Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961. He was born in Brantford, Ontario and loved hockey ever since his dad built a hockey rink in his backyard. When Wayne's dad built that hockey rink, Wayne was only six. Wayne practiced on the hockey rink for hours and hours every day. His dad said "I got sick of taking him to the park and sitting there for hours freezing to death." Also when Wayne was six he played many leagues above his normal age. Wayne Gretzky was even playing with ten year olds when he was only six. When he was younger he got nicknamed "the White Tornado" because he wore white hockey gloves, had high speed and made amazing moves. Wayne Gretzky is my hero because he was a good sport when playing in the NHL, patient with wining Stanley Cups, and is inspiring to me.

Wayne Gretzky was one of the greatest players of all time and proper sportsmanship is one of the characteristics that a great player must have. One reason, he was a good sport was because he won the Stanley Cup four times and never bragged about that. Winning a Stanley Cup is a really big deal and to win it four times is an incredible accomplishment. Some people are very lucky to win a Stanley Cup once! Wayne Gretzky encouraged his teammates to do better and to become improved hockey players. Another example of his sportsmanship was in 2012 during the Stanley Cup finals. Wayne shook hands with both the captain of the Kings and the captain of the Devils before the games began. He wished both players good luck. Last reason why Wayne Gretzky has good sportsmanship is that he said "when you win, say nothing, when you lose say less". He definitely has amazing sportsmanship. Wayne Gretzky is a strong example of a hero.

Another great characteristic that Wayne Gretzky has is that he is patient. Wayne Gretzky was traded to many teams all across the world. He was on Edmonton Oilers and then traded to Los Angeles Kings, St Louis Blues and the New York Rangers. He moved from Canada to Los Angeles to Missouri and then to New York. Even though Wayne lived in New York, he still kept in touch with his family that lived in Canada. He also was patient with winning Stanley Cups. Wayne led his team to the Stanley Cup finals six times and won the cup four times. It is hard to believe that Wayne Gretzky won the Cup with only the Edmonton Oilers. Through out his career he played in the NHL for a total of twenty-one years. Recently in January, 2013 Wayne spoke on the radio addressing the Edmonton Oilers. He advised them that even though they received three of the first draft picks it would take some time to be a great team. He said, "For teams to have success long-term, you have to become a group and you have to become a team." He advised the Oilers to be patient. Patience is a very important characteristic.

Wayne Gretzky is a hockey inspiration to all hockey players. Wayne Gretzky has the most points out of every professional hockey player, so far (counting playoff points too). Over the years he racked in a total of 3,238 points! The person that has the second highest amount of points is Mark Messier. He had a total of 2,180 points. By far, Wayne Gretzky has the most points. Wayne also holds a strong title for his plus/minuses. This is when you are on the ice and your teammate or yourself scores, you will have a +1, or if you were on the ice and the opponent scores then you are a -1. Wayne had a plus/minus of +518, which is the third best of all time. One more reason why Wayne Gretzky is a hero is because he took a total of 369 shots in one season. That is a lot of shots and in my games I should improve on shooting because I don't shoot that much. Wayne Gretzky inspires all hockey players just like he inspires me.

Wayne Gretzky was a great player on and off the ice. He showed how amazing his talent was by scoring and getting many assists. He was fortunate because of how great of a team he was first on. During Wayne Gretzky's first year he won the Hart Trophy. The Hart trophy is an award that is given out to the most valuable person on a team. The next year Wayne progressed really well and broke another record. He broke Bobby Orr's assist record with 109 assists in one season. Wayne really showed his emotions on the ice when he put up all the points. This is why I think Wayne Gretzky is a good sport, patient and inspiring.