Wayne Gretzky was the greatest hockey players to ever play the game, but what often gets forgotten is how great of an ambassador for the game he has become. Shane Wright was the consensus number one overall pick for most, if not all of last season, that is until the draft actually began.
The shock and surprise throughout the Bell Centre was deafening, but then the 2nd and 3rd picks were made and Wright's name still had not been called. Wright of course would wind up sliding down to the 4th overall pick and belonging to the Seattle Kraken. Whatever way you look at this, it must have been a blow to his confidence.
According to All Hockey Culture, as Wright was falling in the draft order, Wayne Gretzky asked for his number so he could check on the young star forward to make sure he had the right mindset even though things at the time may have been more than a little disappointing for Wright.
From the sounds of it, Gretzky was not only the greatest hockey player to ever play the game, but is a pretty outstanding person off the ice as well, and for Wright, what must have started as a very disappointing turn of events, turned into a lasting memory to be sure. Anytime The Great One calls you, whatever the reason is sure to be pretty exhilarating.
Who knows, falling down in the draft order could be the best thing to happen to Shane Wright's career. A little extra motivation and playing with something to prove, more often than not brings out the best in any high performance athlete and hockey is no exception.
