More than anyone else, by leaps and bounds". When Pelletier says "He was not the most physically gifted, but with unmatchable passion and intelligence he did more with less" this means that with his small frame Wayne had to work extremely hard and put every ounce of passion, determination and skill into every shift. Wayne also represented Canada on the Olympic team and the world junior team (NHL.com). Wayne's unbelievable hockey skills are one of the reasons why he is the greatest Canadian.
Another reason why Wayne Gretzky is the greatest Canadian is because of his success as a business man. Even after retiring from the game he has still been very much involve in the game. He was the head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes from 2005-2009 but never made it into the playoffs (cbc.ca). In 2000 he bought a 10% stake in the team but when the team filed for bankruptcy is 2009 he stepped down as head coach and head of hockey operations of the Coyotes (Marr 2012). Then in 2002 he became the Executive Director for the Men's Olympic Team and that year they won gold in Salt Lake City. He also won gold in 2010 in Vancouver and served as an ambassador and special advisor (biography.com). In 1991, Gretzky bought the Toronto Argonauts with actor John Candy and Bruce McNall (Marr 2012). In the first year of owning the team they won the grey cup. They later sold the team after 2 more years in 1994 (Marr 2012). Wayne owns 3 different popular restaurants in Toronto of which he does quite well. One is a sports bar, another is a rooftop patio and then the last one is a restaurant (biography.com). His restaurants were rated a 3.5/5 stars by TripAdvisor.ca and a 3/5 stars by urbanspoon.com. He also sells a popular wine, with the vineyard located in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Niagara-on-the-lake, Ontario and Sonoma, California (gretzkyestatewines.com). He has an estimated $100 million net worth which is mostly made from post-retirement business ventures and endorsements (celebritynetwoth.
