150 Greats Quotes

Following is our list of greats quotations and slogans full of insightful wisdom and perspective about inspirational hockey.

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Famous Greats Quotes

Every day is a great day for hockey. — Mario Lemeiux

A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be. — Wayne Gretzky

This fastest of all games [hockey] has become almost as much of a national svmbol as the maple leaf. — Lester B. Pearson

Canadian hockey players always find a way to get along. — Carey Price

Hockey s a funny game. You have to prove yourself every shift, every game. It's not up to anybody else. You have to take pride in yourself. — Paul Coffey

Hockey taught me to challenge myself and be the best I can be on and off the ice. — P. K. Subban

Hockey is an amazing sport and it has definitely had a positive impact on my life. But my dad always said school comes first, and if I didn't do well in school I didn't get to play hockey. — P. K. Subban

All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity. - Gordie Howe

All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity. — Gordie Howe

Certainly we're not satisfied with just winning games. We've been playing some pretty good hockey, but we think we can play much better. — Mario Lemieux

I've always had a passion for hockey, ... That's the key. You can't be putting in time. You have to enjoy doing what you do. — Sidney Crosby

You see a hockey player, you'd never know he's a professional athlete. But you put the skates on him, and he becomes a beast. — Junior Seau

Hockey is the only job I know where you get paid to have a nap on the day of the game. — Chico Resch

Hockey belongs to the Cartoon Network, where a person can be pancaked by an ACME anvil, then expanded - accordion-style - back to full stature, without any lasting side effect. — Steve Rushin

We know that hockey is where we live, where we can best meet and overcome pain and wrong and death. Life is just a place where we spend time between games. — Fred Shero

High sticking, tripping, slashing, spearing, charging, hooking, fighting, unsportsmanlike conduct, interference, roughing......everything else is just figure skating. — Scotty Bowman

Short Greats Quotes

  • Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. — Eleanor Roosevelt
  • Great sea captains are made in rough waters and deep seas. — Kathryn Kuhlman
  • The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness. — Marcus Garvey
  • I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. — Mahatma Gandhi
  • Even when opportunity knocks, a man still has to get up off his seat and open the door. — Douglas MacArthur
  • I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately. — Henry David Thoreau
  • You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother. — Albert Einstein
  • I don't do great things. I do small things with great love. — Mother Teresa
  • Physical fitness can neither be acquired by wishful thinking nor by outright purchase. — Joseph Pilates

Greats Image Quotes

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. - Robert Kennedy quote

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. — Robert Kennedy

The true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. - Che Guevara quote

The true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. — Che Guevara

The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do. - Michael Porter quote

The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do. — Michael Porter

If you can't do great things, do small things in a great way. - Napoleon Hill quote

If you can't do great things, do small things in a great way. — Napoleon Hill

A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers. - Ruth Graham quote

A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers. — Ruth Graham

Silence is one of the great arts of conversation. - Marcus Tullius Cicero quote

Silence is one of the great arts of conversation. — Marcus Tullius Cicero

Greatness begins beyond your comfort zone. - Robin S. Sharma quote

Greatness begins beyond your comfort zone. — Robin S. Sharma

Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. - Kenny Rogers quote

Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. — Kenny Rogers

None of us can change our yesterdays but all of us can change our tomorrows. - Colin Powell quote

None of us can change our yesterdays but all of us can change our tomorrows. — Colin Powell

The greatest sweetener of human life is friendship. - Joseph Addison quote

The greatest sweetener of human life is friendship. — Joseph Addison

Give them quality. That's the best kind of advertising. - Milton S. Hershey quote

Give them quality. That's the best kind of advertising. — Milton S. Hershey

Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy. - Saadi Shirazi quote

Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy. — Saadi Shirazi

Never base your faith on your feelings. Base it on God's Word. - Kenneth Copeland quote

Never base your faith on your feelings. Base it on God's Word. — Kenneth Copeland

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. - Harriet Tubman quote

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. — Harriet Tubman

Show me who your friends are, and I will tell you what you are. - Unknown Author quote

Show me who your friends are, and I will tell you what you are. — Unknown Author

A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men. - Thomas Carlyle quote

A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men. — Thomas Carlyle

Women need a reason to have sex, men just need a place. - Billy Crystal quote

Women need a reason to have sex, men just need a place. — Billy Crystal

You have to believe in yourself when no one else does. - Serena Williams quote

You have to believe in yourself when no one else does. — Serena Williams

it's a smile, it's a kiss, it's a sip of wine ... it's summertime! - Kenny Chesney quote

it's a smile, it's a kiss, it's a sip of wine ... it's summertime! — Kenny Chesney

Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God. - William Carey quote

Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God. — William Carey

Greats quote Silence is a source of great strength.
Silence is a source of great strength.

Good Hockey Quotes

You don't win by being good. You win with hard work and sacrifice. Without that, skill is just potential. — Bobby Orr

I tried to talk my daughter out of going with a hockey player but, he's a good kid. He asked me if he could marry Carrie before he asked her. I said: You want to what? I thought he was just going to ask for more ice time. — Phil Esposito

Everything was set for us to play a real good game. Then we left the dressing room and everything went to hell. — Curt Fraser

Greats quote Make today so awesome, yesterday gets jealous.
Make today so awesome, yesterday gets jealous.

My recruiting key - I looked for PEOPLE first, athletes second. I wanted people with a sound value system as you cannot buy values. You're only as good as your values. I learned early on that you do not put greatness into people...but somehow try to pull it out. — Herb Brooks

Not only is there more to life than basketball, there's a lot more to basketball than basketball. — Phil Jackson

You guys just here to blame someone. You never look yourselves in the mirror, eh? You're always good. You never make the mistakes. Your articles are always perfect. In reality, what have you done for this city? If you ask yourself, what have you done besides only criticize? Not much. — Ilya Bryzgalov

Greats quote Great minds discuss ideas.Average minds discuss events.Small minds discuss people.
Great minds discuss ideas.Average minds discuss events.Small minds discuss people.

My teeth weren't that good to begin with, so hopefully I can get some better ones. — Duncan Keith

Milt was one of the men who discovered Bobby Orr. He once said that if a player comes along who is better then Bobby Orr, may the Good Lord let me be alive to see him because he is going to be one hell of a player to watch. Enough said. — Milt Schmidt

I say no words... I can't speak with him. I shy. He too good. — Pavel Datsyuk

Not to mention our former tag team champions lost their titles after my good friend Christian was hit in the genitals with a hockey stick by a midgit! I mean enough is enough — Kurt Angle

Inspirational Hockey Quotes

Let me start with issuing you a challenge: Be better than you are. Set a goal that seems unattainable, and when you reach that goal, set another one even higher. — Herb Brooks

When you pull on that jersey, you represent yourself and your teammates, and the name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back. Get that through your head! — Herb Brooks

I play a position where you make mistakes. The only people that don't make them at a hockey game are the people watching. — Patrick Roy

Greats quote Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.
Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.

Great moments are born from great opportunities. — Herb Brooks

You've just got to go out there and try to control the things you can control. Deal with things and stay mentally strong. — Jonathan Toews

You win with people, not with talent. So the quality of the people is very important in building your team. I always looked for people with a solid value system. Then I recruited kids from a cross-section of different personalities, talents and styles of play. — Herb Brooks

Greats quote Acknowledge all of your small victories. They will eventually add up to something great.
Acknowledge all of your small victories. They will eventually add up to something great.

People would say, 'Girls don't play hockey. Girls don't skate.' I would say, 'Watch this.' — Hayley Wickenheiser

Sometimes people ask, 'Are hockey fights real?' I say, 'If they weren't, I'd get in more of them. — Wayne Gretzky

We get nose jobs all the time in the NHL, and we don't even have to go to the hospital. — Brad Park

What is courage? Let me tell you what I think it is. An indefinable quality that makes a man put out that extra something, when it seems there is nothing else to give. I dare you to be better than you are. I dare you to be a thoroughbred. — Herb Brooks

Ice Hockey Quotes

It's changed throughout the years, but at one time I was a really big bubble gum ice cream fan. I'd spit the bubble gum pieces in a cup and then collect them. — Timothy Olyphant

Roller-skating and ice-skating are two different things - I found that out the hard way. — Todd Bridges

Others are keen to see if natives other than us live better than we do, without heat in pipes, ice in boxes, sunshine in bulbs, music on disks, or images gliding over a pale screen. — Ella Maillart

Greats quote You need a little bit of insanity to do great things.
You need a little bit of insanity to do great things.

Ice cream was my undoing, and six chocolate milk shakes in a row were nothing to me at one time. — Kate Smith

Often extinctions in the ocean occur at the same time as those on land. Then again, the ice age extinctions lost many big animals, but not many sea faring ones. — Robert T. Bakker

There are two types of forwards. Scorers and bangers. Scorers score and bangers bang. — Ken Dryden

Greats quote Failure is a great teacher, and, if you are open to it, every mistake has a lesson to offer.
Failure is a great teacher, and, if you are open to it, every mistake has a lesson to offer.

I believe Ronald Reagan can make this country what it once was... an Arctic region covered with ice. — Steve Martin

Half the game is mental, the other half is being mental. — Jim McKenny

I was three-quarters down the list of guys I would be facing in my first game when I realized I was looking at our own roster. — Glenn Healy

It takes brains. It's not like a forward, where you can get away with scoring and not play defense. On defense you have to be thinking. — Chris Chelios

Hockey Team Quotes

You need a lot of leaders, but a hockey team needs a voice, not only in the community, but more importantly between the coaching staff and the players. There are always ups and downs in a season; the captain is the guy players look to in those situations. — Joe Sakic

This is your time. Their time is done. It's over. I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw 'em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it! — Herb Brooks

Canadian hockey fans... They boo me every time I go anywhere. Because I play for Team USA. — Brett Hull

Greats quote To a great mind, nothing is little.
To a great mind, nothing is little.

Hockey players wear numbers because you can't always identify the body with dental records. — Bob Plager

Hockey captures the essence of Canadian experience in the New World. In a land so inescapably and inhospitably cold, hockey is the chance of life, and an affirmation that despite the deathly chill of winter we are alive. — Stephen Leacock

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. — Mark Messier

Greats quote Average people have great ideas. Legends have great execution.
Average people have great ideas. Legends have great execution.

Hockey is a fast, body-contact game played by men with clubs in their hands and knives laced to their feet. — Paul Gallico

I'm an avid hockey fan and I've been playing for about 17 years, and somebody recently told me that the first organized hockey teams in Canada were all black. Telling those stories would be cool. — Cuba Gooding, Jr.

How would you like a job where, if you made a mistake, a big red light goes on and 18,000 people boo? — Jacques Plante

People here want the team to win and to do well. The thing is, we know when to shoot the puck. — Steve Yzerman

Hockey Quotes

Hockey is a sport for white men. Basketball is a sport for black men. Golf is a sport for white men dressed like black pimps. — Tiger Woods

You'll never catch me bragging about goals, but I'll talk all you want about my assists. — Wayne Gretzky

I heard Rolex makes nice watches. - Brendan Gallagher

I heard Rolex makes nice watches. — Brendan Gallagher

Greats quote Don't fear the failure... in great attempts it is glorious even to fail.
Don't fear the failure... in great attempts it is glorious even to fail.

I love extreme sports, I like snowboarding and motorcross and rollerblading and hockey. — Jeremy London

Since the beginning, I always loved the game. When you grow up in Montreal, one day you want to be a professional hockey player. When I was six or seven, I knew that was what I wanted. — Mario Lemieux

Goals live on the other side of obstacles and challenges. Be relentless in pursuit of those goals, especially in the face of obstacles. Along the way, make no excuses and place no blame. — Ray Bourque

Greats quote No one has ever made himself great by showing how small someone else is.
No one has ever made himself great by showing how small someone else is.

The name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back. — Herb Brooks

Talent is a gift, but you can only succeed with hard work. - Jean Beliveau

Talent is a gift, but you can only succeed with hard work. — Jean Beliveau

I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out. - Rodney Dangerfield

I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out. — Rodney Dangerfield

Canada is a country whose main exports are hockey players and cold fronts. Our main imports are baseball players and acid rain. — Pierre Trudeau

Hockey Player Quotes

The excitement of the fans in Montreal, especially in the playoffs, I don't think you can get that anywhere else. For a hockey player, I kind of wish everyone could go through that and experience what it is to play there. It's very unique. — Saku Koivu

You don't have enough talent to win on talent alone. — Herb Brooks

Whether youre trying to learn in hockey or trying to learn in life, Ive always tried to be observant and tried to learn more, tried to evolve, whether its as a hockey player or as a person. With each year, I try to do that. — Sidney Crosby

For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a professional hockey player. — Mario Lemeiux

There are rough players and there are dirty players. I'm rough and dirty. — Stan Mikita

There is something about Game 7 that there's a memory there for you for sure. You want to be a coach or a manager or a player or a goaltender that gets it done, because to me, that's all part of sports. That's what you dream about when you're a little kid - scoring the winning goal. — Mike Babcock

One of the key qualities that you need to be a great hockey player is fantastic anticipation and feel for the game - if you know where the puck is going before it is hit, that is half the battle. — Wayne Gretzky

There's no reason why a player is done at 33, 34. They train better, they eat better, they drink better. This isn't the old days when everybody sat around and drank beer. — Bobby Clarke

If Colleen Howe had been a hockey player, she would have been a centremen. I can see her as a centreman because you can do what you want and go wherever you want to go. — Gordie Howe

I know my players don't like my practices, but that's OK because I don't like their games. — Harry Neale

Hockey Fan Quotes

Arrive at the net with the puck and in ill humor. — Fred Shero

In the old days, that was my ad-lib for hecklers in the joints I worked. It stuck with me. I hardly say it now, say, to fans, even though people do send me hockey pucks. — Don Rickles

A puck is a hard rubber disk that hockey players strike when they can't hit one another. — Jimmy Cannon

Wait'll next year! is the favorite cry of baseball fans, football fans, hockey fans, and gardeners. — Robert Orben

By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game 1 of an NHL playoff series. — Steve Rushin

Street hockey is great for kids. It's energetic, competitive, and skilful. And best of all, it keeps them off the street. — Gus Kyle

Ice hockey is a form of disorderly conduct in which the score is kept. — Doug Larson

I always played hockey, I was always a hockey fan, but I was never bitten by the hockey bug... I never looked into playing it professionally. — Chris Jericho

Ranger fans are the rudest and they're proud of it, I'm sure. — Byron Dafoe

He brings something special. I don't know what it is, but if you ask him, you couldn't understand his answer. — Wayne Gretzky

Hockey Coach Quotes

I slept like a baby. Every two hours, I woke up and cried. — Tom McVie

Nobody gives a crap about hockey down here - nobody. I coach kids' hockey down here and you can start to see the disinterest in the game here with the kids — Bobby Hull

It's not who wins the fight that's important, it's being willing to fight. If you get challenged and renege, everyone wants to take a shot at you. — Barclay Plager

The only difference between this and Custer's last stand was that Custer didn't have to look at the tape afterward. — Terry Crisp

Yeah, I'm cocky and I am arrogant. But that doesn't mean I'm not a nice person. — Jeremy Roenick

I was a multi-millionaire from playing hockey. Then I got divorced, and now I'm a millionaire. — Bobby Hull

When I broke into professional hockey at 17 I was told that I was too small and too slow and I wouldn't make the NHL. Now it's kind of flip-flopped and the sense is I can't be a good coach because I was a great athlete. — Wayne Gretzky

That's so when I forget how to spell my name, I can still find my (expletive) clothes. — Stu Grimson

When we've got the puck, they can't score. — Paul Coffey

People didn't know the difference between a blue line and a clothes line. — Al Michaels

People Writing About Greats

Name Quotes Likes
Read quotes by P. K. Subban

P. K. Subban
quotes on friendship, love and lindsey vonn

31 250
Read quotes by Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky
quotes on teamwork, leadership and shots

107 1373
Read quotes by Lester B. Pearson

Lester B. Pearson
quotes on suez crisis

41 1103
Read quotes by Paul Coffey

Paul Coffey

9 87
Read quotes by Gordie Howe

Gordie Howe
quotes on life, leadership and love

18 340
Read quotes by Mario Lemieux

Mario Lemieux
quotes on life, sports and leadership

36 391

More Greats Quotes

I don't want to play with marbles, when God told me to move mountains! - Reinhard Bonnke quote

I don't want to play with marbles, when God told me to move mountains! — Reinhard Bonnke

To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them. - Montesquieu quote

To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them. — Montesquieu

Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don't be afraid to take that first step. - Muhammad Ali quote

Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don't be afraid to take that first step. — Muhammad Ali

No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness. - Aristotle quote

No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness. — Aristotle

Real true faith is man's weakness leaning on God's strength. - Dwight L. Moody quote

Real true faith is man's weakness leaning on God's strength. — Dwight L. Moody

No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess. - Isaac Newton quote

No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess. — Isaac Newton

Quiet people have the loudest minds. - Stephen Hawking quote

Quiet people have the loudest minds. — Stephen Hawking

You have one business on earth – to save souls. - John Wesley quote

You have one business on earth – to save souls. — John Wesley

It was great. I mean, it's a blast directing underwater stuff. - David R. Ellis quote

It was great. I mean, it's a blast directing underwater stuff. — David R. Ellis

I am among those who think that science has great beauty. - Marie Curie quote

I am among those who think that science has great beauty. — Marie Curie

All rising to great places is by a winding stair. - Buddha quote

All rising to great places is by a winding stair. — Buddha

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. - Kahlil Gibran quote

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. — Kahlil Gibran

Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose. - C. S. Lewis quote

Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose. — C. S. Lewis

There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth. - Leo Tolstoy quote

There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth. — Leo Tolstoy

A great goal in life is the only fortune worth finding. - Jackie Kennedy quote

A great goal in life is the only fortune worth finding. — Jackie Kennedy

There are shortcuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them. - Vicki Baum quote

There are shortcuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them. — Vicki Baum

Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned. - Peter Marshall quote

Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned. — Peter Marshall

Let your heart guide you...it whispers so listen closely. - Walt Disney quote

Let your heart guide you...it whispers so listen closely. — Walt Disney

The leader sees leadership as responsibility rather than as rank and privilege. - Peter Drucker quote

The leader sees leadership as responsibility rather than as rank and privilege. — Peter Drucker

Without my morning coffee I'm just like a dried up piece of roast goat. - Johann Sebastian Bach quote

Without my morning coffee I'm just like a dried up piece of roast goat. — Johann Sebastian Bach

The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials. - George Muller quote

The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials. — George Muller

Where no one intrudes, many can live in harmony. - Chief Dan George quote

Where no one intrudes, many can live in harmony. — Chief Dan George

Anything created by human beings is already in the great book of nature. - Antonio Gaudi quote

Anything created by human beings is already in the great book of nature. — Antonio Gaudi

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