Mark Messier
Mark Messier
Mark Douglas Messieris a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League and former special assistant to the president and general manager of the New York Rangers. He played a quarter of a century in the NHLwith the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks. He also played professionally with the World Hockey Association's Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers. He was the last former WHA player to be active in professional hockey, and the last active...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionHockey Player
Date of Birth18 January 1961
CityEdmonton, Canada
CountryCanada
I think the thing you always got to keep in mind, you know, hockey is a game of one-on-one battles.
I never was brought into the league thinking as far as, you know, statistics, things like that. We were really brought into the league in a team concept. Everything was focused around winning.
My jersey hanging from the ceiling is going to be a symbol of the hard work of the people I played with.
When Wayne was traded, I became captain. For me it really wasn't anything - I didn't do anything or I didn't feel I had to do anything different than what I had been doing all along.
I played with a lot of great players before. They're all the same. They take a lot of responsibility for their own play, put a lot of pressure on themselves to perform and to play well.
I started as a fourth-line fighter, went to being a third-line centre, then a second-line winger and a first-line centre. I've played every role there is, and the only thing that matters is helping the team win.
Biologically, I'm 10. Chronologically, I'm 33. In hockey years, I'm 66.
As a captain, I think it's important that the players really know who you are and what you stand for, what your beliefs are, and to be consistent in those if things are going good or things are going bad.
I think now what you're seeing is guys that are in the peaks of their careers anywhere from 27 to 35 years old, seems to be when they play their best hockey.
I haven't celebrated coming in No. 2 too many times.
Coaching really is an individual philosophy.
We had built up a team in Edmonton that really knew who each other was from a personal standpoint and from a professional standpoint. Our nucleus had stayed together for a long time.
25 years later, you know, I haven't really put too much emphasis on any kind of individual goal, other than trying to win any particular night, trying to find a way to do that.
If I had to compare any of the two, I'd compare the first one in Edmonton, the first one here in New York because it had been so long in New York since we had won. Obviously, being the first time to ever win the cup in Edmonton, they were fairly similar in that regard.