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.