| Mike Gartner started skating at age three and played on his first hockey team at five. As a teenager, he led the Barrie Flyers to the Wrigley Midget Hockey Championship and represented Canada at a tournament in Russia.
As the first draft-pick of the Washington Capitals in 1979, Mike scored 36 goals in his rookie season--and just to prove it wasn't a fluke--scored 48 the following year. In fact, Mike netted 30 or more goals in 17 of his 19 seasons in the NHL. Mike finished his career with a total of 708 goals, the fifth-highest in league history, ranking only behind Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Marcel Dionne, and Phil Esposito.
After retiring from professional hockey after the 1998 season, Mike now reflects on his amazing career. When he was first drafted, Mike had no idea about the degree of success he'd experience. "I came into the sport just being glad I was here," he said. "I never expected to play as long as I did."
Mike played for five different NHL teams during his career, including Washington, the Minnesota North Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers and finally the Phoenix Coyotes. Mike enjoyed many highlights during that time, both personal and team-related. But despite all his success and the corresponding benefits--a large salary, a home, a fancy car--Mike began to sense that he really wasn't fulfilled in life. "I was a happy person, yet there was a void. I realized it when Jean Pronovost joined our team."
Jean and Diane Pronovost invited Mike and his teammates to participate in a Bible study at their home. Mike had attended church as a boy because his parents required it. However, what he heard in this Bible study was new to him.
"I knew there was life after death," Mike explains. "But I never really thought about the fact that there is a heaven and a hell, and we have to make a decision that will determine where we spend eternity. One day on an airplane, Jean asked me, 'Mike, if this plane went down and you died right now, would you go to heaven or hell?' I had to say that I didn't know for sure. He showed me from the Bible that I was a sinner, separated from God. The only way to know God was through Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth, died for my sins, and rose again from the dead. I could either accept Him or reject Him. It was up to me.
"I certainly didn't want to go to hell. And I knew there was something missing in my life. In a hotel room in the middle of that road trip, I got on my knees and said, 'Lord, if You're real, come into my life right now and change me.' Almost immediately, I had a feeling of relief, and of expectation."
Life began to change for Mike in the months following his conversion. "I used to swear a lot, and that was taken away. It wasn't something I changed on my own; I knew I couldn't do that. The Lord just took it away. I used to drink a lot and I had some close calls. Once I drove home from a party and the next day I couldn't remember that 15-minute drive. God took away my desire for alcohol. I still like to go out with the guys, but I just drink Coke."
Becoming a Christian had a positive effect on Mike's outlook on life, particularly in his motivation for hockey. "I played to glorify God, and I played my best. Maybe before, I would have sat back and said, 'I've got it made...so I can cruise'...but after becoming a Christian, I felt very responsible to God."
Mike has seen the Lord working in his life--not just in hockey but on a daily basis-- ever since. "Through injuries, scoring slumps, victories, and now retirement--my wife (Colleen) and I have the strong feeling of knowing that God is in complete control. He has a plan for our lives, whether it's being traded, as I was four times, or struggling through the retirement decision. Knowing there was a plan, I always felt that peace that the Bible says transcends all understanding."
Mike misses hockey at times, "Because I did it my whole life," but now he is able to spend more time helping others. Mike is very open and direct about his faith and uses his celebrity status to spread the Word through churches, outreaches, youth groups and summer hockey camps with Hockey Ministries International and other Christian organizations.
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