Did Gretzky really play so hard in the 1987 Canada Cup that he pissed himself, or is that just legend?
Either way, his hard work inspired a supremely talented but lazy Mario Lenieux to realize he could take the next step by not relying on talent alone.
Yes, its true. It was detailed in that "Gretzky to Lemieux" book, that recounts the 87 canada cup (by Ed Bennes or something? I'm sure someone can correct me). Also, if its to be believed, Gretzky played somewhere just over 50 minutes of that game, which was like 90:02 long. That's an amazing amount of ice time for a forward. Even 1st ballot HoF Dmen don't play over half the game usually.
I also heard when he reached the bench, his legs gave out on him momentarily, and he had to be helped part way to the dressing room, but I don't remember if I actually read that, or that's just legend.