I'm not sure Mario is going to get accolafes he deserves, especially from outside the game. But from within, the players, the people who follow closely, realize exactly what he's broughtto the table, exactly what he has done. People tend to forget... hockey was dying in Pittsburgh before he got there. I played there. It was almost dead. I'm sorry, but the NHL would not have a franchise in Pittsburgh today had Mario not come along. Think about it, no hockey in Pittsburgh.

Good players skate to the puck. Great players skate to where the puck is going to be.

I have recall. I don't know why or how. I had a guy once who said he played against me in novice [league, for kids under nine], for the Detroit Lasers. And I said, "Oh yeah, we beat you in the tournament, 8-1 and I think I scored seven goals, and the goalie was left-handed." And he was, "Oh my God. I was the goalie!" .

Most players go where the puck is. I go where the puck will be.

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.

The only way a kid is going to practise is if it's total fun for him... and it was for me.

I miss all the shots I don't take.