Wayne Gretzky Team Canada 1998 Winter Olympics Game-Used and Signed Stick | First Olympic Game

From the collection of Patrick Roy

Private Collection

On February 13, 1998, Wayne Gretzky took to the ice at the Big Hat arena in Nagano, Japan, for Canada's opening game of the 1998 Winter Olympics, the first Olympic tournament in history to feature NHL players. Canada dispatched Belarus 5-0 that evening, the first step in what became the most anticipated and ultimately most heartbreaking tournament in the sport's history, ending with a shootout semifinal loss to the Czech Republic and no medal for a side assembled from the finest Canadian talent of a generation.

This white Hespeler 5500 stick was gifted directly by Gretzky to teammate Patrick Roy following the Games, inscribed in Gretzky's hand: "To Jonathan from your friend Wayne Gretzky 99 Nagano 1998" , a personal dedication to Roy's son Jonathan. It retains its original black blade tape and "Jack the Gripper" knob wrap, with "Gretzky" stamped on the shaft and a handwritten "5" in black marker at the lower end. Most distinctive is the burned Olympic logo at the top of the handle, in which the bottom two rings have been replaced by the letters W and G -- a design unique to Gretzky's official Nagano Olympic game sticks. Evident game wear throughout confirms use during what proved to be the final international campaign of the greatest player the sport has ever known.

The stick is photo matched to the February 13 contest against Belarus by MeiGray Authentication. Additionally, the lot is accompanied by a letter of authenticity signed by Patrick Roy.