and was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988. He led them to a Stanley Cup Finals in 1993. He has also played for the St. Louis Blues and the New York Rangers. He retired in 1999 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame shortly after.
In his 20 seasons, Gretzky played a total of 1695 games, 1016 goals, 2223 assists, and 3239 points. There is not much evidence to argue that fact Gretzky is the greatest hockey player and clearly he has deserved the nickname "The Great One". To this day when people think hock they think Wayne Gretzky.
Awards and Achievements:
- Ranked #1 Hockey player of all time by "The Hockey News"
- Hall of fame 1999
- WHA Rookie of the Year 1979
- NHL MVP 1980-1987 and 1989
- Scoring Champion 1981-1987, 1990, 1991, 1994
- NHL Playoff MVP 1985, 1988
- 4x Stanley Cup Winner
- 3x NHL All-Star MVP
- Olympic Gold Medal
- 8x All NHL First Team
- AP- Athlete of the Decade 1980s
- Ranked #1 Canadian Athlete of the Century
- Ranked #5 in ESPN's top 100 Athletes of the 20th Century
- His Number 99 is retired by the NHL
- Most Career Goals 1016
- Most Goals in a Season 100
- Most Goals in one period 4
- Most Career Assists 2223
- Most Assists in a Season 174
- Most Assists in one period 7
- Most Career Points 3239
- Most Points in a Season 255
- Most 3 or more goal games 50
- Most 100 or more point Seasons 15
- Highest Goal per game average 1.18
- Highest assist per game average 1.321
- Highest points per game average 2.04
- Longest consecutive assist scoring streak 23 games
- Longest consecutive point scoring streak 51 games
