Gretzky Looks Back

Wayne Gretzky was in Edmonton this weekend for a Kinsemen dinner, to watch Ryan Nugent Hopkins play for the first time and to catch up with old friends.

One of those old friends was Jim Mathieson of the Edmonton Journal, who asked The Great One about his son Trevor signing with the Chicago Cubs.

"I think Trevor’s going to play next year in Boise in single A ball; they’re going to try him in centre or left-field. He’s got a long road ahead of him, but he’s got the tools. He’s six-foot-five, he’s fast, a good hitter, he’s got some power. One thing about baseball: they don’t rush you. They want you getting 500 or 600 at bats, no matter where you are,” said Gretzky.

Gretzky had to laugh when Mathieson pointed out that his son got a bigger signing bonus on his first pro contract than #99 did.

Gretzky got a $250,000 signing bonus in 1978 from Nelson Skalbania when he signed his first pro hockey contract with the World Hockey Association’s Indianapolis Racers. His son got more than his dad as a seventh-round draft pick. Times change.

“Back in my day, you’d get a signing bonus and the first thing you were thinking of was going out to buy a car. I asked Trevor what he wanted to buy and he said he was going to go on a Disney cruise. We were laughing at that. He gets seasick. He doesn’t even like boats,” said Gretzky.

And what about Gretzky's future plans?

Gretzky has no interest in working for another NHL team or for the league. His oldest of five kids, daughter Paulina is working on an album, and second oldest, son Ty, is in his sophomore year at Arizona State University studying business. Ty is starting his baseball career while son Tristan and daughter Emma are still at home. Gretzky still watches lots of games on TV but only saw about 10 games in a rink last year.

Here's the full article, including some memories from Dave Semenko and Steve Tambellini.