“Was a Sleeping Dog”: Wayne Gretzky’s Introversion Once Proved to Be a Blessing in Disguise During His NHL Career

It’s pretty common to observe trash-talking or chirping in any kind of competitive sport. The NHL legend Wayne Gretzky has also been through this situation several times. Although his ability to stay calm everywhere had helped him a lot in this. In the freezing tracks of ice hockey, there’s a lot of heat coming out of the mouths of the players, as observed by Gretzky.

In an interview from 2021, the Great One revealed his ability to stay calm on the field. However, there were times when Gretzky also got fired up in some situations. But most of the time, the legendary NHL player focused on his performance on the field rather than physically or verbally taking it out on his opponents.

The Great One indeed

Playing a competitive sport was difficult for one specific reason. The reason was none other than people’s trash-talking or being harsh to you in any way. They just wanted you to get back to them the same way they did it to you, as per Gretzky.

“You had to check your feelings in the locker room. If you’re not chirping at other guys, they usually don’t chirp your way,” Gretzky said. According to the Great One, most of the time, people won’t start unless you start trash-talking first. So the best advice he could give was to avoid any interaction that could cause a disruption in both teams. Gretzky was a master at avoiding chirping battles. He had no interest in wasting his time on this, and he focused more on his games. 

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“I was relatively quiet, but all in all I didn’t receive a lot of chirping because I was a sleeping dog. It’s the guys that do the barking that tend to hear more than other guys,” Gretzky added. The legend never did much trash-talking, so he never got into these things. Staying silent like a sleeping dog was his tactic. According to him, the players who are heavily involved in these receive more trash talk. 

How Wayne Gretzky Earned His Nickname?

The hockey legend had a lot to live up to after being tagged “The Great One” aged 10. His four Stanley Cup wins, the most goals and assists of all time and 61 NHL records all contributed to his title. The legend’s records, which he set decades ago, are still prominent today. No wonder Gretzky is the greatest athlete of all time!

The reason Gretzky earned his title was that he scored 400 goals when he was just 10 years old. Some guy decided to coin it after getting to know that a 10-year-old had more goals than any normal hockey player. But according to Gretzky, earning the title was easier than living up to it because, in every game, he had to prove himself that he was worth it for the title. This also made the legend more responsible.

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What do you think of Wayne Gretzky avoiding trash-talking? Do you think he did the right thing? Let us know in the comment section.