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Originally Posted by Rerun
M Lemieux (playing with Gretzky in the '87 Canada Cup made him into the player he was)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cam_wmh
haha what?
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Unlike many people on here I saw Gretzky and Lemieux play together in the '87 Canada Cup. Pre Canada Cup, Lemieux didn't have much of a work ethic. He'd take nights off. When he played with Gretzky, and saw how hard he worked at the game (as well as Messier) it changed him. He has even acknowledged this.
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Early in his career Lemieux languished with the lowly Pittsburgh Penguins. The team seemed to just accept defeat many nights. Without great leadership, it looked like Mario might never learn what it would take to harness his potential, and until that happened the Penguins would never develop into a great team. And Mario, despite his wondrous natural abilities only matched by perhaps Bobby Orr, might never have developed into the great player he became.
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"That whole tournament turned my career around. I saw what it took to win, to be a championship team. Seeing how talented players who had won the Cup before - guys like Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Paul Coffey - work so hard every day was a true learning experience. Playing with such great players for five or six weeks also gave me a lot of confidence, and my career took off. "
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http://internationalhockeylegends.bl...o-lemieux.html