Wayne Gretzky quotes:

Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.

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.

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.

A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.

The biggest difference between L.A. and Edmonton was that instead of people looking at me I was looking at them.

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.

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.

It's just amazing how many companies suddenly want you to hold up their products after you've held up the Stanley Cup.

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.

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

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.

The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.

Eight days ago, we were the toast of the town. Eight days later we're Thanksgiving turkeys.

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.

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!

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 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.

At the end of the day everybody lost. We almost crippled our industry. It was very disappointing what happened.

I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.

No matter who you are, we're creatures of habit. The better your habits are, the better they will be in pressure situations.

It's an honour and a thrill and a privilege just to play in the NHL.

You'll never catch me bragging about goals, but I'll talk all you want about my assists.

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.

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.

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.

People talk about skating, puck handling and shooting, but the whole sport is angles and caroms, forgetting the straight direction the puck is going, calculating where it will be directed, factoring in all the interruptions. Basically, my whole game is angles.

When emotions are high, things are said, things are done. Ultimately, these players want to play. I know too many of them love the game too much.

Good players skate to the puck. Great players skate to where the puck is going to be.

Most players go where the puck is. I go where the puck will be.

I get a feeling about where a teammate is going to be. A lot of times, I can turn and pass without even looking.

We're in a tough situation because of teenage children, and then we have a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old, so my family and my responsibilities is sort of a juggle.

Ninety percent of hockey is mental and the other half is physical.

A lot of times, I can turn and pass without even looking.

And people who know me would tell you that away from hockey I'm really not that competitive.

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.

But in my mind, I don't think there's any question Sidney Crosby is the best all-around player in the game. His hockey sense is so strong and so solid, combined with his God-gifted talent of being able to see the ice, see the entire picture in front of him. And, most importantly, I don't care how good you are, if you don't have a work ethic, it doesn't matter. There's no question that each and every game, he's one of the hardest-working guys on the ice. In my mind, he's the best player in the game today.

Canadian players have started to put more of an importance on the World Championships in the sense that as soon as they lose, they are called, they want to go play and they don't go only on the basis of if they are injured.

Competitive spirit is still at a premium. The more you win, the better you play, the more money you make, so they all have that in mind.

Everything I did in hockey, I worked for.

Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull and Jean Béliveau probably looked at us in the '80s and said, "These guys are soft. We used to take the train."

Growing up, I was always the small guy.

He brings something special. I don't know what it is, but if you ask him, you couldn't understand his answer.

Hockey is my life. I love every minute of it.

Hullie's a lot like a garbage can. You step on the pedal with your foot and the top opens up.

I can remember hockey. It was my life, my passion. It's what I love the most.

I can't remember the last time I went to a game and there was a fight. I think they fight more in baseball now than they do in hockey.

I don't think any one person will ever be bigger than the game.

I get a lot of parents coming up to me, telling me they are grooming their kids to be professional athletes. I'm really against that. I think it's a great life, and yeah, you can lead them in that direction. I think a lot of parents live their lives through the kids. Because they didn't make it, they want their kids to make it. It puts a lot of undue pressure on the kids.

I grew up such a fan. It was my life. Everything I did was hockey related and everything I have is because of hockey and the NHL.

I have absolutely no complaints about my life. But people think I got handed everything, all this kind of fell in my lap, that I was just God-gifted with all this talent. I wanted people to realize it's a lot tougher than just waking up one day and you're in the NHL.

I have recall. I don't know why or how. I had a guy once who said he played against me in novice [league, for kids under nine], for the Detroit Lasers. And I said, "Oh yeah, we beat you in the tournament, 8-1 and I think I scored seven goals, and the goalie was left-handed." And he was, "Oh my God. I was the goalie!" .

I heard people say, 'Why would he want to do this?' My answer is 'Why not?' It is what I love. It's what I know.

I love everything about hockey.

I miss 100% of the shots I don't take.

I miss all the shots I don't take.

I missed 100% of the shots I didn't take

I really wanted to write a book [99: Stories of the Game ] on the tradition and history of the league, where kids can pick it up and read it and learn things and say, "Geez, I didn't know that. That's pretty cool."

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.

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.

I think the Americans are ready to play, they want to beat us. I think that players like Chris Chelios and his leadership over there goes a long way.

I think the greatest thing about playing obviously is winning, and you can't replace that experience with anything.

I wasn't a great skater and I needed my skates to be perfect - really tight around the ankles. But I couldn't break in new ones because my feet would hurt so much. I wore a size 9 shoe and a 6.5 skate - my foot was really crunched.

If I had to pick three players to start a franchise, I'd choose Hasek, Peter Forsberg and Eric Lindros.

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.

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.

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.

I'm very proud of our NHL players. I think they all handle themselves extremely well and they all work really hard.

In one sense we are a favorite because we won a gold medal in 2002.

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.

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.

It's easier to lose than to win.

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

It's really hard. And it's harder today because of the salary cap. It starts in September at training camp - getting every guy on the same page, being as mentally and physically as focused as you can be. Then in April and May, you basically spend eight weeks practising, watching video and playing games. That's your life.

Kids don't fight in minor hockey anymore. There's very few fights in junior and college hockey. So growing up, all these guys are not fighting.

Lifting the Stanley Cup for the first time. There's nothing like it. It's the greatest story. In my era, they used to say you couldn't be a superstar without winning one. I remember thinking when I lifted it: "Now they can't say that about me."

Listen, first of all, my wife is my best friend. My love for her is deeper than anything. The reality is, I'm not involved, I wasn't involved and I'm not going to be involved. Am I concerned for both of them Sure there's concern from me. I'm more worried about them than me. I'm like you guys, I'm trying to figure it all out.

Maybe it wasn't the talent the Lord gave me-maybe it was the passion.

Most people marry their mother. I married my father.

My answer is, why not? ... It's what I love, it's what I know. Glen Sather was the best coach that I had and what made him good was his confidence in what he did. I believe that I'm going to be a good coach.

My best friend had a hockey scholarship at Ohio State, so I would get a couple of pairs at the beginning of the season and send them down to him. They practised two hours a day. He'd skate in them for three weeks then ship them back.

My kids are no different than anyone else's - they tend to disagree with everything I say!

Not doing it is certainly the best way to not getting it

Nothing can replace the Olympics. I love the Olympics. I was so proud when I played in '98 and I was so proud when we won in 2002.

One hundred percent of shots not taken don't go in.

One of the key qualities that you need to be a great hockey player is fantastic anticipation and feel for the game - if you know where the puck is going before it is hit, that is half the battle.

Only one thing is ever guaranteed, that is that you will definitely not achieve the goal if you don't take the shot.

People in general want to build somebody up and then try to knock them down. They always root for the underdog.

Skating alone is an art. Doing it on a substance? I don't know. That's got to be tough.

Sometimes people ask, 'Are hockey fights real?' I say, 'If they weren't, I'd get in more of them.

That's the hardest part of this whole process. The best part is picking the players and the worst part is telling basically five players they are not going to play tonight.

The 2002 (Olympic) team was a great team, we won the gold medal, they deserved all the accolades that they got. But this team seems to have a little more depth and maybe a little more talent to pick from. So it makes the job of picking the right 23 guys even more difficult.

The best players in the game want the responsibility of being the best player. The reality is the game has changed from now back to '87. It's a lot tighter checking. The players are better today. So, that makes it harder for him just in that fact. We can't rely solely on Mario [Lemieux] to carry this team. We're not relying on that.

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.

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.

The greatest thing about playing obviously is winning, and you can't replace that experience with anything.

The last year I was playing, I asked the stick boy to get me a Diet Coke and he said, "Really?" But I always had one on the bench because that's what I did in 1979 when there wasn't Gatorade. If you needed energy you went and got a Snickers or a Kit Kat. Nobody knew any better.

The only shot I ALWAYS miss, is the one I don't take!

The only way a kid is going to practise is if it's total fun for him... and it was for me.

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.

We feel fortunate [with Canada hockey team]. We have got a lot of guys who love to play, but they also love to win even more. We are pretty happy. Although we are young, we like our group of players.

We played in an era where you were taught to hate your opponent. But life changes. I raise my kids differently than my mom and dad raised their kids.

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.

When I broke into professional hockey at 17 I was told that I was too small and too slow and I wouldn't make the NHL. Now it's kind of flip-flopped and the sense is I can't be a good coach because I was a great athlete.

When I played in a 21-team league, there were six or seven goalies who were just average, and the equipment and pads were smaller. I came in the right era. I played for the right team. It was all speed, and creativity and imagination.

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.

When people come up to me and say, "I was at your Game 7 in the playoffs in Toronto," or, "I saw your first goal in the NHL," that triggers memories. But I don't sit around my kitchen table and tell my kids, "You know, one year I got 92 goals."

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.

You miss every shot you don't take.

You miss the ball you do not hit 100%

Your friends, family, and kids have to understand that's your priority. It's the only way you can be successful.