The Phoenix Coyotes are expected to announce that Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky will be their new head coach. Great, now I have to root for the Coyotes, too. Gretzky has been my idol since I was ten years old. I watched him in Edmonton, Los Angeles, St. Louis and New York, and was lucky enough to see him play in person against the Flyers. When I played lacrosse in college, I wore #99. He's my all-time favorite athlete.Conventional thinking is that "The Great One" was the best player in the history of the NHL. I agree. That being said, Wayne has never been a coach at any level. Making the jump from partial owner to head coach of a struggling hockey club is not going to be easy. The Coyotes have talent - Shane Doan is a terrific player - and they're a young squad. I just hope Gretz can guide them in the right direction.
I'll be watching.
Sigh.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I love hockey.
And one of the few reasons I don't completely despise all pro athletes. Some of them do appear to be decent human beings after all.
I am sure he'll do fine. Can he get fired?
Gretzky was one of my heros as well... He was the Michael Jordan of the sports world in the late 80's. I always wanted to punch my friend in the face when he mentioned how many Gretzky rookie cards he owned and stored in his safety deposit box... he'll probably retire off of those...
ReplyDeleteAs for coaching? I'd hate to see his career be dulled by several unsucessful coaching years which is more than likely because only a couple coaches an age make any type of impact on the game. You know how few coaches I'm talking about, especially in the pro hockey world. They are few and far between.
If nothing else, I'll be much more likely to take the 5 hour drive to Phoenix to watch some world class hockey now that he's the coach. (When are the Sabres going to be in Phoenix???) Gotta find that out ASAP!
Billy - My reason, too. Hockey players (for the most part) are farm boys that don't know the meaning of the word "ignorant."
ReplyDeleteI think he'd have to fire himself :)
Peakah - Who knows if he'll be the next Scotty Bowman, but I'd like to see him get a shot. If nothing else, the 'Yotes tix will be a hot commodity this season.
Bernie Parent was always my idol (I even got to meet him...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I wish Gretzky well. He was a GREAT player. I'm just not sure he's got what it takes to be head coach. I hope he proves me wrong.