Gretzky on Today's Systematic Game at All Levels

[Blackbeard]

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/...**************

[shelfit]

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/...**************

As good as he was, as creative and imaginative as he was, as smart as he was, and with the unparalleled vision he had on the ice, he still would have been able to find ways to be one of the top scorers in today's systematic game.

[zoofer]

Re: Gretzky on Today's Systematic Game at All Levels

I met Wayne when he was 17....he was standing against the support column in Charlie O's after a Rangers-Oilers game.....Gary Burns, my teammate from UNH was with the Rangers.....he was wicked quiet and reserve, and of course surrounded by a lot of female attention......later when another teammate, Dave Lumley was traded to the Oilers, and they went on their Stanley Cup run, I was lucky enough to have tickets, from Lumer, for every game at The Nassau Coliseum! During those 4/5 years, watching Wayne play and then be himself off ice, was an enjoyable and interesting experience for me! Hockey couldn't ask for a better Ambassador!

[D2D]

Re: Gretzky on Today's Systematic Game at All Levels

I'm sure he's overly modest, but I agree with him when he says the game has become overly systematic,*at least at the pro level.

[joecct]

Re: Gretzky on Today's Systematic Game at All Levels

It's at every level. Teach kids not to be afraid of making mistakes as long as they are sins of commission, not omission.

But parents equate Ws, not player development, with success. Coaches and organizations want bodies and cater to the parents so the cherubs play for them, not somebody else.

[ne7minder]

As good as he was, as creative and imaginative as he was, as smart as he was, and with the unparalleled vision he had on the ice, he still would have been able to find ways to be one of the top scorers in today's systematic game.

While you are absolutely right I think the bigger question is, would Gretzky be Gretzky if he grew from today's system? If he grew up in the current system would he have learned to be as creative?

[shelfit]

Re: Gretzky on Today's Systematic Game at All Levels

While you are absolutely right I think the bigger question is, would Gretzky be Gretzky if he grew from today's system? If he grew up in the current system would he have learned to be as creative?

He said he learned his creativity on the pond, so yes he would be as creative. The bigger question is would today's coaches have let him be as creative during games, and sadly I think the sad answer is they would not. I'm not sure today's game is better. It's definitely different. It's really a matter of which teams systems work better in a given game, always looking for the breakdowns in the opponents systems to take advantage of and "create" scoring chances from. Systems have a high level of predictability so the next step in the evolution of the game is going to be finding more creative ways of beating the opponents systems.

[ne7minder]

He said he learned his creativity on the pond, so yes he would be as creative. The bigger question is would today's coaches have let him be as creative during games, and sadly I think the sad answer is they would not. I'm not sure today's game is better. It's definitely different. It's really a matter of which teams systems work better in a given game, always looking for the breakdowns in the opponents systems to take advantage of and "create" scoring chances from. Systems have a high level of predictability so the next step in the evolution of the game is going to be finding more creative ways of beating the opponents systems.

My point was that he might not have had the time for the pond in the current model. He would be too busy with camps and programs. When he did squeeze time in there might not be the competition as the other kids would be tied up in those things. I get what you are saying and not disagreeing just offering an alternative Gretzky.

[OnMAA]

Re: Gretzky on Today's Systematic Game at All Levels

While you are absolutely right I think the bigger question is, would Gretzky be Gretzky if he grew from today's system? If he grew up in the current system would he have learned to be as creative?

Some players just have a great hockey IQ. The best ones are either athletically gifted or have a great hockey IQ. Some have both. With the game being more open today (red line gone etc), smaller players like Carlson, Goudreau can thrive. Gretzky had an off the charts hockey IQ. He would do well in the game today. The systematic approach in todays development would have given him more speed, and his hockey IQ would take care of the rest. JMO.

[OnMAA]

Re: Gretzky on Today's Systematic Game at All Levels

I met Wayne when he was 17....he was standing against the support column in Charlie O's after a Rangers-Oilers game.....Gary Burns, my teammate from UNH was with the Rangers.....he was wicked quiet and reserve, and of course surrounded by a lot of female attention......later when another teammate, Dave Lumley was traded to the Oilers, and they went on their Stanley Cup run, I was lucky enough to have tickets, from Lumer, for every game at The Nassau Coliseum! During those 4/5 years, watching Wayne play and then be himself off ice, was an enjoyable and interesting experience for me! Hockey couldn't ask for a better Ambassador!

Well said. Thanks for sharing. Wayne is clearly an Icon up here north of the border. His wedding in 88 was up here considered the wedding of the century at the time.

[D2D]

Re: Gretzky on Today's Systematic Game at All Levels

I didn't know he had such a modest upbringing. Good article for those interested in how he eventually became "The Great One".

http://www.wsj.com/articles/for-hock...ard-1477409583

[Blackbeard]

Re: Gretzky on Today's Systematic Game at All Levels

For those here old enough to remember the name I thought some might appreciate a story I stumbled across today.

Seems like every day or two in the last few weeks since I posted the original link above I keep seeing Gretzky in some article or another or on tv. Today was no exception. I read an article in which he was interviewed as a promotion for a book he has just written in which it was important to him to tell many stories that most people have never heard but which were very developmentally important to him.

Here is one such story. (background...The Summit Series was the huge/the first series between Team Canada, the first time that the country was represented by a team comprised of professional players and called such, and CCCP (USSR), the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, to be precise back then which series was held in 1972. It was an eight game series with the first four games being played in Canada and the last four games being played in the USSR...about which I have commented once before here with respect to the enormous political significance and confrontational ramifications that this series had on both nations which effects cannot be overstated).

"Gretzky came at the Summit Series from a unique angle, having grandparents who'd emigrated to Canada from Belarus. 'When my grandfather saw a Russian player interviewed (through a translator) on TV and speaking Russian, he broke down,' he shares. 'He couldn't believe he was hearing Russian being spoken on Canadian television. I fell in love with the way Alexander Yakushev played the game and he was (Mark Messier's) favourite, too. Whenever anyone would make a good play, we'd say it was "Yakushevian," and when I got the chance to visit Russia I met Yakushev, and I told him that. After I did, he started crying'."

A more complete explanation of the Summit Series so as to be able to more fully understand the above story:
http://icehockey.wikia.com/wiki/Summit_Series