Emma's February Prezi

Beginning of Gretzky's Life

Beginning of Gretzky's life

Wayne Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961, in Ontario, Canada to Walter and Phyllis Gretzky and is the oldest of five children. By the time he was two, Gretzky was skating around on frozen ponds and outside rinks. When Wayne Gretzky was 6 he was playing hockey with and against kids much older than him. He wasn't as big or as powerful as the other kids, but he was a very talented stick-handler. When he had the puck nobody could get it away from him. When he was 10 he was unstoppable and had a season where he scored 378 goals in 85 games. At age 14 he played in the Junior B level, the second highest level in youth hockey. By the time he was 16 he played with the Junior A team in the Ontario National Association (now the Ontario Hockey League). He later became pro and played in the now defunct World Hockey Association (WHA).

Middle Of Gretzky's Life

Middle of Gretzky's life

Every owner in the WHA chased Gretzky and after only 8 games with the Racers he was traded to the Oilers, who were at the time in the WHA, for about $700,000. He broke basically every record. In his first season with the Oilers, they finished first in the six-team standings with 98 points. Edmonton made the Avco cup finals (which is like the the Stanley cup for the WHA) but lost to their biggest WHA rivals the Jets, even though Gretzky had 10 goals and 20 points in that playoff series. As the playoffs ended there was a lot of talk about merging the WHA with the NHl. Now that the Oilers were with the NHL Gretzky's popularity began to soar. By the end of his first season in the NHL Gretzky had scored 51 goals and had 137 points. He was voted the league's MVP. In 1981-82 Gretzky had an unbelievable 212 point season. Gretzky won his first of four Stanley Cups in 1984. He won his second Cup in 1985, third in 1987, and Gretzky's last in 1988. (All with the Oilers.)

Gretzky's Current

Life/End of Career

End of career/ Gretzky's Current life

The owner of the Edmonton Oilers had to make a tough decision and trade Gretzky and two other players to the Los Angeles Kings for more money. This was a shocking trade for two players, $22.9 million (today it would be worth $15 million), and the Kings first round draft picks. Gretzky made hockey more popular in the west-coast and a big impact on the Kings. They eventually made it into the Stanley Cup Finals but lost. He was later traded to the St. Louis Blues, than finished his outstanding career and retired in New York with the Rangers. He wasn't completely finished with hockey yet though, he became part owner of the Coyotes. He faced a big challenge building Team Canada for the Winter Olympics in 2002 and they won a gold medal. Later, he became the head coach of the Coyotes (2002 to 2009) but they failed to make the playoffs. Gretzky is currently 58 years old, has a wife, five kids, and is still a hockey legend.

Character Traits

Determined- Gretzky is determined because when he lost in a bad playoff series he didn't give up, he continued to practice and improve.

Smart- Gretzky is smart because he anticipated where everyone was, how much time he had, and when he could speed things up and slow things down on the ice. For example, if several defenders were on him he would be able to just pass the puck behind him and know someone would be there to receive the pass.

Athletic- Gretzky is athletic because he starting skating at 2 and spent all of his free time outside skating on outdoor rinks and frozen ponds. He is an amazing stick handler, and a great, record breaking hockey player. Also, he is a four-time Stanley Cup winner.

Leader-He is a leader because he was a captain for awhile and didn't have a bad attitude after losses.

Gretzky's Character Traits

Life Lesson

Wayne Gretzky can teach us that even if you get good at a sport you can't stop practicing and assume you are the best. There will be people better, stronger, and faster than you but if you keep trying, practicing, and never give up, you can beat them.

Life Lesson

Fun Fact

Fun Fact

Wayne Gretzky's number is 99. He chose this number because his hockey idol. Gordi Howe wore number 9. 9 was already taken on the Oilers when he joined so he went with 99.