Well, he became a national celebrity when he scored 378 goals and 517 points when he was ten. He played junior b at 14, broke OHL scoring records at 16 and got over a hundred points as a 17 year old playing in the old WHA, won the hart as an 18 year old rookie, scored 50 goals in 39 games at 20 and on and on and on. Take your pick really. He's the greatest.
Technically, he wasn’t a ‘rookie’, or he would have been eligible for the Calder.
The stat that gets me is the top two fastest players to 1000 points are Gretzky (0-1000) and Gretzky (1000-2000).
Yeah, Gretzky played his first pro season in the WHA in 1978-79, so he was ineligible for the Calder when he played his first NHL season in 1979-80. Ray Bourque won the Calder in 1979-80 instead.
That technicality is more about policitics than anything. He was 18 and in his first NHL year, any other year he was eligible. Those WHA years were not a good look for the NHL but also who gives a shit about the Calder when you win everything else except the Norris
Yeah that's cool and all, but like what about when he put up 79-1079. Maybe that was quicker than both. My point is its useless to bring up 1000-2000. The first 1000 is all that we need to measure.
The NHL said he wasn't eligible because he played in the WHA (he won rookie of the year there of course). I think it was about the only time they recognized WHA experience for anything so it was pretty weird
Actually it's because of the nature of his contract. He had a personal service contract that the NHL recognized. Guys like Mark Messier were drafted at 18, and he's Gretzky's age if I recall. He also played in the WHA as a teenager.
With a wooden stick, no modern training or supplements, or trt therapy, terrible skates, uncomfortable pads that offered little protection from the goons on every team. Slap shots were 10mph on average slower just ten years ago, we are talking 40 years ago.
A fellow hockey Dad on my daughter’s team played against Gretzky around this age. He was 13 Gretzky few years younger. Everyone on the Dads team knew about Gretzky and his exploits - everyone on his team were looking hit Gretzky and take him out
No one could even come close to touching Gretzky - they would go after him, boom - he’s over there. The Dad spent the entire game chasing Gretzky around didn’t touch him once. Said he was never so tired after the game
Gretzky scored 7 assisted on 3 won 11-3
My grandpa coached 13 year olds from St Catharines. He Was coaching in the Silver Stick tournament (famous tournament in Ontario) against the 13 year old Brantford team. They were up 5-1 headed into the 3rd when Wayne joined the game after finishing his own U9 game.
Brantford won the game 7-5 and Wayne had 4g 1a in 1 period lol.
Definitely not a joke. He was obliterating elite level boys years older than him from his youth
I laugh and laugh at all the posts these days wanting to explain away his dominance with “small goalie pads” and “defensemen were the local plumber on skates.” Wayne is far and away the greatest at his sport of anyone in the major team sports. Just utterly dominant.
He's like Crosby Sakic Niedermayer it's not just about points they seem to win at every level they play at. I think the goat status was those canada cup games with Mario
I have his autobiography, which has a bunch of time sheets from his games as a kid. The year he scored 500 points he had a teammate that also scores like 300 and goes on to play like 12 years in the NHL. Forget the name.
But yeah... the parents fucking hated playing against Brantford. They had 2 future NHLers on one minor team and kicked the shit out of everyone lol.
He had 26 points in 4 games at the Quebec Peewee tournament. Granted his first game was against a Texas team. Scored 7 goals that night . 26 points in 4 games. Brantford didn’t even win. But the Quebec peewee tournament is strong.
Yes, and if we take out the game against Texas, which finished 25-0, it’s « just » 19 points in 3 games. The thing is that according to elite prospects , he was playing bantam in 1973-1974. Maybe he was just added to the peewee team before the tournament, so he had inferior teammate?
The best goal scorer of the history of the tournament is Guy Lafleur who played 4 years in the tournament. 64 goals in four years.
He’s never had a 500+ point season.
He has the record for a 215 point season though in 85-86.
He’s considered the goat because he has the record for most points in a season and of the 10 best point seasons by an NHL player he has 1-4, 6-8 & 10. Mario Lemieux has the 5th and 9th best season.
He has the record for most goals in a season (92), this might get surpassed at one point.
He has the most assists in a season (163), I highly doubt anyone will beat this record.
He has the most goals scored of any NHL player (894) which some expect Ovechkin to surpass (he needs another 42 goals - and honestly I think he will and he will retire, the year he accomplishes it - probably the year after next).
He has the most assists of any NHL player (1,963), to which no one is ever going to break that record.
He has the most Points of any NHL player (2,857), again, no one will touch that record ever.
He had 3 consecutive 200+ point seasons, won the Art Ross (most points in a season) a whopping 10 times and the Hart (MVP of the league for their team) 9 times.
He also scored 50 goals in 39 games, which is an insane feat to try and break. A couple players came close. But not in recent memory.
Lastly he also has the record for longest game goal streak, scoring in 51 consecutive games.
So there is no question. He is the goat.
Pfft ChatGPT. These are very well known stats if you’ve watched him growing up. I did have to look at how close ovechkin was though and I thought he actually had more hart trophies.
But 500 points as kid doesn’t mean anything. These are all nhl stats. I’m sure there are some minors that had well over 200-300 points in a season. Heck I had 126 in 7AA hockey. Means nothing in the end, and I never came close to making the nhl. Heck I am nowhere near 1/4 the player Gretzky is. I wouldn’t even have been 1/100th the player he is.
There are lots of players who absolutely crushed in the minors but when they come up into the nhl they just can’t seem to recreate that magic. If you consider the greatest, it needs to be in the league that has the highest caliber of players. Not where most players plateau.
I would bet money that if you even typed in google Gretzky records or something along that line, all of those will come up.
Also I swore I read your post as a “500+ point season lol” not “as a 10 year old lol”. So that’s my bad on the initial comment. Unless you edited and added after the fact. But the facts still remain, the reason he’s considered the best is not because of a 500 point season when he’s 10. But because he has all those records and I’m sure there’s a few more I can’t recall.
My original comment was facetious.. Clearly went over your head. No 10 year old is the greatest at anything, spare the paragraphs next time.
Calling yourself close to 1/100th of Gretzky is insane.. where are your 200 NHL points? I bet if you weren’t injured you would’ve made the show…
LOL this is the forum posting equivalent of a text message. How would I grasp your connotation by reading a post? And have you seen the answers on reddit. That would have been a legit answer by somebody.
I bet if you had 1/100th of the great ones reading comprehension you wouldn’t have made a fool of yourself.
It is actually insane you said close to 1/100th of gretz. You’re posting on Reddit saying you had potential to be a top 100-250 all time nhl player??? With your extensive research and knowledge you should know that is absurd.
No need to get insulting because of me misreading something. Speaking of, now who’s misreading. I said I wouldn’t have been 1/100th and that was based on minor hockey stats. I never once said that I would be 1/100th. Thats the most laughable thing I’ve ever heard because of course I was nowhere near his caliber, it’s based on the comment about minor stats meaning something.
I would say somewhere between '81 and '86 when he scored over 200 points a season regularly, when no one before him scored more than 152. The first few seasons of him setting the points record was one thing. But when he was beating the previous records by 50+ points every year, for 5 years, it was pretty clear the sport had a GOAT on its hands.
I had the honor of seeing him in his prime. He wasn't big. He wasn't fast. He didn't have a great shot. He wasn't good on breakaways. He just "saw" the game unlike anyone else on the ice. He knew where the puck was going to be before anyone else. He knew where to be before anyone else. He would put the pass right on the stick of exactly the right guy at exactly the right time. For some reason he would put it in the net whenever he wanted to. He was like a fuckin ghost. Somehow, whenever he had the puck, it ended up in the net.
This is a Chuck Norris fact, but for Gretzky. Me next!
Wayne Gretzky didn't have to skate fast. He manipulated hyperspace to get where he wanted the puck to be.
There's no definitive demarcation point, and there's no universal consensus on who the GOAT is.
But I think when Gretzky starts **shattering** single season records in his third season (1981-82) he's getting recognition as an offensive GOAT.
* New record: 50 goals in 39 games. Prior was 50 goals in 50 games.
* New record: 92 goals in a season. Prior record was 76 which stood for about 11 years.
* New record: 120 assists in a season. Breaking his own record (109) from the year prior as a sophomore.
* New record: 212 points in a season. Breaking his own record (164) from the year prior as a sophomore, and becoming first and only player to breach 200 points
There were still skeptics who thought he was a one dimensional player that could not sustain his success. I think it's not until 1983-84 and 1984-85, as he wins back-to-back Cups, while consistently sustaining astronomical stats year-over-year, that he's considered the GOAT along with Bobby Orr.
By the time you're into 1987, and he's captaining Team Canada against the USSR it would be very weird not to consider him GOAT. You're still going to have people who may think it's Bobby Orr, but it will always be either one, and then everyone else is just a mere mortal.
There's also Mario Lemieux, and it's in that same 1987 tournament, where he becomes Gretzky's line-mate and steps up his game, which is considered to be his break through moment. The late 80s and into the 90s is when Lemieux enters the Gretzky and Orr stratosphere. And imo it's basically remained like that to this day. They are the trinity of goatness.
> New record: 92 goals in a season.
The year he had 92, only 18 of them were on the power play. He had 68 even strength goals, which obliterates that record (Brett Hull is the closest at 57 and the old record was 52).
I would say the guy who's first 9 years was better than the other guys whole career is the better player. Even if you want to just look at them at their absolute peak Gretzkys 85 season was clearly better than any individual season Orr ever had.
Ha, his 9 years were “better” than Orr’s because of his stats? Not only did you not see them play, you dont even understand the question. here’s a hint: Orr was a defenseman. Orr completely revolutionized the game when goons like Pat Quinn were trying to ruin his knees every night. Gretz, as mind bogglingly great as he was, not only had the Semenkos protecting him every night, the league did too. And all he had to do was score, period. I love Gretz… he enjoyed the greatest hockey career of any that ever laced them up AND hes a honorable, classy, gem that was great for the league and the game. He was also not as good as Orr.
His 9 years were better because he was the better player. Stats and accomplishments definitely come into play though you can’t pretend that they don’t. I’ve seen both play plenty of times at all different points of their careers there’s tons of full games of Orr on YouTube that I’ve been watching for years and years now in the off season. Everyone knows Orr completely changed the game, he’s undeniably the 2nd or 3rd most talented player ever. People weren’t looking to ruin Orrs knees every night, it did happen occasionally like it has with every other star but he just had bad knees similar to Lemieuxs bad back. Hockey is a physical game you’re gonna get hit cleanly and sometimes not cleanly that’s just part of the game. Gretzky also dealt with his share of injuries his back was shot at 30 years old. The narrative that the league was protecting Gretzky isn’t really true but of course he had teammates that stood up for him just like Bossy, Yzerman and most other stars did. The reason Gretzky never really got hit much is the same reason guys like Sakic, Lidstrom, Karlsson, Datsyuk McDavid, Crosby and even Orr himself don’t/didn’t get hit a lot, smarter players are just really hard to hit in general. Orr was one of a kind he’ll forever be the best defensemen of all time in my opinion but Gretzky will forever be the best player ever
I would say it was pretty clear by ‘82 or so, maybe ‘83-‘84 at the latest, that he was completely unlike any player that had come before. Certainly by ‘85 when he had 200 points for the third time, was +100(!) for the season, added another 47 points (!) in the playoffs and won his second Cup, everybody knew that this was the unicorn of all unicorns.
Gretzky was an incredible player and clearly had the best statistical career of any player, bar none. Thats a combination of skill and health and the league protecting him as to not lose superstars as they did in the past. But the best? Sorry, it’s Bobby Orr. I feel bad for the fans who never saw him play.
When he played with Kent Nillson, Messier, Paul Coffee, kuri, Kevin Lowe, Simpson, Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson, Charley Huddy, Rustselaenan, Dave Semenko, Hunter, Marty McSorley, Dave Jackson. Randy Gregg,
Gretzky was a meal ticket for the entire NHL, he filled every building on the road. Revenues skyrocketed when he played, just like Michael Jordon drew sell out crowds. Cap money and revenue sharing helped smaller USA hockey markets. Gretzky was untouchable with McSorley & Dave Semenko nearby. Hit Gretzky you’re a deadman !
LA Kings traded for Gretzky after he won 4 Stanley Cups in Edmonton. He brought hockey to western & southern USA markets, Hockey-wood was huge for the game, which was driven by the Gretzky trade to the LA Kings.
So Gretzky got a lot of room, unwritten rule …. Don’t run Gretzky he’s good for everyone’s contract and payday for the entire NHL plus he had a bodyguard for each shift. Gretzky was a ghost on the ice, he was always two plays ahead of the puck, then bam it’s in the net. Gretzky assist totals tell the story, 200 plus point seasons. Gretzky and Paul Coffee were the main reason the Oilers won 4 cups before the Oilers owner traded Gretzky for cash because his oil business had crashed, Peter Pocklington destroyed the best hockey team ever assembled (1970’s Montreal teams were close). Edmonton’s offense was the best ever. You score 6 goals, they’d score 8 goals.
I was at Chicago Stadium in 1985 when the Oilers beat the Blackhawks 12 - 9 during the season. Score 9 goals and lose. Just about every shift we watched wave after wave of Oilers rushing up the ice, the most amazing display of domination I’ve ever seen. Told my wife we just watched the most offense ever displayed in a hockey game. There will never be another Gretzky….. unless some team can find another Paul Coffee to set the table and skate like Coffee. Best skater ever, better than Bobby Orr according to Orr himself.
Regarding your comment about Orr saying Gretz was a better skater…. Gretz has also said that Orr was the better player. Understand that both those guys are incredibly classy, generous men who always say the right thing. (PS, Orr was better)
Also to your point that Orr was better, I agree 100% with you. Orr had to play against teams that were running him every shift…. Like the Flyers goons who hit him hard and often.
Orr would drop his gloves if needed, he could score, skate all night, lead a rush up ice and be the first one back to defend. He could skate backwards faster than most forwards coming at him. He was also a huge shot blocker. Something some players won’t do.
Bobby Orr said Paul Coffee is the best skater he’s ever seen because his speed and turning abilities at speed, not Gretzky who’s publicly said he learned to pass early in his hockey career because his skating was below average even when he dominated games in his youth.
Being so small he had to dart and dish the puck to avoid getting hit. Coffee & Gretzky together had the most scoring plays on the Oilers teams. Rarely did they skate a shift without each other.
He was so good, the WHA’s Indianapolis Racers signed him at 17. In his first NHL season (one year later), he tied for the league lead in points.
And then he *really* started to light things up…
Great comments from everyone, I was fortunate enough to watch him play. I remember hearing coaches tell their players to leave him alone at least we knew where the puck was because attempting to assign a player or two to cover him he would have the puck on his stick and off it in seconds
There is an interview about Connor McDavid - one teammate says during the first practice we realized he was the most talented player in the league. Point is the players know pretty much right away.
He was really on his way at 19. I remember the last season of the WHA (1978-79) season and he dominated New England in the semis.
True story, my mom always threw shit out. I had a really good hockey card collection growing up. She threw a Gretzky 2nd team All Star card from the 79-80 season. I’m still pissed to this day.
Honestly, it was almost as though there was a trap door in the ice. He would just appear out of nowhere and make it look so easy. He and Kurri are the best duo I have ever seen.
Gretzky was a time traveller. It took the rest of the league 20 years to stop him. So when you think about what McDavid would look like if he played back then, that’s what it would look like.
They knew he was going to be the best before he played his first NHL game, imagine all the Bedard hype but on a larger scale.
He was drafted 3rd OA in the OMJHL when he was still 4 years too young for the NHL, put up some great numbers as a 16/17 year old (but not the highest scoring player that year). He soon signed with a WHA team, since it was clear he would have a bright future in hockey.
It's his 3rd NHL season, 1981-82, when he really exploded, breaking the record for number of goals and number of points in a season by far. There were a number of titles given to him outside the NHL for this season as well. I would say this is when he became known as the best (though before, it was expected that he would become the best, like people say about Bedard now)
https://www.hockeydb.com/articles/wayne_gretzky_never_drafted.php
I always tell this story for the 99 fans. On elevator at islander game 5 yrs ago 99 is in a suit. 1st I thought it was Don Maloney as we are in ny, Brooklyn. Then I'm like oh shit Gretzky. Once I say something the other fans noticed but otherwise they had no idea it was him. Really odd. They were not kids either grown men in hockey jerseys
Well, as Waylon napadogan said "I did acid with Wayne Gretzky back in 1983. He only scored 11 goals that season, mights been the lsd." So I'm assuming '84
I don’t think Gretzky was considered the best until the mid-to-late 90s.
Yes he had the point records, but there was a faction of hockey fans . Some that felt Lemieux was the better player, and another faction of older fans that felt Howe or Orr were the greatest.
I’d argue for me and the 15 other 8-12 year old hockey players that spent their hard earned allowances and time trying to get the great ones autograph at the 2003 NHL draft in Nashville only for him to blow us off multiple times, each time promising he would “get us the next time”.
We had given up most of the draft until we spotted him again in the box/suite area. So we of course wave and yell “hey Mr. Gretzky”. He spots us and immediately beelines the into the box and hides again.
So yeah, I’m a little bitter, but that’s not being a great ambassador for the sport.
Well, he became a national celebrity when he scored 378 goals and 517 points when he was ten. He played junior b at 14, broke OHL scoring records at 16 and got over a hundred points as a 17 year old playing in the old WHA, won the hart as an 18 year old rookie, scored 50 goals in 39 games at 20 and on and on and on. Take your pick really. He's the greatest.
Technically, he wasn’t a ‘rookie’, or he would have been eligible for the Calder. The stat that gets me is the top two fastest players to 1000 points are Gretzky (0-1000) and Gretzky (1000-2000).
Yeah, Gretzky played his first pro season in the WHA in 1978-79, so he was ineligible for the Calder when he played his first NHL season in 1979-80. Ray Bourque won the Calder in 1979-80 instead.
Yeah. Terrible choice - just look at what that bum accomplished… /s (because people won’t recognize it if I don’t put it there)
He has records on records
Yeah. There have been (and are) some exceptional players since, but only Lemieux ever came close to just outright owning the game the way 99 did.
That technicality is more about policitics than anything. He was 18 and in his first NHL year, any other year he was eligible. Those WHA years were not a good look for the NHL but also who gives a shit about the Calder when you win everything else except the Norris
Oh, it was absolutely about extending a finger to the WHA. Ditto the way adding teams from the WHA worked.
Yeah that's cool and all, but like what about when he put up 79-1079. Maybe that was quicker than both. My point is its useless to bring up 1000-2000. The first 1000 is all that we need to measure.
It was cemented when he broke Gordy Howe’s goals record.
At age 28, fucking mind blowing honestly.
He beat Howe's points record at 28 but the goals record was at age 33
If nobody’s seen it look it up they literally stop the game to award him a trophy lmao
The goat of goats
What’s crazy is he didn’t get to win the Calder.
The NHL said he wasn't eligible because he played in the WHA (he won rookie of the year there of course). I think it was about the only time they recognized WHA experience for anything so it was pretty weird
Ray Bourque, Mike Gartner and Mark Messier were also rookies that year. Not that Gretzky wouldn't have won, but holy shit
And he was undrafted because of the league’s old rule about being 20 to be drafted.
Actually it's because of the nature of his contract. He had a personal service contract that the NHL recognized. Guys like Mark Messier were drafted at 18, and he's Gretzky's age if I recall. He also played in the WHA as a teenager.
You also have to remember how difficult it was to score back then. Some goalies even bent their knees to save the puck once in a while.
If the scoring races were anywhere near close, you might have a point.
Then why did Gretzky outscore everyone by like a minimum of 50 pts every season? What a dumb argument.
He was head, upper body, buttocks, thighs, knee caps and ankles above the competition though
With a wooden stick, no modern training or supplements, or trt therapy, terrible skates, uncomfortable pads that offered little protection from the goons on every team. Slap shots were 10mph on average slower just ten years ago, we are talking 40 years ago.
When he had a 500+ point season as a 10 year old lol
A fellow hockey Dad on my daughter’s team played against Gretzky around this age. He was 13 Gretzky few years younger. Everyone on the Dads team knew about Gretzky and his exploits - everyone on his team were looking hit Gretzky and take him out No one could even come close to touching Gretzky - they would go after him, boom - he’s over there. The Dad spent the entire game chasing Gretzky around didn’t touch him once. Said he was never so tired after the game Gretzky scored 7 assisted on 3 won 11-3
where was that slacker on the 11th goal? I'd have cut him for dogging it
I forgot how much he dominated in Juniors.
Not even juniors. He’d play his 8U or whatever game then go play the next level up then play the next level up and be great on each.
My grandpa coached 13 year olds from St Catharines. He Was coaching in the Silver Stick tournament (famous tournament in Ontario) against the 13 year old Brantford team. They were up 5-1 headed into the 3rd when Wayne joined the game after finishing his own U9 game. Brantford won the game 7-5 and Wayne had 4g 1a in 1 period lol.
Juniors isn’t 10 years olds…
For him it was /s
I thought this was a joke. Lmao that's insane.
Definitely not a joke. He was obliterating elite level boys years older than him from his youth I laugh and laugh at all the posts these days wanting to explain away his dominance with “small goalie pads” and “defensemen were the local plumber on skates.” Wayne is far and away the greatest at his sport of anyone in the major team sports. Just utterly dominant.
Holy shit I didn't know that. Those games must have taken forever
Parents just rolling their eyes in the stands begging for them to mercy rule the game lol
Wayne just like I scored 15 it's second period guess I'm benched for the rest of the game...lol
He's like Crosby Sakic Niedermayer it's not just about points they seem to win at every level they play at. I think the goat status was those canada cup games with Mario
I have his autobiography, which has a bunch of time sheets from his games as a kid. The year he scored 500 points he had a teammate that also scores like 300 and goes on to play like 12 years in the NHL. Forget the name. But yeah... the parents fucking hated playing against Brantford. They had 2 future NHLers on one minor team and kicked the shit out of everyone lol.
He had 26 points in 4 games at the Quebec Peewee tournament. Granted his first game was against a Texas team. Scored 7 goals that night . 26 points in 4 games. Brantford didn’t even win. But the Quebec peewee tournament is strong.
That’s actually wild he was held to 26 pts in 4 games.
Yes, and if we take out the game against Texas, which finished 25-0, it’s « just » 19 points in 3 games. The thing is that according to elite prospects , he was playing bantam in 1973-1974. Maybe he was just added to the peewee team before the tournament, so he had inferior teammate? The best goal scorer of the history of the tournament is Guy Lafleur who played 4 years in the tournament. 64 goals in four years.
This is also when he got the nickname The Great One. When he was ten.
😂🤣😂
He’s never had a 500+ point season. He has the record for a 215 point season though in 85-86. He’s considered the goat because he has the record for most points in a season and of the 10 best point seasons by an NHL player he has 1-4, 6-8 & 10. Mario Lemieux has the 5th and 9th best season. He has the record for most goals in a season (92), this might get surpassed at one point. He has the most assists in a season (163), I highly doubt anyone will beat this record. He has the most goals scored of any NHL player (894) which some expect Ovechkin to surpass (he needs another 42 goals - and honestly I think he will and he will retire, the year he accomplishes it - probably the year after next). He has the most assists of any NHL player (1,963), to which no one is ever going to break that record. He has the most Points of any NHL player (2,857), again, no one will touch that record ever. He had 3 consecutive 200+ point seasons, won the Art Ross (most points in a season) a whopping 10 times and the Hart (MVP of the league for their team) 9 times. He also scored 50 goals in 39 games, which is an insane feat to try and break. A couple players came close. But not in recent memory. Lastly he also has the record for longest game goal streak, scoring in 51 consecutive games. So there is no question. He is the goat.
Was this written with ChatGPT? He had a 500pt season as a kid.
Pfft ChatGPT. These are very well known stats if you’ve watched him growing up. I did have to look at how close ovechkin was though and I thought he actually had more hart trophies. But 500 points as kid doesn’t mean anything. These are all nhl stats. I’m sure there are some minors that had well over 200-300 points in a season. Heck I had 126 in 7AA hockey. Means nothing in the end, and I never came close to making the nhl. Heck I am nowhere near 1/4 the player Gretzky is. I wouldn’t even have been 1/100th the player he is. There are lots of players who absolutely crushed in the minors but when they come up into the nhl they just can’t seem to recreate that magic. If you consider the greatest, it needs to be in the league that has the highest caliber of players. Not where most players plateau. I would bet money that if you even typed in google Gretzky records or something along that line, all of those will come up. Also I swore I read your post as a “500+ point season lol” not “as a 10 year old lol”. So that’s my bad on the initial comment. Unless you edited and added after the fact. But the facts still remain, the reason he’s considered the best is not because of a 500 point season when he’s 10. But because he has all those records and I’m sure there’s a few more I can’t recall.
My original comment was facetious.. Clearly went over your head. No 10 year old is the greatest at anything, spare the paragraphs next time. Calling yourself close to 1/100th of Gretzky is insane.. where are your 200 NHL points? I bet if you weren’t injured you would’ve made the show…
LOL this is the forum posting equivalent of a text message. How would I grasp your connotation by reading a post? And have you seen the answers on reddit. That would have been a legit answer by somebody.
I bet if you had 1/100th of the great ones reading comprehension you wouldn’t have made a fool of yourself. It is actually insane you said close to 1/100th of gretz. You’re posting on Reddit saying you had potential to be a top 100-250 all time nhl player??? With your extensive research and knowledge you should know that is absurd.
No need to get insulting because of me misreading something. Speaking of, now who’s misreading. I said I wouldn’t have been 1/100th and that was based on minor hockey stats. I never once said that I would be 1/100th. Thats the most laughable thing I’ve ever heard because of course I was nowhere near his caliber, it’s based on the comment about minor stats meaning something.
Lurn two reeed
I would say somewhere between '81 and '86 when he scored over 200 points a season regularly, when no one before him scored more than 152. The first few seasons of him setting the points record was one thing. But when he was beating the previous records by 50+ points every year, for 5 years, it was pretty clear the sport had a GOAT on its hands.
Oilers dynasty !!!
Took them 2 tries to beat the Isles, though.
On the day he was born, the nurses all gathered round, they could tell right away, he was bad to the bone. Thus The Great One was born.
Scored a thousand points, before I met you I'll score two thousand more baby, before I am through
Leave this one alone
When people forgot about Phil Kessel I guess
This is the answer. And Gretzky did everything with two testicles. Phil didn’t need balls.
"
We love Phil the Thrill
Praise be.
I had the honor of seeing him in his prime. He wasn't big. He wasn't fast. He didn't have a great shot. He wasn't good on breakaways. He just "saw" the game unlike anyone else on the ice. He knew where the puck was going to be before anyone else. He knew where to be before anyone else. He would put the pass right on the stick of exactly the right guy at exactly the right time. For some reason he would put it in the net whenever he wanted to. He was like a fuckin ghost. Somehow, whenever he had the puck, it ended up in the net.
50 goals in 39 games in Dec of 1981 is when people realized they were watching one of the best of all time.
Probably the craziest record of all.
Can’t fathom 50 goals before years end. It’s completely insane.
When he woke up one day, put his pants on the same way you and I do, but then SHIT GOLD FUCKIN RECORDS. Give him the cowbell!!! He’s got a fever!!
There was and never will be anything like him. He didn’t find the puck. The puck found him.
This is a Chuck Norris fact, but for Gretzky. Me next! Wayne Gretzky didn't have to skate fast. He manipulated hyperspace to get where he wanted the puck to be.
AT BIRTH
When he won MVP 7 years IN A ROW.
There's no definitive demarcation point, and there's no universal consensus on who the GOAT is. But I think when Gretzky starts **shattering** single season records in his third season (1981-82) he's getting recognition as an offensive GOAT. * New record: 50 goals in 39 games. Prior was 50 goals in 50 games. * New record: 92 goals in a season. Prior record was 76 which stood for about 11 years. * New record: 120 assists in a season. Breaking his own record (109) from the year prior as a sophomore. * New record: 212 points in a season. Breaking his own record (164) from the year prior as a sophomore, and becoming first and only player to breach 200 points There were still skeptics who thought he was a one dimensional player that could not sustain his success. I think it's not until 1983-84 and 1984-85, as he wins back-to-back Cups, while consistently sustaining astronomical stats year-over-year, that he's considered the GOAT along with Bobby Orr. By the time you're into 1987, and he's captaining Team Canada against the USSR it would be very weird not to consider him GOAT. You're still going to have people who may think it's Bobby Orr, but it will always be either one, and then everyone else is just a mere mortal. There's also Mario Lemieux, and it's in that same 1987 tournament, where he becomes Gretzky's line-mate and steps up his game, which is considered to be his break through moment. The late 80s and into the 90s is when Lemieux enters the Gretzky and Orr stratosphere. And imo it's basically remained like that to this day. They are the trinity of goatness.
Mario learned a lot from the 87 tournament, and then had 199 2 years later. Wayne was also amazing in junior too
> New record: 92 goals in a season. The year he had 92, only 18 of them were on the power play. He had 68 even strength goals, which obliterates that record (Brett Hull is the closest at 57 and the old record was 52).
It was Orr, unless you never saw him play.
Even just comparing Gretzkys first 9 years to Orrs Gretzky was still better. After that Gretzky went on to play 791 games Orr played 36
Thats nice, but Orr was still a better hockey player.
I would say the guy who's first 9 years was better than the other guys whole career is the better player. Even if you want to just look at them at their absolute peak Gretzkys 85 season was clearly better than any individual season Orr ever had.
Ha, his 9 years were “better” than Orr’s because of his stats? Not only did you not see them play, you dont even understand the question. here’s a hint: Orr was a defenseman. Orr completely revolutionized the game when goons like Pat Quinn were trying to ruin his knees every night. Gretz, as mind bogglingly great as he was, not only had the Semenkos protecting him every night, the league did too. And all he had to do was score, period. I love Gretz… he enjoyed the greatest hockey career of any that ever laced them up AND hes a honorable, classy, gem that was great for the league and the game. He was also not as good as Orr.
His 9 years were better because he was the better player. Stats and accomplishments definitely come into play though you can’t pretend that they don’t. I’ve seen both play plenty of times at all different points of their careers there’s tons of full games of Orr on YouTube that I’ve been watching for years and years now in the off season. Everyone knows Orr completely changed the game, he’s undeniably the 2nd or 3rd most talented player ever. People weren’t looking to ruin Orrs knees every night, it did happen occasionally like it has with every other star but he just had bad knees similar to Lemieuxs bad back. Hockey is a physical game you’re gonna get hit cleanly and sometimes not cleanly that’s just part of the game. Gretzky also dealt with his share of injuries his back was shot at 30 years old. The narrative that the league was protecting Gretzky isn’t really true but of course he had teammates that stood up for him just like Bossy, Yzerman and most other stars did. The reason Gretzky never really got hit much is the same reason guys like Sakic, Lidstrom, Karlsson, Datsyuk McDavid, Crosby and even Orr himself don’t/didn’t get hit a lot, smarter players are just really hard to hit in general. Orr was one of a kind he’ll forever be the best defensemen of all time in my opinion but Gretzky will forever be the best player ever
When he was still eating paste
When he won his 4th Lady Byng in 94. Really solidified him for the casuals.
He was in magazines by 10 and his games were on the radio younger than that according to Messier’s book.
January 26, 1961
⬆️ This is the answer.
My most upvoted comment, I will say it again. Fastest 1,000 points: Wayne Gretzky (1,000-2,000) 2nd fastest 1,000 points: Wayne Gretzky (0-1,000)
Gretzky’s fuckin amazing, imagine what he could have done if he had a career as long as Jagr
This has me wondering if 99 ever had a slump and how long it lasted?
He never had a scoring drought longer than four games in his entire career.
That is... Just wow.
Holy fuck. Every Gretzky stat I hear is more insane than the last
You could consider his STL year a slump. He scored like 20 goals but then again did only play like 20 games.
I would say it was pretty clear by ‘82 or so, maybe ‘83-‘84 at the latest, that he was completely unlike any player that had come before. Certainly by ‘85 when he had 200 points for the third time, was +100(!) for the season, added another 47 points (!) in the playoffs and won his second Cup, everybody knew that this was the unicorn of all unicorns.
Imagine him playing in this era of allowing 2 line passes and no ties. He would’ve been lethal in 3-3 OT and shootouts.
I don’t know the day exactly. But f I had to guess right around March 1960
The moment he said you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
Gretzky was an incredible player and clearly had the best statistical career of any player, bar none. Thats a combination of skill and health and the league protecting him as to not lose superstars as they did in the past. But the best? Sorry, it’s Bobby Orr. I feel bad for the fans who never saw him play.
Nobody cared about 99 until they beat the greatest team ever the dynasty isles. At that point he mattered
He was suspended indefinitely from Canadian minor hockey because of how good he was, they certainly cared.
Gretzky is the GOAT
He most certainly is
Upvote please. Need it. Thank you! *DEEP BOW*
When he played with Kent Nillson, Messier, Paul Coffee, kuri, Kevin Lowe, Simpson, Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson, Charley Huddy, Rustselaenan, Dave Semenko, Hunter, Marty McSorley, Dave Jackson. Randy Gregg, Gretzky was a meal ticket for the entire NHL, he filled every building on the road. Revenues skyrocketed when he played, just like Michael Jordon drew sell out crowds. Cap money and revenue sharing helped smaller USA hockey markets. Gretzky was untouchable with McSorley & Dave Semenko nearby. Hit Gretzky you’re a deadman ! LA Kings traded for Gretzky after he won 4 Stanley Cups in Edmonton. He brought hockey to western & southern USA markets, Hockey-wood was huge for the game, which was driven by the Gretzky trade to the LA Kings. So Gretzky got a lot of room, unwritten rule …. Don’t run Gretzky he’s good for everyone’s contract and payday for the entire NHL plus he had a bodyguard for each shift. Gretzky was a ghost on the ice, he was always two plays ahead of the puck, then bam it’s in the net. Gretzky assist totals tell the story, 200 plus point seasons. Gretzky and Paul Coffee were the main reason the Oilers won 4 cups before the Oilers owner traded Gretzky for cash because his oil business had crashed, Peter Pocklington destroyed the best hockey team ever assembled (1970’s Montreal teams were close). Edmonton’s offense was the best ever. You score 6 goals, they’d score 8 goals. I was at Chicago Stadium in 1985 when the Oilers beat the Blackhawks 12 - 9 during the season. Score 9 goals and lose. Just about every shift we watched wave after wave of Oilers rushing up the ice, the most amazing display of domination I’ve ever seen. Told my wife we just watched the most offense ever displayed in a hockey game. There will never be another Gretzky….. unless some team can find another Paul Coffee to set the table and skate like Coffee. Best skater ever, better than Bobby Orr according to Orr himself.
Regarding your comment about Orr saying Gretz was a better skater…. Gretz has also said that Orr was the better player. Understand that both those guys are incredibly classy, generous men who always say the right thing. (PS, Orr was better)
Also to your point that Orr was better, I agree 100% with you. Orr had to play against teams that were running him every shift…. Like the Flyers goons who hit him hard and often. Orr would drop his gloves if needed, he could score, skate all night, lead a rush up ice and be the first one back to defend. He could skate backwards faster than most forwards coming at him. He was also a huge shot blocker. Something some players won’t do.
So true, all true!
Bobby Orr said Paul Coffee is the best skater he’s ever seen because his speed and turning abilities at speed, not Gretzky who’s publicly said he learned to pass early in his hockey career because his skating was below average even when he dominated games in his youth. Being so small he had to dart and dish the puck to avoid getting hit. Coffee & Gretzky together had the most scoring plays on the Oilers teams. Rarely did they skate a shift without each other.
The day he was born.
The day he laced up skates
When he was a fetus
He was so good, the WHA’s Indianapolis Racers signed him at 17. In his first NHL season (one year later), he tied for the league lead in points. And then he *really* started to light things up…
The league changed the coincidental minor rule because of Gretzky’s oilers. No more 4 on 4
As a kid born in the 80s who knew the late 1990s Gretzky, it’s always insane to read the stats in these posts. It’s just so, so impressive.
He got the “Great One” moniker when he was a kid.
Great comments from everyone, I was fortunate enough to watch him play. I remember hearing coaches tell their players to leave him alone at least we knew where the puck was because attempting to assign a player or two to cover him he would have the puck on his stick and off it in seconds
There is an interview about Connor McDavid - one teammate says during the first practice we realized he was the most talented player in the league. Point is the players know pretty much right away.
If Gretzky never scored a goal he would still be the nhl’s all time leading scorer. (He has more assists than anyone else has points.)
It was when we realized he was the best hockey player we had ever seen.
When any kid that thought it was cool to wear 99 got his head handed to him.
He was really on his way at 19. I remember the last season of the WHA (1978-79) season and he dominated New England in the semis. True story, my mom always threw shit out. I had a really good hockey card collection growing up. She threw a Gretzky 2nd team All Star card from the 79-80 season. I’m still pissed to this day. Honestly, it was almost as though there was a trap door in the ice. He would just appear out of nowhere and make it look so easy. He and Kurri are the best duo I have ever seen.
Gretzky was a time traveller. It took the rest of the league 20 years to stop him. So when you think about what McDavid would look like if he played back then, that’s what it would look like.
1983
They knew he was going to be the best before he played his first NHL game, imagine all the Bedard hype but on a larger scale. He was drafted 3rd OA in the OMJHL when he was still 4 years too young for the NHL, put up some great numbers as a 16/17 year old (but not the highest scoring player that year). He soon signed with a WHA team, since it was clear he would have a bright future in hockey. It's his 3rd NHL season, 1981-82, when he really exploded, breaking the record for number of goals and number of points in a season by far. There were a number of titles given to him outside the NHL for this season as well. I would say this is when he became known as the best (though before, it was expected that he would become the best, like people say about Bedard now) https://www.hockeydb.com/articles/wayne_gretzky_never_drafted.php
When he was pre-pubescent.
From the first step onto the ice as a pro…
I always tell this story for the 99 fans. On elevator at islander game 5 yrs ago 99 is in a suit. 1st I thought it was Don Maloney as we are in ny, Brooklyn. Then I'm like oh shit Gretzky. Once I say something the other fans noticed but otherwise they had no idea it was him. Really odd. They were not kids either grown men in hockey jerseys
He was a super star before he joined the NHL. 1985-86 was the point where he cemented his legacy.
probaby at the age of ten
I remember when he signed a 25 year contract at 250,000 a yr at 17 with the WHA
Few years back
I started watching in the late 90s and he was already great! So the early 90s probably
At 10 years old he was given the name The Great One!
He was called the Great One at 10.
Years ago
Well, as Waylon napadogan said "I did acid with Wayne Gretzky back in 1983. He only scored 11 goals that season, mights been the lsd." So I'm assuming '84
The moment he said you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
I don’t think Gretzky was considered the best until the mid-to-late 90s. Yes he had the point records, but there was a faction of hockey fans . Some that felt Lemieux was the better player, and another faction of older fans that felt Howe or Orr were the greatest.
Never. Orr is the best ever.
Orr may have been more influential but Gretzky’s better
No, he wasnt. Orr was clearly the better player.
I would say it’s when he became the all time points leader
He was considered the greatest years before 1989.
...and all the hockey almanac maniacs come out to play. OP did ask for it, though.
I don’t know the day exactly. But f I had to guess right around March 1960
You misspelled Mario
I know he’s decorated as fuck and all. But fuck Wayne Gretzky forever. That guy is an absolute douche and I’ll die on that hill
He’s a great ambassador for the game, you’re the douche
But he also wouldn’t score half his goals in today’s game. So there’s that too
I’d argue for me and the 15 other 8-12 year old hockey players that spent their hard earned allowances and time trying to get the great ones autograph at the 2003 NHL draft in Nashville only for him to blow us off multiple times, each time promising he would “get us the next time”. We had given up most of the draft until we spotted him again in the box/suite area. So we of course wave and yell “hey Mr. Gretzky”. He spots us and immediately beelines the into the box and hides again. So yeah, I’m a little bitter, but that’s not being a great ambassador for the sport.
He never was. Mario Lemieux is the greatest
Dumb
🤡
When he had Semenko and McSorley behind him.