Top 112 Quotes & Sayings by Wayne Gretzky
Explore popular quotes and sayings by a Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky.
Last updated on September 18, 2024.
I couldn't beat people with my strength; I don't have a hard shot; I'm not the quickest skater in the league. My eyes and my mind have to do most of the work.
Listen, everything I have in my life is because of the NHL and because of hockey, and I love the game and I loved every minute of being a player, I loved coaching, I loved being involved in the NHL.
When I was 5 and playing against 11-year-olds, who were bigger, stronger, faster, I just had to figure out a way to play with them.
Ninety percent of hockey is mental and the other half is physical.
Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.
Growing up, I was always the small guy.
Hockey is a unique sport in the sense that you need each and every guy helping each other and pulling in the same direction to be successful.
I'm very proud of our NHL players. I think they all handle themselves extremely well and they all work really hard.
The only way a kid is going to practice is if it's total fun for him... and it was for me.
The biggest difference between L.A. and Edmonton was that instead of people looking at me I was looking at them.
My kids are no different than anyone else's - they tend to disagree with everything I say!
And people who know me would tell you that away from hockey I'm really not that competitive.
The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.
Look at guys like Larry Bird and George Brett and John McEnroe; that's what they did in their careers. They all wanted to be the guy under the microscope late in the game or late in the match. So you just take on that know-how that that's part of your responsibility, and you learn that's what makes it exciting. That's what makes it fun!
I just like to keep my money in the bank; I'm not a big risk-taker. I don't know anything about the stock market... I stay away from things I don't know anything about.
I knew at a young age, whether I was playing baseball or hockey or lacrosse, that my teammates were counting on me, whether it be to strike the last batter out in a baseball game or score a big goal in a hockey game.
It's an honour and a thrill and a privilege just to play in the NHL.
Most people marry their mother. I married my father.
I think that from the time you start playing sports as a child you see that your responsibility to your team is to play the best that you can play as an individual... and yet, not take anything away from being part of a team.
You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
I wasn't naturally gifted in terms of size and speed; everything I did in hockey I worked for, and that's the way I'll be as a coach.
I don't like my hockey sticks touching other sticks, and I don't like them crossing one another, and I kind of have them hidden in the corner. I put baby powder on the ends. I think it's essentially a matter of taking care of what takes care of you.
I get a feeling about where a teammate is going to be. A lot of times, I can turn and pass without even looking.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.
By no means could I play at the level of these kids who play in the NHL now but as 50-year-olds go, I feel really good and I feel blessed that I'm still healthy.
A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.
People in general want to build somebody up and then try to knock them down. They always root for the underdog.
I think sports for kids is the greatest thing in the world because it teaches you how to share, about winning and losing and pressure. But I don't think you should force your kid to become a professional athlete.
Not doing it is certainly the best way to not getting it
It really doesn't matter or concern me what people are saying or who thinks who is the favorite. The bottom line is you have to play.
I'm not sure Mario is going to get accolafes he deserves, especially from outside the game. But from within, the players, the people who follow closely, realize exactly what he's broughtto the table, exactly what he has done. People tend to forget... hockey was dying in Pittsburgh before he got there. I played there. It was almost dead. I'm sorry, but the NHL would not have a franchise in Pittsburgh today had Mario not come along. Think about it, no hockey in Pittsburgh.
You'll never catch me bragging about goals, but I'll talk all you want about my assists.
When you're playing an exhibition, you're kind of letting everyone get an opportunity.
You know, I've held women and babies and jewels and money, but nothing will ever feel as good as holding that Cup.
I think a lot of parents live their lives through the kids. Because they didn't make it [achieve something], they want their kids to make it. It puts a lot of undue pressure on the kids.
If we're going to change the game it has to start at eight, nine and 10 years old. When we were that age we'd go to the pond or backyard rink and throw a puck on the ice and play five on five, or seven on seven. You get this creativity and this imagination that comes from within, just having fun on the pond. Now kids are so focused on team play, and the coaches are so focused on positioning. You can't change it at the NHL level.
As a player, you have one responsibility, to focus yourself and be ready for the game. As a coach, your responsibility is to get 20 guys ready and have them all on the same page. If you can't get every guy ready every night, you're going to struggle.
The game is played out of instinct, but everyone on the ice has habits - good and bad. So the key to the game is to exploit the bad habits of your opponent.
It's easier to lose than to win.
Maybe it wasn't the talent the Lord gave me-maybe it was the passion.
The Power of WHO provides great lessons about how to succeed in business and in life. If you surround yourself with quality people and great friends, the sky's the limit.
Only one thing is ever guaranteed, that is that you will definitely not achieve the goal if you don't take the shot.
What you want to do with your best players is, it doesn't matter how many goals and assists they get, but when they get goals and assists. The best players get them at the most important times, and that's when we need those guys to come through.
You miss every shot you don't take.
It doesn't matter what I think. It doesn't matter what other people think. You have to get on the ice and participate and play and the best team wins.
I played everything. I played lacrosse, baseball, hockey, soccer, track and field. I was a big believer that you played hockey in the winter and when the season was over you hung up your skates and you played something else.
Thankfully, in my youth I had the best financial advisor a son could ask for: my dad Walter. When I got that first signing bonus in 1978, Dad took my cheque, announced, 'This is what we're going to do,' and bought an annuity with it.
I don't think any one person will ever be bigger than the game.
Everything I did in hockey, I worked for.
There's no perfect coach in the world. Coaches are human, too. Mistakes are made. But, fundamentally, if you're sound, you eliminate as many mistakes as possible.
I missed 100% of the shots I didn't take
No matter who you are, we're creatures of habit. The better your habits are, the better they will be in pressure situations.
One hundred percent of shots not taken don't go in.
Hockey is my life. I love every minute of it.
It's kind of ironic when I broke in at 17, I was told I was too small, too slow and I wouldn't make the NHL
I can remember hockey. It was my life, my passion. It's what I love the most.
I'm probably the only guy in hockey who can win a scoring title and everybody is saying I had a bad year. I don't worry about it.
The day I stop giving is the day I stop receiving. The day I stop learning is the day I stop growing. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
Sometimes people ask, 'Are hockey fights real?' I say, 'If they weren't, I'd get in more of them.
The only shot I ALWAYS miss, is the one I don't take!
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