On frozen pond: the arctic chill of the Heritage Classic was no match for the warm memories of hockey's roots that were kindled by the NHL's first outdoor game.(NHL)

"Wayne Gretzky threading his way through a slalom course of plastic laundry detergent bottles on his backyard rink in the 1960s is hockey's equivalent of Pele dribbling a tied up bundle of rags through the alleys of Tres Coracoes, Brazil, in the 1940s. What was ultimately happening on that backyard rink, and in those Brazilian alleys, was the acquisition of genius."

--Jack Falla in Home Ice: Reflections on Backyard Rinks and Frozen Ponds

There's something about these words that conjures images of frozen breath and a cold, gray sky. It somehow says more than if the young Gretzky were skating inside a dimly lit local rink. This is a boy with ...