Great site Tom! I have been a follower of yours since the old www.hockeycoach.com days

One of my favorite stories to hear, are stories about what the great NHLers did to get to their high skill level. A lot of times you have to read "between the lines". Here is my list that I have compiled over the years. (Many I have read on message boards through the years, including HockeyCoach.com)

1. Gretzky
-Walter would set up dixie cups on the kitchen table and go through that mornings game with Wayne. He would ask Wayne about how certain goals/assists/plays went and where his teammates were at. And what were other options?
-Wayne would watch Hockey Night in Canada and would follow the locations of the puck during the game on a blank sheet of paper. Wayne felt it taught him where the likely places the puck would go.

2. Lemieux (I actually am trying to find more about Mario. A lot of information about what Wayne did as a kid but not a ton about Mario. I totally agree with the 10,000 hour rule and that skill is developed and not born but for some reason Mario’s vision and his ability just seemed on a different level.)
-Mario looked up to his older brother Alain and tried to emulate the things he did while playing hockey on the flooded fields near his school. Not a bad role model to have since his brother was a very good Jr. player (166 points in 69 games in his final season in the Quebec Major Jr. League and 119 games played in the NHL)

3. Orr
-Talks about his hours upon hours of pond hockey. (not sure if it was anymore than a lot of kids back at that time but he claims it was one of the big drivers of his skill)

Hope the board has a lot more to add.

Good topic.

Something I always thought important in Dany Heatley's development was he started to play with his dad and the rest of us when he was 12. Before that him and his younger brother Mark would play hockey with a tennis ball in the arena while we played. When he got about 16 or 17 we made a rule that he had to get two assists between goals which forced him to look around. Also his dad who was in the WHA and player of the year twice in Germany was playing with him and giving him advise. He also played street hockey for hours at his house.