Why profile Gretzky:
Although he’s out of hockey now, he remains the ultimate poster boy for the sport for the unlikely way he used finesse and speed to excel in the bone-jarring National Hockey League. He recently told Sports Illustrated, “Everything I have I owe to the game of hockey. I never forget it.”
In that same interview Gretzky added that he hopes to be back in the NHL at some point, but for now is focused on his youth hockey foundation, hockey fantasy camp, his Toronto restaurant, an Ontario winery, and the activities of his five children. (His son Trevor recently signed to a minor league baseball contract by the Chicago Cubs.)
At this point, a new book about Gretzky would do well to explore the transition he made in going from the Edmonton Oilers, who play in one of the smallest pro sports markets in North America, to the Los Angeles Kings, where he played in a huge American market where he was credited with popularizing hockey in LA and the Sun Belt more broadly. His thoughts about the possible erosion of this popularity would also make interesting reading. As would his views on his experience as the former coach, general manager, and part owner of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes, who went bankrupt and remain up for sale by the league.
Any biographer also would want to review Gretzky’s experience as executive director of the Canadian men’s national team. All of Canada badly wanted it to win the gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C., where the Gretzky was honored in lighting the Olympic cauldron. The team did in fact earn the gold with a dramatic overtime victory over the Americans in a game for the ages.
