What made Gretzky so good?

[JackSlater]

Smartest player ever, great agility, very good coordination, great work ethic.

 

[Howie Hodge]

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.

Yes, he had what in soccer is called technical speed. That is, he thought the game quicker than other players, and knew what he was doing in advance. Proactive.

 

[Fixxer]

You cant teach what he could do

He tried in Phoenix and it failed... - His players couldn't do what the player with the most points in NHL history (by a longshot) did, so... no, you can't teach that!!

 

[Fixxer]

Made a deal with the Devil....

You mean, the Mickey Mouse team.. ??

 

[La Masse]

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:

I always laugh when the young guys say he wouldnt cut it in today’s game. He would still be the smartest guy on the ice today. Most elite players would see a couple moves ahead..... Wayne knew what was going to happen 10 moves ahead

 

[Crazy Cizikas]

His vision and hockey iq. He knew where everyone was on the ice. And where the puck is. All seconds in advance of when it happens. It was uncanny. People could score a lot on set plays; Gretzky did not need set plays.

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

Good:
Legendary IQ. Good skater; quick turns and pivots, faster than most players in the 80’s. Better shot than he gets credit for. Brought new ideas to the game (behind the net / full speed over the blue line, brake at the top of the circle, curl, hit trailer). Very creative compared to the rest of the league. Amazing offensive awareness, always seemed to know where the puck was going before anyone else, always put himself in the right position.

Bad:
Weak along the boards. Below average Strength & Balance. Below average in face offs (Messier & MacTavish had to take key defensive zone face offs).

What makes him so great is the way he thought the game, most of his peers played a very conventional way, he was completely different.

 

[780il]

Uh. How the hell did he know where to pass? Didn't look up once.

You'll find that you come up saying things like that a lot when watching Gretzky.

 

[780il]

His IQ and anticipation were otherworldly

His shot as a whole was crazy good

Very good on his edges and his vision, hands, and passing were simply on another planet

 

[Passchendaele]

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

The goalie on that play happens to be in the Hall of Fame.

 

[McFlash97]

Agility, accuracy and brainpower. The greatest of all time.

 

[The Shadow]

The goalie on that play happens to be in the Hall of Fame.

Doesn’t change the fact that goalies don’t flop around like that anymore for a reason

 

[JMCx4]

Answer: Walter Gretzky.

 

[Passchendaele]

Doesn’t change the fact that goalies don’t flop around like that anymore for a reason

That's right. Their gear is so huge that they don't have to rely on instinct/reflexes anymore.

 

[JustinCase]

Actual footage of Wayne Gretzky being born.

 

[Boxscore]

1. Processing.
2. Passion. He LOVED the game 24/7
3. Elite Talent
4. Hockey IQ
5. Personality and attitude
6. Passing ability

 

[The Shadow]

That's right. Their gear is so huge that they don't have to rely on instinct/reflexes anymore.

Yes it’s all the equipment. You’re right. Nothing else has changed except that

 

[Boxscore]

Yes it’s all the equipment. You’re right. Nothing else has changed except that

Then why weren't all players scoring 200 points a year when Gretzky was?

 

[Asheville]

Goalies with smaller pads. Easier to score.

A herp and a burp and slurp derp.

 

[Albatros]

Then why weren't all players scoring 200 points a year when Gretzky was?

I think the question is rather whether today's best players would score 200 or even 300 points with that goaltending. Gretzky was the best of his time, but the game has developed quite a lot since.

 

[Asheville]

I think the question is rather whether today's best players would score 200 or even 300 points with that goaltending. Gretzky was the best of his time, but the game has developed quite a lot since.

Developed? You mean rigid and predictable, right? Systems, set plays. Gretzky was put on this Earth to tear apart systems and set plays, and he did.

And he would.

 

[The Panther]

Aside from the usual things that have been mentioned, there's something else Gretzky did that was unusual: He always pushed the puck to open ice if he was carrying it (i.e., not passing it). He rarely skated toward the net with the puck in stickhandling mode -- rather, he pushed the puck ahead and out of his own (and thereby, the defender's) reach, and chased it down.

This might not sound revolutionary, but I've never seen anyone but him do it so much. Most players will carry the puck in full control as a default, and will rarely put the puck well ahead of themselves. Of course, this reflects how non-physical he was, as it enabled him to avoid wrestling with defenders.

He just had really outstanding fundamental hockey skills. Glen Sather said he always had the puck in the 'sweet spot' on his stick. Kelly Hrudey said he was the best player at safely getting the puck out of the zone when killing penalties.

Incidentally, one odd thing about him (in his prime) was his stick. He used the heaviest stick in the NHL, with a very moderate curve. Brett Hull described it as "the worst stick in hockey".

The best description of Gretzky's game I ever heard was from Harry Neale, who said that Gretzky, playing on the ice, could see the game unfolding the same way Neale (or fans) saw it from the press box or the nosebleeds. In other words, he saw everything simultaneously developing in slow motion.

It's common, of course, to gifted athletes to be able to "perceive" fast motion in slower time than normal humans. But Gretzky, perhaps, had this ability in extremes, in addition to the other things.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Physically he looked like a shrimp, but he still dominated games. How?

i mean i think he was bigger than johnny gaudreau or mitch marner

 

[King Mapes]

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

It's so hard to say because the game has evolved but Gretz IQ would have adapted.

 

[King Mapes]

I've never seen more than highlights from his career and I'm not here to question how good he was, I just want to know what made him as good as he was. Physically he looked like a shrimp, but he still dominated games. How?

I seen a magazine (forget which publisher) from 1979 that had him on the cover that said "is Wayne Gretzky too small for the NHL?"