Canadian Ice Hockey Player Quotes

Wayne Gretzky

Bobby Orr

Gordie Howe

Jacques Plante

Bobby Hull

Eric Lindros

Phil Esposito

It's not necessarily the amount of time you spend at practice that counts; it's what you put into the practice.

If I play badly I'll pick a fight in the third, just to get into a fight. I'll break a guy's leg to win, I don't care. Afterward I say, 'Yeah all right I played badly, but I won the fight so who gives a damn.

Derek Sanderson

Most kids today slap the puck. The backhand takes time to learn. It's not something you do naturally. But it is an effective shot.

You don't win by being good. You win with hard work and sacrifice. Without that, skill is just potential.

Let us remember with humility the loneliness of being man in a universe we do not understand and the vulnerability of the human condition. The animals could do very well without us, but we cannot do without them.

I never pay attention to individual awards and I think that sometimes, too many people place too much value on them.

You don't have to be crazy to be a goalie, but it helps!

The Christmas just before I turned four, my parents bought me a pair of little black skates and the Bay of Quinte was frozen and my two sisters took me out there and held my hands and taught me to skate. Now I don't know if this is true—although it sounds good!—but rumour has it by the end of the day they couldn't keep up with me.

I never shot a deer. I've never shot anything in my life. I never hunted. I'm just not that type of guy. But there's no doubt in my mind that I would have killed to win. That really scares me sometimes. Right now I think about it, and I get little goose bumps. I would have done anything - absolutely anything - to win. In a war, maybe that's what happens. It was our society against their society.

If Colleen Howe had been a hockey player, she would have been a centremen. I can see her as a centreman because you can do what you want and go wherever you want to go.

Management wins Stanley Cups. Players can only do their best. You've got to bring the right ingredients to make a Stanley Cup winner and if the manager is not doing his job, the players can only do so much. You produce and do what's right, but if you don't have the talent there, you're not going to win many games.

I don't give a shit if nobody likes me, I could care less. But they shouldn't be getting mad at me, I didn't put the [offer sheet] rule in the collective bargaining agreement. If they're mad, they should call Gary Bettman and complain to him. Get mad at Gary Bettman. He's in charge of the rules, not me. I didn't realize there were some rules we're not allowed to use.

One highlight I have was playing with all the great players in Montreal. They were not only great players but they were great people. If you look around, a lot of these guys are still in the game. Not only have they been successful with the Montreal Canadiens, but they've helped a lot of other organizations.

I was never concerned with statistics - scoring goals, my records. The only thing I was concerned about was winning. The association changed my life. It changed my career and it changed my stats. I went to Chicago for three years but I was never a Blackhawk. I was treated well by the fans and by management, but I only had mediocre years. I still had a Red Wing on my forehead, on my backside and over my heart. I was existing, nothing more. Then, I retired for four years.

Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must first set yourself on fire.

But not so odd
As those who choose
A Jewish God,
But spurn the Jews.

My knees started to shake. In the dressing room that night, I was so nervous I couldn't tie my skates. Maurice Richard walked over and held out his hands. 'Look at them,' he said. 'They shake before a big game. You'll feel better when you get out on the ice.'

It was tough going to school in the day and traveling to games at night. Sometimes we would get back about midnight. I never went to dances or hung around with girls. Hockey was the first thing.

The biggest difference between L.A. and Edmonton was that instead of people looking at me I was looking at them.