Australians hockey fans have plenty of stories to recant about the way they were introduced to the game and their first strides in the hockey world. From getting your first set of gear to stepping out onto the ice for the first time, everyone has a personal story to tell.
For ‘The Great One’, Wayne Gretzky, his introduction to the sport is well documented, skating from the age of two-and-a-half to dominating the youngest league for ten-year-olds at six. His earliest hockey memory however is a simple one, learning to skate on the frozen Nith River that went through his Grandparents farm just outside Toronto.
His father, Walter, had a dream for Wayne to play the highest level of ice hockey, and his dream for Wayne was the NHL.
“[He gave me] every opportunity to live out the dream,” Gretzky said to the Sunday Herald Sun. “I don’t think he could have ever dreamt that it would play out the way it did. He and my mother sacrificed so much for us. It got to the point where they bought me a new pair of skates instead of buying new curtains for the house.
“There are so many stories like that in life — people that would do anything to create opportunities for their children. I was the lucky one who benefited from my father’s extraordinary generosity.”
Like many other professional athletes, the parental guidance and financial support is what gave Wayne the opportunity to play hockey but it was his early realization of it as a passion that challenged and drove him throughout his career.
“Even at six or seven-years-old my Dad took note that I had a real love and passion for the sport; more than other kids at that age,” Gretzky said. “I mean, I would skate for eight to ten hours a day at the age of five or six so I knew even then that it was something I loved and had a real passion for.”
Gretzky made related comments to the Sunday Herald Sun stating, “People don’t believe this, but, honestly, I didn’t have the natural ability that other guys had.”
“I wasn’t big, I wasn’t fast, I wasn’t strong and I didn’t have the hardest shot either,” Gretzky said. “What I did have was a passion for the game. I think that’s what helped me become the player that I was.
“My Dad used to tell me right up until the day I retired: “No matter how good you think you are, there is someone you are going to play against who will be better.” I always respected the game that way; no matter what I did there was always going to be someone trying to be better than I was, so that challenge drove me throughout my career. That was all because of my dad.”
With the limited ice-time available in Australia, Gretzky recommended cross-training for players looking to develop their game, but he also suggested that they not limit themselves to just the one sport.
“No matter what sport you choose as the one you love, there’s always room to participate in and enjoy other sports,” Gretzky said. “For me in the summertime in Canada, I played a lot of field Lacrosse and a lot of North American Baseball; those sports I feel really helped my hand-eye coordination.
“I encourage kids who want to place hockey to play other sports. Play Soccer, play Rugby; all those sports would be good for an ice hockey player down here. Ice time is a little tougher so look at the guys who have made the NHL from California that didn’t get as much ice time either; they played a lot of in-line hockey skating with rollerblades. Those are things you can do down here in Australia.”
Coaches and parents are key influences on the effect of sport building character in youth players. Gretzky emphasized the value on kids being kids but remains thankful for the life lessons he learnt through playing hockey.
“I learnt pretty much everything [from hockey],” Gretzky said. “You learn how to be dedicated to what you’re doing, you learn how to be unselfish with team mates, you learn the pressures and hard work of being an athlete and that’s part of life.
“When you get married and have kids, you have a responsibility so pretty much everything that goes with being an athlete and playing a sport, so you take those things and put them into the real world. Right from the get-go to use your commitment and the passion, setting and striving for goals, all that is part of being an athlete.
“The biggest difference now is the missing of participating. I played 20 years professionally, but the reality was, at 39-years-old, I was tired. I’d been playing for 36-and-a-half-years and all of a sudden you wake up one day and go its over.
“From that point of view when you’re 39-year-old athlete, you are considered to be an elderly person but 39 is just the beginning of life. You’re just a young man. I’ve been lucky, I’ve got a great family, friends around me and the things I’ve gotten out of my life are because of hockey. I got to travel the world, great memories of playing and to meet some wonderful people. For me, the hard work and dedication I put in at a young age has made everything worthwhile.”
Retiring 17 years ago now, change is inevitable in hockey like any other sport and is far from his run-and-gun prime to more of a grinding game due to the athlete’s themselves.
“The athletes themselves are much faster, they’re stronger, bigger but that’s not a change but a realization,” Gretzky believes. “Twenty years from now these athletes are going to be bigger than they are today. Every sport is right now whether its golf, tennis or ice hockey - the athletes are bigger now and the equipment is better.
“All in all, it’s sort of a grinding game now. You’re taught that your role and responsibility is to keep the puck out of your net and players have patience yet it’s different in the sense that it’s a much faster game. In a faster game, the side-to-side action is much more prevalent.
“If you looking at goaltending, the goaltenders of today are the biggest differences in that they’re very athletic. When I was playing the goalies weren’t as big or quite as fast. The top goaltenders in the game today may be amongst the top athletes in their team. Every position has gotten better and the game itself has gotten better.”
Like any other fan of hockey, Wayne looks at the players today and imagines testing his skills against their high level talent.
“From my point of view I think [Sidney] Crosby is the best player in the game and I think he’s a spectacular young man,” Gretzky said. “I have a lot of respect and admiration for Alex Ovechkin and what he does for the Washington Capitals. I really enjoy watching Patrick Kane and Jonathon Toews play in Chicago and [Anze] Kopitar is a player I admire. Any one of those guys I would’ve loved to have the chance to play with.”
With Wayne Gretzky regarded as the best hockey player ever, a few select lucky competition winners, charity partners and event sponsors have the opportunity to share the ice with the Great One playing both with and against him in a 40-minute exhibition game, his only appearance on the ice during the 2016 Wayne Gretzky Ice Hockey Classic.
Event organisers are opening the doors to Qudos Bank Arena early for the special one-off event, which starts at 5:15pm.
Tickets are still available for the 2016 Wayne Gretzky Ice Hockey Classic. For more information, visit: http://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=IHCLASSI16
|
ICE DOGS
RHINOS
ADRENALINE
BEARS
THUNDER
ICE
BRAVE
LIGHTNING
NORTHSTARS
MUSTANGS
