Brent Gretzky is a name well known around the Quinte region.
Not only is he part of the most famous hockey family ever, he has been a long-time resident of Belleville, a former Belleville Bull, NHLer and now a member of the Prince Edward detachment of the OPP.
The 53-year-old has been an officer for many years now, but he tells Quinte News his passion for service began as a child.
Audio Player“When I was a young boy, we always played army and stuff, climbed trees, but to be a police officer is something that I always wanted to do, since I was five, six years old.”
He says it really became a reality early in his pro hockey career.
Audio Player“When I went to play in Atlanta, I was 20, 21 years old. Even when I flew on the planes there or took bus rides, I had my study guides, my math books, and everything that I needed to be a police officer, because that’s what I always wanted to do.”
The former Tampa Bay Lightning forward says hockey and policing have a lot in common.
Audio Player“Being part of a team, those are the things that I learned later in life about how much you have to rely on your teammates, your colleagues, your supervisors and what the community relies on you. I can count on my teammates and my detachment here.”
His full chat with Quinte News can be heard below.
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Brent Gretzky (r), with his brothers Keith and Wayne (Photo: Upper Deck Hockey Card)
