When it comes to Canadians, hockey is our game.

1. Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961. He is a former Canadian professional hockey player and was a former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the NHL for four teams, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and the New York Rangers.  Wayne Grezky was nicknamed “The Great One”, he has been called “the greatest hockey player ever” by many poeple, players, and the NHL. He is the leading point-scorer in NHL history, with more assists than any other player has points, and is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season. In addition, he tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. At the time of his retirement in 1999.

2. Bobby Orr

 Bobby Orr, born March 20, 1948 is a Canadian former professional hockey player. Orr played in the National hockey league (NHL) for ten seasons with the Boston Bruins and two more seasons Chicago Black Hawks. Orr is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest hockey players of all time. As a defenceman , Orr used his skating speed and scoring and play-making abilities to revolutionize the position.  As of 2013  Orr remains the only defenceman to have won the league scoring title with two Art Ross Trophies and holds the record for most points  and assists in a single season by a defenceman. Orr won a record eight consecutive Norris Trophies  as the NHL’s best defenceman. Orr was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame  in 1979 at age 31. He was the youngest to be inducted into the Hall at that time.

3Mario Lemieux

Mario Lemieux, born October 5, 1965 is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006.  He is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest players of all time.  A gifted playmaker and fast skater despite his large size, Lemieux often beat defencemen with fakes and deeks.  Lemieux led Pittsburgh to two consecutive Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992. Under his ownership, the Penguins won a third Cup in 2009. He is the only man to have his name on the Cup as both a player and an owner. He also led Team Canada to an Olympic gold medal in 2002.  He was a former MVP during the regular season three times, as the league’s points leader six times.  At the time of his retirement, he was the NHL’s seventh-ranked all-time scorer with 690 goals and 1,033 assists. He ranks second in NHL history with a 0.754 goals-per game average for his career.

4Gordie Howe

Gordie Howe,  born March 31, 1928 is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, Howe played twenty-six seasons in the NHL. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Nicknamed “Mr. Hockey“, Howe is considered one of the greatest hockey players of all time. A twenty-three time NHL All-Star, Howe held many of the greatest  scoring records until they were broken in the 1990s by Wayne Gretzky. Howe continues to hold NHL records for most games and seasons played.  Howe was recruited by the Red Wings and made his NHL debut in 1946. Howe led the league in scoring each year from 1950 to 1954, then again in 1957 and 1963. He ranked among the top ten in league scoring for twenty-one consecutive years, and set a league record for points in a season with 95 points in 1953. Howe won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings four times.  Howe retired in 1971 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame the next year.

Sidney Crosby, born August 7, 1987 is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who serves as captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL. In his first NHL season, Crosby finished sixth in league scoring with 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists) he led the NHL with 120 points, becoming the youngest player and the only teenager to win a scoring title in any major North American sports league.  Crosby started the 2007–08 season with the team’s captaincy and subsequently led them to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, where they were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings in six games.