Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Douglas Gretzky, born January 26, 1961, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and head coach. Nicknamed "the Great One," he played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams between 1979 and 1999. He is the leading career point scorer and assist producer in NHL history, possessing more assists than any other player has total points. Gretzky is the only NHL player to record over 200 points in a single season, a feat he accomplished four times, and he scored over 100 points in 15 professional seasons. Upon retiring in 1999, he held 61 NHL records.

Gretzky was born in Brantford, Ontario, to Walter Gretzky and Phyllis Leone (Hockin). He began skating before age three on his grandparents' farm and developed his skills on a backyard rink built by his father. Displaying exceptional intelligence, stamina, and game reading despite his smaller size, he played minor ice hockey far above his age group. By age ten, he had scored 378 goals and 139 assists in a single season for the Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers.

To escape local pressure, Gretzky moved to Toronto at age 14 to play Junior B hockey with the Toronto Nationals, earning Rookie of the Year honors in 1975–76. In 1977, he joined the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League. With the Greyhounds, he began wearing jersey number 99 at coach Muzz MacPherson's suggestion because his preferred number 9 was already being worn by a teammate.

In June 1978, 17-year-old Gretzky signed a personal services contract with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association (WHA). After playing eight games, he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers. During the 1978–79 season, he won the Lou Kaplan Trophy as WHA rookie of the year and appeared in the WHA All-Star Game on a line with Gordie Howe. When the WHA dissolved in 1979, the Oilers joined the NHL as an expansion franchise, keeping Gretzky on their roster.

In ten seasons with Edmonton, Gretzky led the Oilers to four Stanley Cup championships. In his 1979–80 NHL debut season, he tied for the scoring lead with 137 points and won his first of eight consecutive Hart Memorial Trophies. He was later traded to the Los Angeles Kings, playing eight seasons and leading them to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, before brief stints with the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers. Over his career, he won nine Hart Trophies, 10 Art Ross Trophies, two Conn Smythe Trophies, five Lester B. Pearson Awards, and five Lady Byng Memorial Trophies.

Upon retiring in 1999, Gretzky was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the NHL retired his number 99 league-wide. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. Gretzky served as executive director for Canada's gold-medal-winning 2002 Olympic men's hockey team. He was part-owner and head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes until 2009, returned to the Oilers as a minority partner and vice-chairman in 2016, and left in 2021 to become an analyst for Turner Sports.