One thing about Gretzky that will always blow me away is that even if he never scored a single goal in his career, he’d still have the most points in NHL history from assists alone. No one has even came close to him in all these years-it’s astonishing.
Another way I like to put it- Consider the HR record in MLB baseball. In order for someone to break that record by the same margin Gretzky has over the 2nd all time leading scorer in the NHL, they’d have to hit around 1300 home runs.
Connor McDavid is on-pace to have over 100 assists for the first time in his career. The last time someone did it? Wayne Gretzky's 11th consecutive season of over 100 assists.
My favorite Gretzky stat: he's "one half" of the highest scoring pair of brothers in NHL history - 2,861 points. Wayne, with 2,857, and his brother Brent, with 4. The next closest pair are the Sedin twins who tallied 2,111 points - Henrik with 1,070 and Daniel with 1,041. All six Sutter brothers combined scored 2,934 points - 73 more than the Greztky brothers - but it took them 4,994 games versus Wayne's 1,487. Wayne scored more points than any five of the six Sutters combined.
@@kentmartin9289 He's also the only player in history to have double digit goal totals for even strength, powerplay, shorthanded and game winning goals in a single season.
@@evelk5233 and those 212 points were only good enough for his 3rd highest points per game for a season. 205 points in 74 games and 215 in 80 games both topped his 212 in 80 games.
He sure made it look easy & made everyone around him better. He may not have the flashy highlights or display of skills like a McDavid, but he was so far ahead of everybody else with his hockey IQ that he didn't need to be flashy, though he still had his moments.
He had unparalleled vision. Messi in soccer and Jokic in the NBA are similar, heads always scanning before and after they receive the ball/puck. Gretzky always had plan A through plan Zed on every play.
Nigel richards is pretty outstanding, possibly gretzky tier. Hes known for memorizing the french scrabble dictionary in 5 weeks, while not speaking french. Whats more outstanding in my mind is his endgame accuracy. At the end of a scrabble game theres no more hidden information, you can know exactly what tiles your opponent has, so it's vastly simpler and computers can calculate the exact best line of play. The top 10 not counting nigel have an endgame best play accuracy from 50-70%. Nigel has an endgame accuracy of 99%. That might seem like it's about twice as good, but looking at it another way it's making 1/30th the errors that the next best player makes.
He was equally awesome off the ice as an ambassador for the game. I'm a firm believer that he helped grow the league during his career, the man helped bringing hockey to the desert & to many markets without frozen ponds.
@@de132 Yeah, the most heartbreaking trade in NHL history ended up being the best thing for the league. Not sure, & doubt, the same thing happens if he would've went to Vancouver.
Stan Lee was a writer, not a cartoonist. All of the characters he's famous for are actually co-creations with a number of artists (though mainly Jack Kirby), or created by other people entirely (Captain America).
most were co-creations. the marvel way of doing comic books was to write some ideas and give a bit guidance to the penciller, and then the writer would only fill in the word ballons after the artists were done.
What people forget is that Gretzky, who used to 'Rocker' his blades, had the shortest turning radius of any player in NHL history... This, in conjunction with his peerless vision, and anticipatory abilities to see plays develop, to know where the puck, the opposition and his team mates would be, before they did, set him head and shoulders above everyone else. People talk about great skaters, and Sergei Fedorov's, who could play both forward and D, name usually gets mentioned. Team CCCP gave a very young Fedorov the job of trying to shadow Gretzky one time, figuring Sergei (kinda like Bob Gainey for team Canada, but in reverse) would be Red Army's secret weapon, only it didn't work out well for the Russians... and that's putting it mildly. I don't remember if it was team Canada vs CCCP, or Red Army vs the Oilers. (The latter most likely)... But Gretzky, the puck carrier, came at Sergei just outside the Russian blue... Then circled back with the puck... then came at him again... dipsy doodling this way and that... until Sergei fell flat on his butt... There came a stoppage in play... and Sergei got up, shrugged his shoulders, and skated toward the Russian bench with an exasperated, hang-dog look, as if to say... Forget it, I can't cover this guy. I quit. Let somebody else play the fool... Don't recall if it was the same game (more likely team Canada vs CCCP)_ ... but Mark Messier caught a Russian, think it was Sergei Makarov with a flying elbow... knocked him silly and cut him up pretty good... Nowadays, that would have been five plus game misconduct... But Messier mighta just got a double minor... One thing I recall clearly, is that Team CCCP wasn't the same after that hit... They wilted and lost (not unlike Red Army vs Flyers/Broad Street Bullies in 76)... Ah yes, 'Those were the days my friends' ...
As a hockey fan, I would usually describe Gretzky’s advantage as being that he thought the game much faster than anyone else. Or, as I often put it, “Gretzky knows where the puck is going before the puck does.”
Your post reminded me of something I read in Gretzky's biographical book long ago. I believe he said his dad told him to go where the puck is going not where it currently is. If you made your statement without ever hearing that quote from his dad you are very perceptive, that's exactly what he was trying to do.
This is exactly what my father said about Gretzky too... Not only did he know where the puck would be...he would know where all the other players were...down to the position of their skates and body parts...BEFORE they got there. It was astonishing to watch.
The two things I felt gave Wayne such and advantage. First, there was no "weak side" when it came to his skating. He was just as comfortable on his weak side as his strong side. Second, his father trained him about the big picture on the rink, and Wayne had an understanding of where the puck, teammates, and opponents, are going to, not just where they are now.
The difference in NHL point leaders is wild. the gap between 1 and 2 is BIGGER than the gap from 2 to 50 (gap from gretz to jagr is 936, jagr#2 to Vincent Damphousse #50 is 716 points)
Also didn't show games. If Lemieux didn't get Hodgkin lymphoma in his prime playing alongside Jagr and Francis, who knows whether he'd outscore Gretzky.
@@reubensandwich9249 lemieux is the best pure scorer to ever play the game. Take away his cancer and back issues, he would beat Gretzky in goals but he wasn’t on the same level as a playmaker (assists).
The thing I love most about Wayne Gretzky is that he's average in every way. Like me, he's 5 foot 11. Kinda skinny. Bobby Orr had amazingly powerful legs. Bobby Hull had arms like a body builder's legs. Mario was huge but incredibly agile. Wayne didn't stand out in any way--except between the ears. He loved the game and made it his own.
Elite athletes enter a "zone" where time moves slower. Gretzky was the athlete for whom time moved the slowest. Knowing in advance where all 12 players would be in 5 seconds, making opponents look foolish, and teammates look brilliant.
As an Australian I was going to mention Don Bradman. I know little about ice hockey but I wager you would probably have to multiply Gretzky by 2 to get a Don Bradman. His test batting average is 99.94. Only 5 other players in history have averaged over 60, with the next best being 62.15. All in an era of limited protective equipment and uncovered pitches. Statistically the greatest athlete of any sport ever.
Each year, NHL teams conduct individual strength tests for their players. Despite his legendary status, Gretzky was never known for his physical dominance and consistently ranked at the bottom of these tests compared to his teammates and other players in the league. Interestingly enough-his physical ability made him one of the weakest performers across various strength testing metrics.
He was normally at the bottom of those strength tests. There was one test though that made up for it all, the stamina testing. The people testing him thought the machine was broken. It was the one test each year that he was first in.
It looks so much better without all the damn ads on the boards...... I wouldn't even mind the digital ones on TV if they would go back to all white in the Arenas.
Was lucky to watch him in person for four seasons as a Ranger. You did a great job summing it up He wasn't exceptional to watch either at the start or end of his career in terms of hot dogging but the guy did everything right. Bobby Orr is a better player but Gretzky made it work like no one else
Watched both play and I'm willing to concede Bobby Orr was better at defense, but that's where I draw the line. Well in addition to that Orr could also control the tempo of play better than anyone too. Gretzky's only real rival for hockey GOAT is Mario Lemieux.
To truly highlight how absurdly dominate he was, here are some stats: -If Wayne was never credited with a goal, he would STILL be the all-time points leader solely on assists -Wayne Gretzky was the fastest player to score 1000 points in the NHL. The second fastest is….Wayne Gretzky.
And for those of us who did watch hockey, and were around back then remember how much fun it was watching Gretzky play. I grew up in Pittsburgh, and it is just so unfortunate that Gretzky and Mario Lemieux very rarely got to play against each other. (We got to see how awesome they were as teammates in the Canada's Cup.) Part of that was the amount of time Lemieux lost due to injuries/illness. The other part was the fact that the Oilers and Pens were in opposite conferences, and for the bulk of Mario's early career, he played on a team that was too pathetic to even hope to face Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Finals. Gretzky and Lemieux were the two best players of all time that weren't named Bobby Orr.
Mario Lemieux would be right there at the top with Gretzky if it wasn't for the cancer. Most people don't realize that Mario was averaged above 2 points per game like Gretzky, but he lost how many of those prime years to cancer. it honestly would be Gretzky, then about 50 points back, Mario, then the 800 points back everyone else.
It was a great time for sports: - Gretzky in hockey - Tyson in boxing - Jordan in basketball Arguably 3 of the best to ever compete in their respective sports, and all 3 were active at the same time! You could also add Maradonna for soccer, but he was 2nd best behind Pele.
Gretzky developed anticipation on the play. he was like a chess master, looking ahead at the board, playing against an average chess player observing the current position of pieces. there are a lot of great individual stats players, but he elevated everyone else who stepped on the ice with him by also gauging their strengths and likely reactions.
His hockey IQ was through the roof and in particular, his anticipation of where the puck would be rather than where it was. He also represents a quantum leap in a center setting up in the offensive zone and involving his teammates in scoring opportunities. His goal scoring has more to do with his ability to anticipate than anything else, though his stick handling and skating were enough to create open shots for him.
What is most impressive is the way he did this before our growing era of TV timeouts, where coaches use those extra timeouts to boost ice time for star players.
Wayne Gretzky est le GOAT sans aucun doute. Suivi de près par Mario Lemieux. Et Mike Bossy est le #1 buts/match. Wayne Gretzky pouvait tout faire sur la glace, vision périphérique incroyable, sens inné et lecture du jeu unique. Le nombre d’assistances 1,963 est un record inatteignable, comme celui de Henri « the Pocket Rocket » Richard qui a gagné la Coupe Stanley comme joueur 11 fois!
I met him in an elevator going down to the lobby one morning in Toronto. He was with another player and his son. I believe he was coaching Phoenix Coyotes at the time and they may have been in town to play vs the Maple Leafs. I didn't say a word and enjoyed a quiet moment with a Legend.
If you ever see some old footage of Wayne wearing and old sweater with a N on it back when he was 10 he was wearing number 9. We also had some great men of sports dinners in brantford and that’s where Wayne first met Mr Howe and it was that year or the one after. That was year while playing for Nadrofsky Steelers he scored all those goals playing one age group above his age. His father never uttered a bad word about anyone. Gave and gave and gave to the community of brantford Ontario. Even after his close call with a blood clot. There he was out coaching a bantam team with a helmet on. Couldn’t speak yet. The man was beauty. I mean anyone in the world could walk up knock on his door and tour his basement full of moments photos jerseys you name of Wayne’s career. Brantford sure is missing him these days
Stan Lee didn't really draw. He wrote comic books and is famous for co-creating a number of famous superheroes. That being said, the reason we're so familiar with him is that he was a big advocate and promoter of comic books as a medium. You can think of him as a mascot of for superhero comics.
Fastest 1000 points NHL ALL TIME? 1. Wayne's' first 1000 (424 games) 2. Wayne's second 1000 (433 games) 3. Mario Lemieux (513 games) 4. Mike Bossy (656 games)
hey great vid’ about the gr8 one but there is a small mistake in the table and the calc at 0:47 the 2nd one in points is Jagr, the tab is sort by assists and not points. the calc is unfo wrong either. with your numbers it must be -37% not -33%. but the -33% are correct when you do the division with Jagrs points 1921. other than that gr8 work. thx for making the clip
Number 66 was one of a kind to stand 6 foot 4 and about 230 lbs and dominate the way he did was incredible he had hands a shot great playmaker and crazy think is crosby has played more games than 66 lemieux never made it to 1000 games could only imagine if he played as much as gretzky hed be close to gretzkys points
Gretzky scored 500 more points by the end of his age 31 season than Lemieux did his whole career. And durability is a factor. But the fact is given the fall off we saw in Lemieux when he returned (particularly the last 3 years or so) he never would’ve been close to Wayne’s final total (closer than anyone else maybe, but still a solid 600 or so below.) I could play this game the other way, though. Imagine if Wayne only played as many games as Mario… Wayne would still be the all time leading scorer (starting from the beginning of his career, Wayne could retire after his age 30 season and would have played exactly the same number of games Mario did- 915 games to be precise- and he had 2142 career points at that point compared to Mario’s total of 1723.)
1) he wasn't the fastest skater, but he was a dam fast skater. and very quick that's why he moved around so feast. he was a really dam good skater. Skating isn't just about top end speed. He had a very accurate 3 types of shots. snap, slap, wrist and deflections. he was hard to check. he went in and out of the corners very fast. he had great team mates for the first half of his career. His entire starting line with the Oilers were inducted into the hall of fame. Mark Messier, Jari Kurri , Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, Ryan Smyth, Kevin Low. Charley Huddy. (Ok maybe they didn't all make the hall of fame but they were all outstanding players)
Exactly. The whole "he wasn't really a great athlete" thing really grinds my gears. Watch him wheel a defender, take a slapshot from outside while skating at full speed, and snipe the high far corner of the net, and then talk to me about his physical skills. I once heard an apocryphal story about Gretzky racing Messier -- yes, Messier was faster, but he also sounded like a freight train, while Gretzky hardly made any noise at all: absolutely perfect skating form. Even without the vaunted jedi hockey sense he would have been one of the highest-scoring players in history. Making out like anybody could have been him, if they only worked as hard as he did is bunk. He was recognizably a freak of nature when he was 3 years old. Sure, maybe without the dedication he'd only have been playing up two years instead of 4, and maybe when he was 10 he would have scored only 300 goals, but don't anybody kid themselves, or wax rhapsodic about the "growth mindset": WG was/is a one in 10 million genetic miracle.
@@allenswanson2423He also won a foot race in that all stars athletic competition they used to have back in the 70's and 80's where they would match star athletes from different sports against each other. There was a Canadian version and an American version.
There are 2 factors that makes Wayne Gretzky stand out from the other legends and it has to do with Gretzkys size, and his genius vision on the ice to dodge injury for most of his career. This was a gift most other greats did not have like Bobby Orr, Mike Bossy, Mario Lemiuex, etc with their careers cut short, but Gretzky under normal circumstances should have been tossed around like a tennis ball in the rink, but his visual instinct kept him from major injuries. This in itself sets him apart and most other greats and many others just did not have that prowess. #2, I never thought it was fair to compare players that play an entire 80 games or close to 80 games and players that only play half or more than half a season. Most players including Gretzky slow down and get fatigued usually in the last half of the season and their PPG reduces a bit. i never thought it was fair to compare players that play only 2/3 a season like Lemieux and then get injured their body was not in full fatigue factor like Gretzky was and had Gretzky played the exact same amount of games as Lemieux during a season his PPG total would be significantly higher. The fatigue factor makes a huge difference on points total and Lemieux's career stats took advantage of that.
Having come from brantford and being Wayne’s age and payed a lot of hockey I can tell you he was a great great hockey player. But I will say this. He had a great great mentor. His father was actually the great one.
Gretzky is being modest. He was easily the most talented player in the league until Mario Lemieux came along. Lemieux is probably the only player that I think may have been better than Gretzky. He had nearly the same point scoring average as Gretzky but played more games in the lower scoring era of the NHL. The two were very different players. I give the edge to Lemieux because of his size and ability to maneuver and score in tough, physical matchups. Best hockey I ever watched was the 87 Canada Cup against the Soviet Union. I remember thinking that it was like they were on a power play when those two were on the ice together.
Stan Lee didn't draw any comic books. He was the writer. Jack Kirby was the main artist. Steve Ditko did Spider-man, though -- follow by John Romita Sr.
You would have to get 100 points every season for 28 seasons and you would till be 57 short. You would have to score 50 goals every season for 17 seasons and you would still be 44 short. Ovechkin getting close! Mind blowing...
And anyone whos played hockey will tell u its not that unheard of for good players to play with leagues above their age group. Every city with hockey allows kids to do that. Just most are only 1-2 years up wayne got 4 years up cause he was in a small town. If he was ina bit city he would have played 2 years up
Someone must have commented this already but if you take away all of Gretzky's career goals, he'd still be the NHL's all time leading scorer with his 1963 assists being 42 points ahead of Jagr's goal and assist total of 1921. This is the most impressive stat in my opinion. He still leads the NHL in goals all time as well even though he wasn't even a pure goal scorer. The greatest playmaker ever just happens to have the most goals too. It requires the most exceptional pure goal scorer in NHL history (Ovechkin) to have an almost flawless career of scoring roughly 50 goals a year for over 20 years to come even close to Gretzky. He might actually surpass it (which I personally hope he won't) but all these things sum up why Wayne is the best. There is only one player in NHL history who can compete with and probably is as good as Wayne and his name is Mario Lemieux. No one else.
Bobby Orr, was the best! Gretzky was a protected player!! Not to mention he had Messier, Kurri, Lowe, Anderson etc all on the same team helping him!! Not to take away from his talent, but if Bobby was protected, he wouldn't have gotten hurt so early. Bobby Orr all the way
In 70-71, didn't Boston have the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th and 11th top scorers in the league? Guess we conveniently leave that part out? But yes, Gretzky did have Lowe on his team.
Gretzky is, in my opinion the greatest, but saying no one comes close, and not even considering Mario Lemieux in terms of talent is crazy. Not every player who played during the same time needed to be embarassed - Lemieux being at the top of the list. I am NOT a Penguins fan but you can't ignore he was as talented - it was different though. I watch both live and you noticed Lemieux when he was on the ice. Gretzky could be like that but sometimes you would leave the rink thinking he didn't do anything and then you realize he set up all 5 of his teams goals. Incredible -both of them were - and when they played together on team canada . . . . .!!!!!
Come on George! Orr and Lemieux better than Gretzky! In 1980s NHL 8 goals per game! Ovechkin ERA only 5,3-6 goals per game NHL! If Ovechkin had played high scoring 1980s he would had scored over 1300 goals! Today under 6 goals per game NHL! If Auston Matthews had played In 1982 he would had scored over 100 goals easily beating Gretzky's 92 goal record easily! Canada have 650000 hockey players today! USA have 500000 hockey players today! Ovechkin's Russia have only 80000 hockey players today! Canada and USA should have 15 guys who have scored over 800 goals like Ovechkin today! Soccer have 250 million players vs Canada 650000 players that means The Soccer All Stars would beat Orr Gretzky Lemieux easily 100 game Series 93-7! Soccer have 4 billion fans around the world! Cricket have 2,5 billion fans around the world! Sadaharu Oh Hit 868 home runs in Japan against weaker pitching than MLB! Oh better than Gretzky because Japan 130 million people and Canada 40 million! Cricket player Bradman Hit 99,5 runs average and Second Best 64 runs! Bradman better than Gretzky! Gretzky played against players from Canada 95% of The NHL players were from Canada in 1982! Gretzky is good only in Canada not the whole world!!
we call it hockeyIQ and all it really means is just knowing whats going to happen before it happens. where the puck WILL be and not where it currently is. gretzky was like a time traveler from the future who had an uncanny hockeyIQ. its like he watched the games before hand and just knew everything prior to it happening
Gretzky is the GOAT of GOATs. He's further above other elite hockey players than Jordan or LeBron are above elite basketball players. As a Penguins fan, I do have to mention Mario Lemieux. He battled injuries and retired for 4-5 years due to Hodgkin's Lymphoma. When he retired, his career average was two points per game, a little higher than Gretzky's. After he came back, played a few more years, and retired for good, it was a little below Gretzky's, so Gretzky moved from 2nd to 1st on that list while retired! Lemieux is really the only player who's statistically in Gretzky's stratosphere. He played about 500 fewer games in his career than Gretzky did, and I think if he had been healthier, he would have passed Gretzky for career goals, but not for assists or total points.
What do you mean - not the most talented? In terms of reading plays and understanding the best way for them to unfold, in terms of anticipation, directing the play, accuracy of passing - he was BY FAR the most talented. Obviously not in some physical attributes but his shiftiness was second to none as well.
Usually talented in sports means the physical side of things like Lemieux or Orr Gretzky was just big brain + an average nhl hockey player in terms of his body
@@edited1325No. Gretzky had an INHUMANE stamina. His body was actually studied. He could keep going late in the third period harder than any of his peers.
@@vrokhlenko Stamina can be obtained through training and repetition though especially from a young age and mental fortitude which he had plenty of Also he conserved his energy very wisely on ice
Wayne Gretzky is basically a modern forward playing in an era before goaltending, defense, and forwards had evolved. Basically he was playing like Gretzky before people learned to play like/against Gretzky
There is a sportsman who matches or exceeds Gretsky in dominating his sport. Check out lifetime batting averages in cricket. The greatest players of your era usually average high 50s. The greatest of any era average low 60s. Don Bradman averaged 99.94.
Oh hardly. Especially not when you consider he was considered "hands off" material when it came to body contact. Players even warned him they were coming in. What a joke your "take" is. You know nothing about hockey or history. You are sheep.
One thing about Gretzky that will always blow me away is that even if he never scored a single goal in his career, he’d still have the most points in NHL history from assists alone. No one has even came close to him in all these years-it’s astonishing.
Another way I like to put it-
Consider the HR record in MLB baseball. In order for someone to break that record by the same margin Gretzky has over the 2nd all time leading scorer in the NHL, they’d have to hit around 1300 home runs.
Connor McDavid is on-pace to have over 100 assists for the first time in his career. The last time someone did it? Wayne Gretzky's 11th consecutive season of over 100 assists.
@@suburbanindieYup. There's only been 3 players to record 100 assists. Lemieux did it once, Bobby Orr did it once, and Gretzky did it 11 times 😂
@@nateo7045 IN A ROW
@@nateo7045 Greatest playmaker in ANY sport
My favorite Gretzky stat: he's "one half" of the highest scoring pair of brothers in NHL history - 2,861 points. Wayne, with 2,857, and his brother Brent, with 4.
The next closest pair are the Sedin twins who tallied 2,111 points - Henrik with 1,070 and Daniel with 1,041.
All six Sutter brothers combined scored 2,934 points - 73 more than the Greztky brothers - but it took them 4,994 games versus Wayne's 1,487. Wayne scored more points than any five of the six Sutters combined.
Absolutely insane
Like any Gretzky stat , mind = blown.
In 85-86 the Oilers led the league in scoring, Calgary was second. Wayne outscored Calgary's top three scorers combined by 4 points.
I have a hobby of tracking down amazing Gretzky facts and stats. That is one I have never heard! Amazing!
@@kentmartin9289 He's also the only player in history to have double digit goal totals for even strength, powerplay, shorthanded and game winning goals in a single season.
@@dannycarlow8204 I hadn't heard that one either. Looks like that was 1983-84. Thanks!
212 points in one year. insane
@@evelk5233 and those 212 points were only good enough for his 3rd highest points per game for a season. 205 points in 74 games and 215 in 80 games both topped his 212 in 80 games.
What set Gretzky apart was his unparalleled vision of the ice. His observation, perception and forecasting skills were out of this world.
yes. they admitted they didnt watch hockey, so they wouldnt know.
He sure made it look easy & made everyone around him better. He may not have the flashy highlights or display of skills like a McDavid, but he was so far ahead of everybody else with his hockey IQ that he didn't need to be flashy, though he still had his moments.
Gretzky couldn't carry Bobby Orr's jock!
@@karlschneider9479Someone's still sore about the 88 and 90 finals, I see.
He had unparalleled vision. Messi in soccer and Jokic in the NBA are similar, heads always scanning before and after they receive the ball/puck. Gretzky always had plan A through plan Zed on every play.
He has so many assists, he’d still be the all time points leader without even scoring one goal.
And done at a time without scoring the second assist.
@@magnustheman524secondary assists are counted since the 40s
@@magnustheman524
And there are videos on TH-cam that show Gretzky getting assists on goals he wasn’t even on the ice for.
Nigel richards is pretty outstanding, possibly gretzky tier. Hes known for memorizing the french scrabble dictionary in 5 weeks, while not speaking french. Whats more outstanding in my mind is his endgame accuracy. At the end of a scrabble game theres no more hidden information, you can know exactly what tiles your opponent has, so it's vastly simpler and computers can calculate the exact best line of play. The top 10 not counting nigel have an endgame best play accuracy from 50-70%. Nigel has an endgame accuracy of 99%. That might seem like it's about twice as good, but looking at it another way it's making 1/30th the errors that the next best player makes.
👍
Yeah, but could Nigel do it on ice? That's the big question.
Yeah, Nigel and Wayne are on another level
And, he seems like the kindest, humble person.
He only married Janet Jones because they were the same dress size😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@rayxtwo😂 you’re wrong for that one
He was equally awesome off the ice as an ambassador for the game. I'm a firm believer that he helped grow the league during his career, the man helped bringing hockey to the desert & to many markets without frozen ponds.
Exactly, the Sharks, Ducks, Coyotes, Stars, Panthers, and Lightning owe Gretzky. Especially with Gretzky's time with the Los Angeles Kings
@@de132 Yeah, the most heartbreaking trade in NHL history ended up being the best thing for the league. Not sure, & doubt, the same thing happens if he would've went to Vancouver.
Stan Lee was a writer, not a cartoonist. All of the characters he's famous for are actually co-creations with a number of artists (though mainly Jack Kirby), or created by other people entirely (Captain America).
most were co-creations. the marvel way of doing comic books was to write some ideas and give a bit guidance to the penciller, and then the writer would only fill in the word ballons after the artists were done.
Your thumbnail showing him in a Rags uniform and not an Oilers uniform is a major fail.
Nah, that pic is iconic
No. He's in the right jersey.
Showing a clip of him on garbage late night TV is a bigger fail.
You are correct.......
He should have used the Stl Blues away jersey
Lol
JK
That thing is an abomination
Right!
Not only was Wayne great at hockey it seems like Walter his father taught Wayne how to be great at life
What people forget is that Gretzky, who used to 'Rocker' his blades, had the shortest turning radius of any player in NHL history... This, in conjunction with his peerless vision, and anticipatory abilities to see plays develop, to know where the puck, the opposition and his team mates would be, before they did, set him head and shoulders above everyone else.
People talk about great skaters, and Sergei Fedorov's, who could play both forward and D, name usually gets mentioned. Team CCCP gave a very young Fedorov the job of trying to shadow Gretzky one time, figuring Sergei (kinda like Bob Gainey for team Canada, but in reverse) would be Red Army's secret weapon, only it didn't work out well for the Russians... and that's putting it mildly.
I don't remember if it was team Canada vs CCCP, or Red Army vs the Oilers. (The latter most likely)... But Gretzky, the puck carrier, came at Sergei just outside the Russian blue... Then circled back with the puck... then came at him again... dipsy doodling this way and that... until Sergei fell flat on his butt... There came a stoppage in play... and Sergei got up, shrugged his shoulders, and skated toward the Russian bench with an exasperated, hang-dog look, as if to say... Forget it, I can't cover this guy. I quit. Let somebody else play the fool...
Don't recall if it was the same game (more likely team Canada vs CCCP)_ ... but Mark Messier caught a Russian, think it was Sergei Makarov with a flying elbow... knocked him silly and cut him up pretty good... Nowadays, that would have been five plus game misconduct... But Messier mighta just got a double minor... One thing I recall clearly, is that Team CCCP wasn't the same after that hit... They wilted and lost (not unlike Red Army vs Flyers/Broad Street Bullies in 76)...
Ah yes, 'Those were the days my friends' ...
You have an awesome focus on early 80s hockey!!! Cheers my friend
As a hockey fan, I would usually describe Gretzky’s advantage as being that he thought the game much faster than anyone else.
Or, as I often put it, “Gretzky knows where the puck is going before the puck does.”
Your post reminded me of something I read in Gretzky's biographical book long ago.
I believe he said his dad told him to go where the puck is going not where it currently is. If you made your statement without ever hearing that quote from his dad you are very perceptive, that's exactly what he was trying to do.
This is exactly what my father said about Gretzky too...
Not only did he know where the puck would be...he would know where all the other players were...down to the position of their skates and body parts...BEFORE they got there.
It was astonishing to watch.
The puck don't have no say.
This thought-filled pick is a confusing thing.
The two things I felt gave Wayne such and advantage. First, there was no "weak side" when it came to his skating. He was just as comfortable on his weak side as his strong side. Second, his father trained him about the big picture on the rink, and Wayne had an understanding of where the puck, teammates, and opponents, are going to, not just where they are now.
The difference in NHL point leaders is wild. the gap between 1 and 2 is BIGGER than the gap from 2 to 50 (gap from gretz to jagr is 936, jagr#2 to Vincent Damphousse #50 is 716 points)
Also, the list you showed Is not in order. Jagr is 2nd in career points
Also didn't show games. If Lemieux didn't get Hodgkin lymphoma in his prime playing alongside Jagr and Francis, who knows whether he'd outscore Gretzky.
@@reubensandwich9249 to finish first, first you have to finish
@@reubensandwich9249 lemieux is the best pure scorer to ever play the game. Take away his cancer and back issues, he would beat Gretzky in goals but he wasn’t on the same level as a playmaker (assists).
The thing I love most about Wayne Gretzky is that he's average in every way. Like me, he's 5 foot 11. Kinda skinny. Bobby Orr had amazingly powerful legs. Bobby Hull had arms like a body builder's legs. Mario was huge but incredibly agile. Wayne didn't stand out in any way--except between the ears. He loved the game and made it his own.
Elite athletes enter a "zone" where time moves slower.
Gretzky was the athlete for whom time moved the slowest.
Knowing in advance where all 12 players would be in 5 seconds,
making opponents look foolish, and teammates look brilliant.
Gretsky and Don Bradman are lightyears ahead of their nearest competitors in their respective sports.
As an Australian I was going to mention Don Bradman. I know little about ice hockey but I wager you would probably have to multiply Gretzky by 2 to get a Don Bradman. His test batting average is 99.94. Only 5 other players in history have averaged over 60, with the next best being 62.15. All in an era of limited protective equipment and uncovered pitches. Statistically the greatest athlete of any sport ever.
Each year, NHL teams conduct individual strength tests for their players. Despite his legendary status, Gretzky was never known for his physical dominance and consistently ranked at the bottom of these tests compared to his teammates and other players in the league. Interestingly enough-his physical ability made him one of the weakest performers across various strength testing metrics.
He was normally at the bottom of those strength tests. There was one test though that made up for it all, the stamina testing. The people testing him thought the machine was broken. It was the one test each year that he was first in.
@@dannycarlow8204 yes absolutely 💯% true! Thanks for pointing that out.
It looks so much better without all the damn ads on the boards...... I wouldn't even mind the digital ones on TV if they would go back to all white in the Arenas.
Was lucky to watch him in person for four seasons as a Ranger. You did a great job summing it up
He wasn't exceptional to watch either at the start or end of his career in terms of hot dogging but the guy did everything right. Bobby Orr is a better player but Gretzky made it work like no one else
Watched both play and I'm willing to concede Bobby Orr was better at defense, but that's where I draw the line. Well in addition to that Orr could also control the tempo of play better than anyone too. Gretzky's only real rival for hockey GOAT is Mario Lemieux.
He elevated the play of everyone around him. Great vision for how a play could develop. Will never be another like him.
To truly highlight how absurdly dominate he was, here are some stats:
-If Wayne was never credited with a goal, he would STILL be the all-time points leader solely on assists
-Wayne Gretzky was the fastest player to score 1000 points in the NHL. The second fastest is….Wayne Gretzky.
All the assists and goals are just from the regular season. With playoff games included he is well over 3k points and 1k goals, amazing
Stan Lee didn't draw the comics. Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and others were the artists. Stan provided the dialogue and some of the story direction.
Stan Lee did not draw comic books
And for those of us who did watch hockey, and were around back then remember how much fun it was watching Gretzky play. I grew up in Pittsburgh, and it is just so unfortunate that Gretzky and Mario Lemieux very rarely got to play against each other. (We got to see how awesome they were as teammates in the Canada's Cup.) Part of that was the amount of time Lemieux lost due to injuries/illness. The other part was the fact that the Oilers and Pens were in opposite conferences, and for the bulk of Mario's early career, he played on a team that was too pathetic to even hope to face Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Gretzky and Lemieux were the two best players of all time that weren't named Bobby Orr.
Mario Lemieux would be right there at the top with Gretzky if it wasn't for the cancer. Most people don't realize that Mario was averaged above 2 points per game like Gretzky, but he lost how many of those prime years to cancer. it honestly would be Gretzky, then about 50 points back, Mario, then the 800 points back everyone else.
It was awesome being a kid in the 80s, watching Gretzky tear up the ice!
It was a great time for sports:
- Gretzky in hockey
- Tyson in boxing
- Jordan in basketball
Arguably 3 of the best to ever compete in their respective sports, and all 3 were active at the same time! You could also add Maradonna for soccer, but he was 2nd best behind Pele.
Wayne was a playmaker. Simply the greatest ever. He not only scored, but he made his teammates better.
Gretzky developed anticipation on the play. he was like a chess master, looking ahead at the board, playing against an average chess player observing the current position of pieces. there are a lot of great individual stats players, but he elevated everyone else who stepped on the ice with him by also gauging their strengths and likely reactions.
He just makes the game look so easy it’s crazy
His hockey IQ was through the roof and in particular, his anticipation of where the puck would be rather than where it was. He also represents a quantum leap in a center setting up in the offensive zone and involving his teammates in scoring opportunities. His goal scoring has more to do with his ability to anticipate than anything else, though his stick handling and skating were enough to create open shots for him.
What is most impressive is the way he did this before our growing era of TV timeouts, where coaches use those extra timeouts to boost ice time for star players.
great video. - FYI your chart of all-time points leaders isn't sorted properly. Jaromir jagr is 2nd with 1921 pts.
Wayne Gretzky est le GOAT sans aucun doute. Suivi de près par Mario Lemieux. Et Mike Bossy est le #1 buts/match. Wayne Gretzky pouvait tout faire sur la glace, vision périphérique incroyable, sens inné et lecture du jeu unique. Le nombre d’assistances 1,963 est un record inatteignable, comme celui de Henri « the Pocket Rocket » Richard qui a gagné la Coupe Stanley comme joueur 11 fois!
There are debates in Baseball, Football, and Basketball. But not in Hockey. He is The Great One.
I met him in an elevator going down to the lobby one morning in Toronto. He was with another player and his son. I believe he was coaching Phoenix Coyotes at the time and they may have been in town to play vs the Maple Leafs. I didn't say a word and enjoyed a quiet moment with a Legend.
Remember when Gretz was playing minor hockey in the MTHL in the early 70s ... scoring so many times on a shift coaches had to sit him!
He is the great one!
Pure and simple!
If you ever see some old footage of Wayne wearing and old sweater with a N on it back when he was 10 he was wearing number 9. We also had some great men of sports dinners in brantford and that’s where Wayne first met Mr Howe and it was that year or the one after. That was year while playing for Nadrofsky Steelers he scored all those goals playing one age group above his age.
His father never uttered a bad word about anyone. Gave and gave and gave to the community of brantford Ontario. Even after his close call with a blood clot. There he was out coaching a bantam team with a helmet on. Couldn’t speak yet. The man was beauty. I mean anyone in the world could walk up knock on his door and tour his basement full of moments photos jerseys you name of Wayne’s career. Brantford sure is missing him these days
The uncredited music is Chopin's "Winter Wind" etude, Op. 25 No. 11.
The better star players makes those around them better. Not just themselves.
humble guy,he new where the puck was going to be,and went there
Stan Lee didn't really draw. He wrote comic books and is famous for co-creating a number of famous superheroes. That being said, the reason we're so familiar with him is that he was a big advocate and promoter of comic books as a medium. You can think of him as a mascot of for superhero comics.
Nice, from a non hockey fan. Good work. Some more specific records he holds would've been I formative
Fastest 1000 points NHL ALL TIME?
1. Wayne's' first 1000 (424 games)
2. Wayne's second 1000 (433 games)
3. Mario Lemieux (513 games)
4. Mike Bossy (656 games)
This is nuts. Prime Lemieux was dominant, but The Great One is... well he's The Great One
Teddy's Bar and grill. Those guys were so normal it was crazy. Bye the way Mark, you almost rear-ended me coming from below the coliseum.
Not kidding…I had no idea Wayne Gretzky was. I was looking up something of Paulina Gretzky.
hey great vid’ about the gr8 one but there is a small mistake in the table and the calc at 0:47 the 2nd one in points is Jagr, the tab is sort by assists and not points. the calc is unfo wrong either. with your numbers it must be -37% not -33%. but the -33% are correct when you do the division with Jagrs points 1921. other than that gr8 work. thx for making the clip
Stan Lee didn't draw comic books
Stan Lee didn't draw the characters. He was a writer.
He could see into the future, like a chess grandmaster thinking 10 moves ahead
Wayne the wilt Chamberlain of NHL
Greatest sporting IQ of all time ...unbelievable.
One cannot simply just list Gretzky stats without long pauses and explanations. It really is ridiculous.
Goat of goats!
Your points list is wrong. Jaromir jagr is second with 1921 points. He's on the list too but you didn't see him 😮
it appears that that list was assists instead of points.
Number 66 was one of a kind to stand 6 foot 4 and about 230 lbs and dominate the way he did was incredible he had hands a shot great playmaker and crazy think is crosby has played more games than 66 lemieux never made it to 1000 games could only imagine if he played as much as gretzky hed be close to gretzkys points
Gretzky scored 500 more points by the end of his age 31 season than Lemieux did his whole career.
And durability is a factor.
But the fact is given the fall off we saw in Lemieux when he returned (particularly the last 3 years or so) he never would’ve been close to Wayne’s final total (closer than anyone else maybe, but still a solid 600 or so below.)
I could play this game the other way, though. Imagine if Wayne only played as many games as Mario… Wayne would still be the all time leading scorer (starting from the beginning of his career, Wayne could retire after his age 30 season and would have played exactly the same number of games Mario did- 915 games to be precise- and he had 2142 career points at that point compared to Mario’s total of 1723.)
1) he wasn't the fastest skater, but he was a dam fast skater. and very quick that's why he moved around so feast. he was a really dam good skater. Skating isn't just about top end speed. He had a very accurate 3 types of shots. snap, slap, wrist and deflections. he was hard to check. he went in and out of the corners very fast. he had great team mates for the first half of his career. His entire starting line with the Oilers were inducted into the hall of fame. Mark Messier, Jari Kurri , Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, Ryan Smyth, Kevin Low. Charley Huddy. (Ok maybe they didn't all make the hall of fame but they were all outstanding players)
Exactly. The whole "he wasn't really a great athlete" thing really grinds my gears. Watch him wheel a defender, take a slapshot from outside while skating at full speed, and snipe the high far corner of the net, and then talk to me about his physical skills. I once heard an apocryphal story about Gretzky racing Messier -- yes, Messier was faster, but he also sounded like a freight train, while Gretzky hardly made any noise at all: absolutely perfect skating form. Even without the vaunted jedi hockey sense he would have been one of the highest-scoring players in history. Making out like anybody could have been him, if they only worked as hard as he did is bunk. He was recognizably a freak of nature when he was 3 years old. Sure, maybe without the dedication he'd only have been playing up two years instead of 4, and maybe when he was 10 he would have scored only 300 goals, but don't anybody kid themselves, or wax rhapsodic about the "growth mindset": WG was/is a one in 10 million genetic miracle.
@@allenswanson2423He also won a foot race in that all stars athletic competition they used to have back in the 70's and 80's where they would match star athletes from different sports against each other. There was a Canadian version and an American version.
Stan Lee isn't an artist he wrote the comic books
There are 2 factors that makes Wayne Gretzky stand out from the other legends and it has to do with Gretzkys size, and his genius vision on the ice to dodge injury for most of his career. This was a gift most other greats did not have like Bobby Orr, Mike Bossy, Mario Lemiuex, etc with their careers cut short, but Gretzky under normal circumstances should have been tossed around like a tennis ball in the rink, but his visual instinct kept him from major injuries. This in itself sets him apart and most other greats and many others just did not have that prowess. #2, I never thought it was fair to compare players that play an entire 80 games or close to 80 games and players that only play half or more than half a season. Most players including Gretzky slow down and get fatigued usually in the last half of the season and their PPG reduces a bit. i never thought it was fair to compare players that play only 2/3 a season like Lemieux and then get injured their body was not in full fatigue factor like Gretzky was and had Gretzky played the exact same amount of games as Lemieux during a season his PPG total would be significantly higher. The fatigue factor makes a huge difference on points total and Lemieux's career stats took advantage of that.
Gretsky in his "office" (behind the net) creating plays changed the game.
Having come from brantford and being Wayne’s age and payed a lot of hockey I can tell you he was a great great hockey player. But I will say this. He had a great great mentor. His father was actually the great one.
he also got a chance to play with gordie howe in the wha. I'll bet he learned a thing or two in that season.
Very true.
Gretzky is being modest. He was easily the most talented player in the league until Mario Lemieux came along. Lemieux is probably the only player that I think may have been better than Gretzky. He had nearly the same point scoring average as Gretzky but played more games in the lower scoring era of the NHL. The two were very different players. I give the edge to Lemieux because of his size and ability to maneuver and score in tough, physical matchups. Best hockey I ever watched was the 87 Canada Cup against the Soviet Union. I remember thinking that it was like they were on a power play when those two were on the ice together.
My only claim to fame in life so far is that we were both from the same hometown of Brantford Ontario
Now the GOAT. Jack Nicholas
Wait til you see what Don Bradman did in test cricket
Best sporstmen ever
Stan Lee didn't draw any comic books. He was the writer. Jack Kirby was the main artist. Steve Ditko did Spider-man, though -- follow by John Romita Sr.
Gretz just knew where everyone on the ice was and how to get them the puck
If Gretzky didn’t score once in his whole career he would still have the all time point record by almost 200 it’s insane to think about
You would have to get 100 points every season for 28 seasons and you would till be 57 short.
You would have to score 50 goals every season for 17 seasons and you would still be 44 short. Ovechkin getting close!
Mind blowing...
Wayne sees 👀 play developing, before its fully developed ...you can see he knows play outcome, as play is in infancy
And anyone whos played hockey will tell u its not that unheard of for good players to play with leagues above their age group. Every city with hockey allows kids to do that. Just most are only 1-2 years up wayne got 4 years up cause he was in a small town. If he was ina bit city he would have played 2 years up
Someone must have commented this already but if you take away all of Gretzky's career goals, he'd still be the NHL's all time leading scorer with his 1963 assists being 42 points ahead of Jagr's goal and assist total of 1921. This is the most impressive stat in my opinion.
He still leads the NHL in goals all time as well even though he wasn't even a pure goal scorer. The greatest playmaker ever just happens to have the most goals too. It requires the most exceptional pure goal scorer in NHL history (Ovechkin) to have an almost flawless career of scoring roughly 50 goals a year for over 20 years to come even close to Gretzky. He might actually surpass it (which I personally hope he won't) but all these things sum up why Wayne is the best. There is only one player in NHL history who can compete with and probably is as good as Wayne and his name is Mario Lemieux. No one else.
Jagr - 1921 points isn't that 2nd best? love your height comparison.. data relativity !!! nice video 😎😎
Jordan said Gretzky stats looked like typos
Don Bradman the cricketer statistically a better batter than Gretzky was an ice hockey player?
Yes
Bobby Orr, was the best! Gretzky was a protected player!! Not to mention he had Messier, Kurri, Lowe, Anderson etc all on the same team helping him!! Not to take away from his talent, but if Bobby was protected, he wouldn't have gotten hurt so early. Bobby Orr all the way
Plus Paul Coffee, who i think may still lead all defenseman in points.
In 70-71, didn't Boston have the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th and 11th top scorers in the league? Guess we conveniently leave that part out? But yes, Gretzky did have Lowe on his team.
number 99 is retired sport wide, if you're a kid playing they legit don't let you wear that number. gotta respect the great one
Gretzky is, in my opinion the greatest, but saying no one comes close, and not even considering Mario Lemieux in terms of talent is crazy. Not every player who played during the same time needed to be embarassed - Lemieux being at the top of the list. I am NOT a Penguins fan but you can't ignore he was as talented - it was different though. I watch both live and you noticed Lemieux when he was on the ice. Gretzky could be like that but sometimes you would leave the rink thinking he didn't do anything and then you realize he set up all 5 of his teams goals. Incredible -both of them were - and when they played together on team canada . . . . .!!!!!
gretzky and tiger in a league of there own. No one else. (honorable mentions to phelps, bolt, and messi)
Come on George! Orr and Lemieux better than Gretzky! In 1980s NHL 8 goals per game! Ovechkin ERA only 5,3-6 goals per game NHL! If Ovechkin had played high scoring 1980s he would had scored over 1300 goals! Today under 6 goals per game NHL! If Auston Matthews had played In 1982 he would had scored over 100 goals easily beating Gretzky's 92 goal record easily! Canada have 650000 hockey players today! USA have 500000 hockey players today! Ovechkin's Russia have only 80000 hockey players today! Canada and USA should have 15 guys who have scored over 800 goals like Ovechkin today! Soccer have 250 million players vs Canada 650000 players that means The Soccer All Stars would beat Orr Gretzky Lemieux easily 100 game Series 93-7! Soccer have 4 billion fans around the world! Cricket have 2,5 billion fans around the world! Sadaharu Oh Hit 868 home runs in Japan against weaker pitching than MLB! Oh better than Gretzky because Japan 130 million people and Canada 40 million! Cricket player Bradman Hit 99,5 runs average and Second Best 64 runs! Bradman better than Gretzky! Gretzky played against players from Canada 95% of The NHL players were from Canada in 1982! Gretzky is good only in Canada not the whole world!!
we call it hockeyIQ and all it really means is just knowing whats going to happen before it happens. where the puck WILL be and not where it currently is. gretzky was like a time traveler from the future who had an uncanny hockeyIQ. its like he watched the games before hand and just knew everything prior to it happening
Most surprising part of the video was Ron Francis at number 2.
Fun fact, he would’ve rather played in the MLB which he almost did. Hockey was his second favourite sport
Gretzky is the GOAT of GOATs. He's further above other elite hockey players than Jordan or LeBron are above elite basketball players.
As a Penguins fan, I do have to mention Mario Lemieux. He battled injuries and retired for 4-5 years due to Hodgkin's Lymphoma. When he retired, his career average was two points per game, a little higher than Gretzky's. After he came back, played a few more years, and retired for good, it was a little below Gretzky's, so Gretzky moved from 2nd to 1st on that list while retired! Lemieux is really the only player who's statistically in Gretzky's stratosphere. He played about 500 fewer games in his career than Gretzky did, and I think if he had been healthier, he would have passed Gretzky for career goals, but not for assists or total points.
What do you mean - not the most talented? In terms of reading plays and understanding the best way for them to unfold, in terms of anticipation, directing the play, accuracy of passing - he was BY FAR the most talented. Obviously not in some physical attributes but his shiftiness was second to none as well.
Usually talented in sports means the physical side of things like Lemieux or Orr
Gretzky was just big brain + an average nhl hockey player in terms of his body
@@edited1325No. Gretzky had an INHUMANE stamina. His body was actually studied. He could keep going late in the third period harder than any of his peers.
@@vrokhlenko Stamina can be obtained through training and repetition though especially from a young age and mental fortitude which he had plenty of
Also he conserved his energy very wisely on ice
... Newton was ok doing physics. :) :) :)
Gretzky has more assists then any other player has total points
If you want to see the real Great 1 watch highlights of Bobby Orr!
Wayne Gretzky is basically a modern forward playing in an era before goaltending, defense, and forwards had evolved.
Basically he was playing like Gretzky before people learned to play like/against Gretzky
Soo, you're basically saying he's the Messi of hocky. damn that's cool.
Saïd Aouita! No one above him. No one like him. No one below him.
All that glazing only for Lemieux to better is crazyyyy
Gretzky is amazing! But the greaterest than everyone else at what he does is Nigel Richards at Scrabble.
If Wayne Gretzky never scored one goal in his entire career, he still has more points than everybody else that is actually insane 😂
Do these records include his WHA stats?
No, but if you look at his page on Hockey Reference, it'll include his WHA stats but keep them separated from the NHL numbers.
He brought his own stat tracking guy.
There is a sportsman who matches or exceeds Gretsky in dominating his sport. Check out lifetime batting averages in cricket. The greatest players of your era usually average high 50s. The greatest of any era average low 60s. Don Bradman averaged 99.94.
The single most dominant athlete in the history of sports.
Oh hardly. Especially not when you consider he was considered "hands off" material when it came to body contact. Players even warned him they were coming in. What a joke your "take" is. You know nothing about hockey or history. You are sheep.
What about the 1921 pts of Jaromir Jagr????😮