What made Gretzky so good?

[Mattilaus]

He got more points than the other guys.

 

[King Mapes]

Although Gretzky did have a fair toolbox, he was not:

1) The fastest
2) The biggest
3) The strongest
4) The flashiest
5) The most raw skilled

So really, by process of elimination he was:

1) The smartest. Ever. By a longshot.

This. He studied the game and said he knew where people would be in certain situations by percentages. He was incredibly smart and his IQ and vision were out of this world.

 

[Shakey Rustie]

Anyone have good footage of Gretzky/Lemieux in games/highlights from the late 90s? Little more interesting to watch cause scoring was lower

Look up Yzermans game 7 double OT winner against the Blues.

 

[ProspectsSTC]

He had the greatest anticipation of where players were going to be on the ice and his hockey IQ was unparalleled.

He could also pick corners and change his shooting angles on his slap shot like no one else.

If I could sum up what I mean by his vision and anticipation watch this pass, utterly ridiculous:

Incredible pass but my God that goaltending

 

[King Mapes]

Gretz was old and almost done by then. There were still high scoring players even in the late 90s. When goalie pads got light enough, that is when the Dead Puck Era started to get really bad in terms of scoring. I wonder if you looked it up, that over 2010-2015 the highest scoring players had lower point totals than from 1995-2000

Yeah I'd be interested to know how many he could have put up in his prime in the dead puck era. Obviously not 200 but I'd be curious how many.

 

[snipes]

Dave Semenko

RIP Cement Head.

They don’t make guys like him anymore.

 

[The Shadow]

Goalies with smaller pads. Easier to score.

Horrible goaltenders. Watch the video above someone posted. Kurris goal

 

[golgoXIII]

I.Q and anticipation

 

[Gordievsky]

Insane hockey IQ and vision, but I do think we underrate his skills and his endurance. He was a crazy athlete in that aspect, he could run you out easily. Just go and on and on.

This.

He may have been skinny gangly when he started and he may be old and gray now but he was in great shape and worked his butt off in his prime. Missed very few games for such a long career.
People seem to think that he was soft and managed to avoid the physical play. He did have a squad of goons to protect him but he was still a warrior.

 

[Mr Tadakichi]

He got more points than the other guys.

Absolute bull shit.

 

[RebuildinVan]

You cant teach what he could do

 

[AD1066]

He was the perfect storm of ability and circumstance. Highest IQ of all time, whose prime years coincided with the highest scoring era of the sport, playing on average more minutes than the the top players of today, on a team that couldn't exist in a salary cap world.

 

[snipes]

Yeah I'd be interested to know how many he could have put up in his prime in the dead puck era. Obviously not 200 but I'd be curious how many.

Even in today’s era I think he’d be so far and away better than everyone else.

 

[Oneiro]

No one's ever had the same vision or anticipation. I remember seeing him do stuff even in the year before retirement that still boggled my mind. It looked like he was chucking the puck to no one and yet it would be perfectly timed. Even Crosby hasn't done it on that level.

The highlights don't really capture his greatness actually. Watch a full game, any era.

More than that, the thing to take away from him is that he loved the game in a really pure way and that love drove his innovation as a player.

To me, generational means that the player comes up with new ways of dominating and adds to the vocabulary of the game. Statistical dominance is not unimportant but it's also as much a circumstantial thing as it is a reflection of skill.

 

[Mattilaus]

Absolute bull ****.

Sorry

Me and my hot takes

 

[rfournier103]

He was wicked smaht.

Being from Massachusetts, that made me laugh out loud.

Best reason evah.

Made a deal with the Devil....

This theory has been advanced before.

I have to say his vision and on-ice awareness.

 

[authentic]

If you listen to Gretzky talk about what made him so good, not only was he the smartest hockey player ever in terms of thinking the game, he also did a lot of advance scouting of the Red Army team as a a teenager in the 70s and introduced a lot of strategy and scoring concepts to the league that hadn't been seen in the NHL before. According to the Great One himself, he was the player that made it commonplace in the NHL to play behind the goal line in the offensive zone, and he stole it from Tarasov/the Red Army team.

Also, he was pretty fast in the early to mid 80s when he did the bulk of his damage compared to the other players. I've seen interviews with Gretzky where he talks about how he used his speed a lot to his advantage. He was not physically slow by any means until he lost a few steps and the rest of the league got quicker.

 

[Cup or Bust]

Greatest on ice vision and the best transition player I have ever seen. A team would be carrying the puck towards the Oilers or Kings zone and suddenly Gretzky was leading a 2 or 3 on 1 going the other way and you wondered what the hell happened to the rest of the players on the ice. I never seen any player create more odd man rushes then Gretzky. I absolutely hated him when he was on the Kings and would play the Oilers, no lead was safe.

 

[Makar Goes Fast]

his skill

 

[Ainec]

Watch Canucks games

Can't wait to see #40 raised up the rafters in all 36 buildings

 

[TheAngryHank]

His linemates

 

[jvcjdudu jcycyxjene]

What does meatloaf have to do with Wayne Gretzky?

 

[heretik27]

Being from Massachusetts, that made me laugh out loud.

Best reason evah.



This theory has been advanced before.

I have to say his vision and on-ice awareness.

 

[Machinehead]

He had alien hockey IQ and severely underrated skill. Top 5 shot and hands of all-time.

 

[authentic]

Anyone have good footage of Gretzky/Lemieux in games/highlights from the late 90s? Little more interesting to watch cause scoring was lower

Alex Kovalev and Wayne Gretzky set up Nick Sundstrom goal vs Panthers (1997)

Mario Lemieux || Career NHL Highlights || 1984-2006 (HD)