One would be remiss to mention the high quality of players and people who have graduated from the Soo Greyhounds Hockey Program without mentioning the greatest hockey player of all time, number 99.
After some initial concerns about leaving his hometown of Brantford and travelling all the way to Sault Ste. Marie to play for the Greyhounds, Wayne Douglas Gretzky joined the team in 1977.
Gretzky and his family, as do many young players and parents from Southern Ontario and the United States, had concerns with being so far away from home.
After many visits from then Hounds GM Angelo Bumbacco, Wayne agreed to report to the Hounds training camp.
Over the course of the season, Wayne developed his skills and went on to win the Ontario Hockey League rookie of the year award, scoring 182 points (70 goals and 112 assists).
The very next season Gretzky joined the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association, before going onto the most celebrated career in NHL History. Gretzky enjoyed a career that had stops in Edmonton, Los Angeles and St. Louis before playing his final game as a member of the New York Rangers in 1998-99.
The Soo Greyhounds retired Gretzky’s number 99 sweater in 1994, and he is still the most revered Greyhound player of all time.
