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Wayne Gretzky doesn’t think he would have been as great of a hockey player in the 1950s.

He’s not being humble. More like fearful.

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Yes, the greatest goal scorer who ever played the game would no doubt have had an easier time putting the puck past goalies who didn’t wear masks and rarely left their feet to make a save. But that’s assuming he could make it up the ice in one piece.

“The (Gordie) Howes and (Maurice) Richards typically had to fight for themselves,” Gretzky said in a phone interview. “That was the game back then. When you’re 150 pounds, that would have been more difficult for me. I’m always the first guy to sit here and say I came around at the right time. It was a different game.”

The topic of the sport’s so-called good old days has come up because on Thursday the NHL is releasing a feature-length documentary on the rich and storied history of the league. Narrated by actor Jon Hamm and broadcast on Sportsnet on Thursday, NHL: 100 Years takes viewers on a voyage of how the NHL was founded, the glory days of the Original Six franchises, the growth of the expansion era and the effects of the game globally.