INTRODUCTION Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby are similar players But they played in very different eras When Gretzky was dominating the National Hockey League NHL in the 1980s and early 90s the game was played at a much faster pace Crosby's NHL today is much more defense oriented That makes it difficult to use statistics to compare these players But it's also not fair to limit a discussion of their greatness to mere numbers Both legends mean much more to the game than that Which one was better It's an argument without a right or wrong answer We'll tell their stories and lay out the facts
GRETZKY OR CROSBY YOU DECIDE
Gretzky shoots against the Calgary Flames
CHAPTER 1 SHOOTING Wayne Gretzky fell in love with hockey while growing up in Brantford Ontario Canada He wanted to play every day But his father grew tired of driving Wayne to the local park to practice So Walter Gretzky built his son a rink in their back yard That way Wayne could practice and Walter could watch from inside the house where it was nice and warm It made all the difference for the player known as The Great One All winter long Wayne would come home from school throw on skates grab his stick and head to the back yard And the legend of the best player in the history of the game was born Gretzky never was the biggest or most powerful player He made up for it with speed smarts and skill A Wayne Gretzky slap shot or wrist shot didn't blow by the goaltender and rip a hole in the back of
