By Alan Adams & Jason La Rose via Hockey Canada

Canadian hockey lost one of its all-time greats Friday morning with the passing of Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, who died at the age of 88 at his son Murray’s home in Sylvania, Ohio.

Howe, who played professional hockey in six decades, made only one appearance for Team Canada, recording seven points (three goals and four assists) in seven games during the 1974 Summit Series.

“The hockey community has lost one of its great ambassadors with the passing of Mr. Hockey,” Hockey Canada president and CEO Tom Renney said in a statement. “First and foremost, Gordie was a great Canadian, and shared a passion for the game that inspired so many others to pursue their hockey dreams.

“Gordie was emblematic of our great country’s values and represented the maple leaf as an international sports icon throughout his career and life. He represented everything Canadians want in their sport heroes – toughness, humility, skill, and impact. I hold Gordie Howe amongst Canada’s greatest contributions to sport, and to our nation’s culture. He made us all proud to be Canadian.”

He was deservedly one of the first recipients of the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2012, joining Jean Béliveau, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Wayne Gretzky and Gord Renwick in the inaugural class.

“His life was the game of hockey and that is what Gordie is all about,’’ Gretzky said when the first recipients were announced in April 2012. “He is a special man and Canada should be proud. There should not be anyone honoured before he is because that is how unique and special he (is).”

Over fifty years, Howe was synonymous with outstanding and almost unbelievable athletic achievement.

While few in the game were tougher than Mr. Hockey, even fewer were more talented. Howe not only outperformed everybody, but also outlasted everybody. Gordie played from 1946 until 1980. He is the only player in NHL history to play in five different decades.

While Gretzky has since dwarfed all of his statistical achievements, Howe dominated the game over many different eras.

Howe’s credentials speak volumes. He won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 1952, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1960 and 1963 with the Detroit Red Wings. He led the NHL in scoring in 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957 and 1963. He finished in the top five of NHL scoring in 20 consecutive seasons. He was a 21-time All-Star Game participant.

His 801 goals and 1,850 points still rank second and fourth in NHL history.

“In my mind he was the greatest player ever to play the game,’’ commended The Great One. “I do not think there is anyone in Canada who is more deserving for the award than he is.”

“Because of Gordie, I always wanted to play in Detroit,” Gretzky said. “When I got an NHL jersey, I knew it would not be quite right if I wore No. 9 (Howe’s number), so I settled for 99.”

Gretzky was a shy 10-year-old when his father, Walter, bought him a new suit so he would look his Sunday best when he met Howe for the first time.

“I was a young kid scared to death and Gordie took care of me. He always took care of me. He was always there to make sure I was okay,’’ Gretzky said. “I can’t say enough about how much he has taught me about what it means for kids to look up to somebody; what it means to idolize an athlete. I learned so much from my mom and dad, but from a professional hockey point of view, I learned so much from Gordie.”

Gretzky and Howe quickly became close friends.

When he was 17 and Howe was 50 years old, they were linemates when the World Hockey Association All-Star team played Moscow Dynamo. Gretzky laughed when he recalled how, three years later, he and Howe were part of a golfing foursome that also included Sam Snead and entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.

And each and every time The Great One was close to eclipsing one of Mr. Hockey’s many on-ice records, the three people he always wanted there to witness it were his parents and Howe.

“He is just such a good person,” Gretzky said. “Anytime you can be linked to Gordie Howe that is pretty cool because the reality in life is everybody grows up idolizing somebody and for me, he was my idol.”

Mr. Hockey was all about hockey.

“It was how much he loved the game. If you ever talked to Gordie, it was how he loved the game,’’ Gretzky said. “He loved everything about the game, being with the guys, practising every day, playing, being the go-to guy. That’s what Gordie was all about.

“He truly understood who he was and what his responsibility was to the team, and to the game, and that is what made him so special.’’