Is Gretzky the most physically underwhelming generational player?

[Sweet Leaf]

Howe was a big strong monster who could overwhelm with power and skill. Same could be said for Richard (who could also skate like the wind).

Orr could skate circles around most of the league and had a huge clapper from the point.

Lemieux was mostly too big to handle and had a great shot and was one of the elite stickhandlers the league has seen.

Gretzky could not skate like Crosby.

He could not shoot and play physically like Ovie can.

He was not close to the player off the rush that Lafleur/Hull were who were both elite skaters/shooters (Lafleur was also a great passer).

Trying to pinpoint Gretzky's greatest strengths and you go to words like "vision" and "thinking the game" . He obviously had a great shot in terms of accuracy early in his career but never an elite power shot and of course he would become mostly a passer as his career went on.

Not only may there not be a comparative in hockey but I would argue he might be the most physically underwhelming player to become generational in ANY of the traditional big sports.

 

[Calad]

Gretzky was 3 steps ahead of everyone on the ice. He knew what you were going to do before you knew you were going to do it. Add on his ungodly work ethic and you have the greatest hockey player of all time.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Gretzky's raw skillset gets underrated around here. He wasn't the fastest guy but he could definitely wheel. Had good speed and was fast enough and was great on his edges like Crosby is. Great stick handler and had a bomb of a slapshot.

 

[oXo Cube]

Gretzky was a good skater. Elite agility. His shot was pretty accurate too.

Just because his brain was his best asset doesn't mean he didn't have legitimate hockey skills in his toolset.

 

[Kranix]

Watch Wayne pivot with the puck on the spot and go the opposite direction to avoid guys. Look how many goals he scores with that slapper.

 

[Tripod]

This is physically underwhelming?

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Gretzky wasn't the fastest but his edgework was the best in the game
and had a hard, deadly accurate shot to go along with being the best passer ever
plus, the dude never got hit hard because of his awareness

as Denis Potvin once said "trying to hit Gretzky was like trying to hit fog" (or something like that haha)

 

[Tripod]

Watch Wayne pivot with the puck on the spot and go the opposite direction to avoid guys. Look how many goals he scores with that slapper.

The shot against Mike Vernon immediately comes to mind.

 

[leaffaninvancouver]

Gretzky was a good skater. Elite agility. His shot was pretty accurate too.

Just because his brain was his best asset doesn't mean he didn't have legitimate hockey skills in his toolset.

He also had an inhuman amount of endurance.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

This like when people call Crosby a "grinder" who simply outworks everyone.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

I tend to paint the narrative that gretzky had sub par physical tools, because 'vision' is thr only skills defined him.

 

[Jumptheshark]

gretz was not the best at single things--but his over all package was wild--I remember during one training camp. He came to camp weighing something like 180 or something and he came dead last in the physical tests--I think it was 81/82 where he got 212 pts that season--he was dead last in the physical department--

 

[Riddum]

Gretzky was a ghost.

Igor Dmitriev
Gretzky is like an invisible man. He appears out of nowhere, passes to nowhere, and a goal is scored.

 

[Kranix]

That slapper, just under the bar, same spot everytime....

 

[Summer Rose]

I think his skill set gets underrated because of how insanely far ahead of the entire league he was in his vision and intelligence. His shot was also extremely accurate. In other categories he was probably still at least an 8 out of 10 (except throwing hits if you want to count that as a category).

 

[DanM]

Gretzky was a ghost.

Love this!

 

[kingsholygrail]

Wasn't Gretzky unusually flexible too or something? I remember a doc on NHLN where they said the way he could twist and bend his body into his shots gave him unique power in his shots.

 

[kunekune]

This is physically underwhelming?

Legs are decent but there is no muscle in that upper body.

 

[GlitchMarner]

Gretzky's raw skillset gets underrated around here. He wasn't the fastest guy but he could definitely wheel. Had good speed and was fast enough and was great on his edges like Crosby is. Great stick handler and had a bomb of a slapshot.

His stickhandling can be underrated. His speed was definitely good enough when he was destroying the League in the 80s.




Watch 1:30, 1:50 and 2:00 in this video. He definitely wasn't slow at all in his younger years.

 

[Silky mitts]

In the late 1980s the best player in the NFL and NHL both wore a large. Supposedly Joe Montana was the only non kicker in the NFL to wear a large and Gretz was smaller than him.

 

[GlitchMarner]

A player can be athletic in some ways without being big or muscular. Balance, coordination, agility and stamina are athletic qualities that Gretzky possessed.

At the end of the day, hockey isn't just played on ice; it's played in player's minds. It's easy to note the sizes of players and things that stand out physically: speed, hitting etc. There are reasons why players like Tom Wilson, Justin Abdelkader and Michael Grabner aren't stars and players like Kane and Gaudreau are much better at hockey. If you could see a physical representation of mental capabilities, Gretzky would look like Eric Lindros on steroids compared to the average player. He also had an obsession with being the best player he could be. Players can't fulfill their full potential without putting in the work.

 

[Kranix]

He basically had the physique of Kyle Wellwood but way more hockey skill.

 

[eviohh26]

Does it matter? Gotta catch the guy to hit the guy.

 

[ESH]

Howe was a big strong monster who could overwhelm with power and skill. Same could be said for Richard (who could also skate like the wind).

Orr could skate circles around most of the league and had a huge clapper from the point.

Lemieux was mostly too big to handle and had a great shot and was one of the elite stickhandlers the league has seen.

Gretzky could not skate like Crosby.

He could not shoot and play physically like Ovie can.

He was not close to the player off the rush that Lafleur/Hull were who were both elite skaters/shooters (Lafleur was also a great passer).

Trying to pinpoint Gretzky's greatest strengths and you go to words like "vision" and "thinking the game" . He obviously had a great shot in terms of accuracy early in his career but never an elite power shot and of course he would become mostly a passer as his career went on.

Not only may there not be a comparative in hockey but I would argue he might be the most physically underwhelming player to become generational in ANY of the traditional big sports.

Gretzky picked corners with his slap shot like nobody you’ll see today. He was also one of the most agile skaters ever. Also there was nobody more dangerous off the rush than prime Gretzky.

 

[JPeeper]

He basically had the physique of Kyle Wellwood but way more hockey skill.

Fairly certain Gretz had the opposite physique of Kyle Wellwood.