Why, you might ask, would Wayne Gretzky want to subject himself to the rigors of being an NHL head coach?

Let's face it, the job of an NHL bench boss isn't easy. It's a pressure-cooker environment, demanding of both mind and body with practices, games and travel. So, why would Gretzky want to leave the owner's box of the Phoenix Coyotes to become the team's head coach?

For anyone who ever watched Gretzky play, the answer is easy.

Love of the game.

"I heard people say 'Why would you want to do this?' And my answer was 'Why not?' It's what I love. It's what I know," Gretzky said. "I said this earlier, Glen Sather was the best coach I had and what made him good was his confidence in what he did. I believe that I'm gonna be a good coach. It's gonna take, obviously, more games behind the bench. The more experience you get the better.

"I think it's kind of ironic that when I broke into professional hockey at 17 that I was told that I was too small, and too slow, and that I wouldn't make it to the NHL," Gretzky said. "And now, it's kind of flip-flopped. The sense is, 'Well, you can't be a good coach because you were a great athlete'. So, I don't know. I kind of think that, you know, I wasn't naturally gifted with size and speed. Everything I did in hockey I worked for and that's the way I'll be as a coach. I will work hard, prepare hard."

And after authoring the greatest career in NHL history and successfully helping Hockey Canada return to international glory at the 2002 Winter Olympics and 2004 World Cup, Gretzky wanted a more hands-on role than being an owner.

I wanted to be in the game, simple as that," Gretzky said. "Two, I wanted to feel the energy and the excitement again of competing. Being in the locker room, being with the players, I'm excited about that part of it. Yeah, it's not gonna be easy every day. Some days are gonna be tougher than other days. But, I look forward to this as a new chapter in my life. I'm really excited about it. Our team's gonna play hard, we're gonna be ready to play every night. With the new rules we have in the league now, we like our speed and our size, so I look forward to it."

The Phoenix Coyotes of 2005-06 are much different than the team that finished the 2003-04 season with a 22-36-18-6 record. Ready to make their Coyotes' debuts this season are Brett Hull, Curtis Joseph, Petr Nedved, Mike Ricci, Mike Leclerc, Sean O'Donnell, Boyd Devereaux, Denis Gauthier and Oleg Saprykin. Gretzky believes this significant transformation will move the Coyotes in the right direction.

"(GM) Mike (Barnett) and I talked about this quite a bit over the last 10 months," Gretzky said. "Last June, we went out and recruited, we feel, a pretty good hockey team. We added some speed, some character, and some talent. Yes, I'm tremendously excited to be part of this group. I think it's gonna be fun to coach this group of guys. I really look forward to sharing my knowledge of the sport and the game. I don't have to sit up top and watch. I can actually be on the ice, that's the part I'm looking forward to the most.
"I'm excited about coaching some of the players that we've recruited over the past 12 months, some of them I've played with, other guys that I know," Gretzky said. "Mike and I have had many conversations about the team and players that we've signed and players that we've recruited. I'm really excited to be back in the locker room and on the ice because that's where I love to be. I'm thrilled to, sort of, be back on the hot seat and I'm looking forward to it."

Pressure is no stranger to Gretzky, who as a player rewrote large sections of the NHL record book and took the expectations of an entire country onto his shoulders at Salt Lake City. And Gretzky said one simple way to deal with pressure, expectations and the like is to roll up your sleeves and get to work.

"Listen, there's only one way to be a coach and that's to be here all the time," he said. "That's pretty simple and basic and that part of it is exciting for me. As I've been through my career as a player, and Team Canada and now here, I don't think one person is bigger than anyone else within an organization. So the coaching staff and the associates I've put together were for a reason. They'll have a responsibility and they'll be as big a part of this as I am.

"You know, our team needs to understand pressure and the importance of winning," Gretzky said. "To be a team that's going to be watched ... and, you know, the expectations are gonna be higher. That's pressure that comes with the territory. I think it will be good for our team. It will make us a better team. So, no, I'm not worried about that and I don't think our players are. I mean, guys like Nedved, who played in New York, understand. You know, this will be good for our team. It'll be more pressure and higher expectations and I think that will be good for our team.

"We've always got work to do. But, you know, we'll do it together. I like the group of players we've brought in. You always look for changes, you always look to make the team better. But all-in-all, I kind of like what we have. You know, it's an interesting sort of a year because everyone's missed 12 months. Coming out of the gate is an important factor. Some teams will probably come out quicker than others. We're gonna make sure that our guys are ready to come out of the gate as quick as possible."