From 20 to 99—Wayne Gretzky's WHA Year

By the time he was a teenager, Gretzky was already a star. As an eleven year-old in the 1971-72 Ontario Minor Hockey Association season, Gretzky scored 378 goals and 139 assists in just 85 games for the Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers.  Already an emerging star, the eyes of the hockey world focused on him as he graduated to the Ontario Junior B level and finally to the Ontario Hockey League with the Peterborough Petes. He played just three games with the Petes playing for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. In honour of his idol, the legendary Gordie Howe, Gretzky had always worn number 9. However, when he arrived in the Sault Ste. Marie, third-year player Brian Gulazzi refused to give his number away to the rookie. Reputation or not, Gretzky deferred to the senior Gulazzi. Therefore, the coaching staff suggested he add another 9 to the back of the jersey, and the legend of 99 was born.

In that magical 1977-78 season, Gretzky earned an amazing 70 goals and 112 assists in just 64 games for the Greyhounds. He was an immediate selection for the Canadian national team at the World Junior Championships, and the scouts dreamed of great things to come when he posted 17 points in just six games. NHL scouts circled the 1979 draft date on their calendars, as it would be the year that the teenage Gretzky would become eligible for selection.

However, before NHL scouts could follow Wayne Gretzky’s second season of Ontario Junior hockey, Nelson Skalbania—the new owner of the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association—intervened. As a former partner in the Edmonton Oilers, Skalbania had made a name for himself as a wheeler and dealer in the sports world; a man who would trade sports teams as if they were stocks. In the Racers, Skalbania thought he had found a team that could quickly mushroom in value if it could employ a star. Skalbania signed Gretzky and a shockwave went through the world of pro hockey. NHL teams believed that Skalbania acted immorally by signing a 17-year-old, flying in the face of established rules. WHA supporters noted the league had already broken the NHL’s repressive reserve clause and upped wages for players. The signing of Gretzky would only serve to correct more of the NHL’s wrongs.

Gretzky skated in just eight games for the Racers. The people of Indianapolis did not take to the young star the way Skalbania had expected, and the team teetered on the brink of bankruptcy less than a month into the 1978-79 WHA season. Skalbania looked to his old partner, Peter Pocklington, to help him. The two agreed to a deal that would reshape Edmonton hockey forever. Pocklington paid the Racers $850,000, providing the cash-strapped Nelson Skalbania with the much-needed funds to keep his Racers alive. In return, Pocklington assumed Gretzky’s contract along with forward Peter Driscoll and goaltender Eddie Mio.

When Wayne Gretzky made his first appearance as an Edmonton Oiler on November 3, 1978, he wore sweater number 20. After acquiring the teenage sensation from the Racers, the Oilers’ outfitters did not have the time to prepare a jersey with the number 99 on the back.

A namebar was applied to a #20 jersey that was in the equipment room, and the Oilers promised that a #99 sweater would be ready in time for Gretzky’s second game. Gretzky was not hampered by the number change, as he scored in a 4-3 Oilers win over the Winnipeg Jets.

Gretzky would go on to have a sensational rookie season in the WHL. He played 72 games as an Oiler, scoring 43 times and adding 61 assists, and was the key reason the team finally made it to the Avco World Championship Trophy series that year. During that season, the city of Edmonton fell in love with the Great One, and Skalbania’s vision of a star player attracting crowds was realized in a different city with a different owner. Pocklington gave Gretzky a new $1-million per season 21-year contract on January 26, 1979, Gretzky’s 18th birthday, and the deal was signed at the centre ice of Northlands Coliseum.

While Gretzky and the Oilers failed in their bid to win the last-ever Avco trophy before the World Hockey Association folded, the Oilers were prepared for their 1979 debut in the National Hockey League. 

Due to the millions spent on securing his rights, Gretzky’s nickname was "Brinks". Despite the moniker, Gretzky proved the investment was the right decision, as he led the league with 10 playoff goals that final season of the WHL

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