Wayne Gretzky Thrills Fans Prior To Game 3 (Video)

Among fans of the vast majority of professional sports leagues throughout the world, debate continually rages regarding who is the very best player ever to don a uniform in that chosen association. The National Hockey League stands as one of the very few entities where this age-old discussion is pretty much nonexistent.

For fans of the frozen game, the argument starts and ends with the man known as the “Great One,” the one and only Wayne Gretzky.

Number 99 owns an astonishing 61 NHL records, including the all-time mark for goals (894), assists (1,962) and goals in a single season (92).

The nine-time MVP and four-time Stanley Cup champion impacted the game of hockey with championship dominance in Edmonton, elevation of the game's US popularity in Los Angeles and a graceful culmination to a magical career while in New York.

Monday, a couple hours prior to Game 3 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, Gretzky was seen making the rounds between multiple television appearances at LA Live's Nokia Plaza, directly across the street from Staples Center.

Per the above iFolloSports.com original video, the 51-year-old Gretzky, who resides in suburban Westlake Village (38 miles northwest of the downtown LA arena), thrilled the gathering of hockey fans by just his mere presence, while walking through the ESPN Zone restaurant, after appearing on the Canadian television network TSN.

A few very lucky fans even had the opportunity to collect an autograph from the “Great One,” with one man clearing yelling out the words “that was awesome.”

Gretzky would later drop the ceremonial puck at center ice during pregame, before taking a seat next to legendary former teammate Mark Messier, who was also captured via iFolloSports.com original video, shortly after our cameras caught a glimpse of Gretzky.