“Was Making About $4 an Hour”: Before Landing His Maiden Multi-Million Dollar Contract, NHL Legend Wayne Gretzky Once Opened Up on His Childhood Struggles

Many believe Wayne Gretzky is the greatest ice-hockey player to play NHL. In his 20 years of NHL career, he has played outstanding roles for the teams he represented. The legend played 1487 games in his 20-year-long career and scored 894 goals. Moreover, he has 1963 assists in his name.

He has been one of the biggest assets of the team he played for. He took Oilers to four Stanley Cup victories and was further traded to the Los Angeles Kings. However, the multimillionaire NHL player once shared his story of struggle during his teenage before getting into the ice-hockey.

Wayne Gretzky turned to work when he was 16

Wayne Gretzky comes from a very humble background. Gretzky revealed his dad couldn’t afford a new pair of skates for him and had financial problems. But he didn’t let Wayne work at an early age as his dad believed that childhood is a phase where a person should enjoy being a child and not think of earning money.

In an interview in 2016, Gretzky opened his heart about his first earning job. He said, “When I turned 16, I remember he said okay, you can work this summer. I remember I got a job. I think I was making about $4 an hour. But I really enjoyed it. I was throwing gravel onto two holes on the roads and highways and somebody else would tar it.”

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Gretzky added, “But I worked for about eight weeks and I remember my last day. I remember my dad saying to me, I guess you want to become a professional hockey player. I said ya, I guess I do. But it was a great learning experience for me. I am glad I did it, and you know, obviously it encouraged me to become the best athlete I could become.”

Once worked for $4, later inspired some biggest entrepreneurs

Wayne knew the language of sport. Moreover, he was the one by which the sport was known. Wayne used to believe and his favorite quote, “Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.” 

Many entrepreneurs and investors took inspiration from this quote and applied it to their work to become successful.

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It is only extreme hard work and determination that can change one’s life like this. From earning $4 an hour to a net worth of $250 million, legendary NHL player Wayne Gretzky has come a long way in his life.