Wayne Gretzky is widely recognized as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. With a career spanning over two decades, the Canadian NHL legend proved his verve and flair in the sport, attaining his nickname The Great One. He began his career in 1978 and almost touched the Stanley Cup in 1983 until the New York Islanders snatched the trophy in a neck-to-neck game.

Even though he lost, Gretzky learned a great lesson that day. Recently, the legend took to his Instagram to talk about his experience a year before winning his first Stanley Cup as an Oiler.

Wayne Gretzky learned from a loss

It’s for his ardent love for the sport that Gretzky still remains an advocate of the same. Gretzky is now communicating with young players by sharing his pearls of wisdom on NHL-related shows and podcasts and being a part of the NHL on TNT. Likewise, the Great One recently shared a post on his Instagram which is a clip from his “NHL TNT AT HOME WITH 99″ interview.

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With the Stanley Cup playoffs nearing, the hockey legend thought of capping off his experience for the same. In the 1983 Stanley Cup Championships, the Edmonton Oilers lost to the New York Islanders in a real nip-and-tuck affair. Seeing the players in the dressing room, he shared, “The losing team was here, the home team was here, and you have to walk by the home team’s locker room. Oh my god! I’m gonna dread this walk. We gonna go by these celebrations basically right?… We were shocked… because it was as quite as you can ever imagine.”

Read More – Wayne Gretzky ‘At Home With 99’ Ahead of Stanley Cup Playoffs

Seeing them exhausted and covered with icepacks instead of celebrating, Gretzky felt the pressure. There he learned his greatest lesson, as he said, “We thought we were working hard and we did enough to win. But we didn’t. We could have played again the next day.” This feeling fueled the urge in him to come back better the following year. And they did!

They came back as a winner

In 1984, the 23-year-old boy won his first Stanley Cup and that too against the Islanders. Hindering their 5th winning streak, the Oilers etched their names in the history of the sport with a 5-2 win in the fifth game.

Gretzky, who failed to score a goal in the previous season, successfully placed the puck to make his first goal in the finals. 1984 was indeed a crucial time for the team as they became the reigning champions of the Cup and their star player Wayne Gretzky, commenced his era of spectacular sprees, that eventually led him to be a Hall of Famer.

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That loss was a blessing in disguise for the legend who learned from his mistakes and aspired to be the best the next time.