"Safest place in the world": Wayne Gretzky's daughter Paulina pens heartfelt messages for NHL great on Father's Day

Modified Jun 16, 2025 03:13 GMT

On Sunday, NHL legend Wayne Gretzky’s family members shared special tributes to him on the occasion of Father’s Day. Among them, Gretzky’s eldest daughter Paulina shared a heartfelt message for her dad on her Instagram stories.

Paulina Gretzky posted a black-and-white throwback photo of herself as a kid with dad Wayne Gretzky. In the caption, she wrote:

“The safest place in the world was always with you. Happy father’s day @waynegretzky”

His son Trevor also shared a throwback tribute clip to his father on his stories. In the caption, he added:

“Happy Father’s Day dad @waynegretzky 💪💪💪”

Wayne Gretzky’s wife Janet shared a special photo tribute with a carousel of pictures on her Instagram on the occasion. The photo carousel featured special moments of Wayne with their five children.

“Happy FathersDay we all love you !!!!♥️” Janet captioned the post.

Wayne Gretzky and Janet Jones Gretzky tied the knot in July 1988 in Edmonton. The couple has five children, Paulina, Ty, Trevo, Tristan and Emma.

Wayne Gretzky attended his daughter Emma’s SMU graduation

Earlier last month Wayne Gretzky’s daughter Emma graduated from Southern Methodist University. Her mother, Janet Jones Gretzky, marked the moment by sharing a special video on Instagram.

The video included childhood photos of Emma and her brother Tristan. It also showed Tristan at his New York University graduation at Yankee Stadium wearing a blue convocation gown.

Then it switched to Emma in her SMU graduation gown in Dallas, Texas. In the caption, Janet wrote:

"Congratulations to Tristan and Emma Graduates from NYU and SMU. It took a village of love and support from so many of our loved ones thank you. So very Proud they both did it with determination, strength and Love ♥️ Also congrats @willdewitt22 @stoneeby."

Emma received her degree from the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education & Human Development. The ceremony took place at McFarlin Auditorium. Janet and Wayne Gretzky both attended their daughter’s special day. Janet wore an all-black outfit and Wayne sported a two-piece suit. The couple also posed for photos with their children.

Emma Gretzky was involved in tennis during her time in SMU while Tristan played college golf at Pepperdine before transferring to NYU. He said he chose NYU for the opportunities and coaching. Earlier this year, he and his brothers helped create Gretzky’s Basement, a pop-up museum of their father’s memorabilia at the NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto.

About the author

Anjum is an NHL reporter at Sportskeeda with over five years of professional experience in the spectator sports industry. Raised in Bahrain, Anjum grew up close to the Formula 1 and GP2 scene, but it was ice-sports that she truly had a chance to play at school.

Anjum prioritizes thorough research, fact-checking and verification of sources when reporting, and has worked for Oil on Whyte, Leafs Herald, the Nation of Blaugrana, Barca International Cules, FromTheBend, Last Word On Sports and NASA.

She got interested in ice hockey after watching the “MVP” trilogy as a second grader and has not gotten over the sport yet. Her favorite player is Alex Ovechkin, whose legendary one-timers live rent free in her heart. The iconic moment when Ovechkin reached 800 career goals with a hat trick in Chicago as the away crowd chanted “Ovi, Ovi” is probably her happiest memory from an ice-rink.

When not enjoying the game, Anjum can be found sailing, star-mapping or collaborating with fellow citizen scientists at NASA.

Know More

Wayne Gretzky’s wife Janet responds to critics questioning his loyalty to Canada, Bobby Orr's support following 4 Nations drama