Brian Gualazzi already wore number 9 when Wayne Gretzky joined the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Gretzky joined the Greyhounds in 1977 after the club selected him with the third pick in the Ontario Midget Draft. He wanted number 9 because Gordie Howe, his childhood idol, had worn it. Gualazzi had already claimed the number, so Gretzky initially chose number 14 instead.
After Gretzky had played a few games, coach Muzz MacPherson suggested that wearing two nines would be distinctive. Gretzky switched to number 99, creating the number most closely associated with him. He wore 99 for the remainder of his career, and the NHL later retired it league-wide in his honour.
The number detail is easy to misremember because Gretzky did wear 9 briefly in organized hockey, but not with the Greyhounds. His first Greyhounds season was remarkable: in 63 games, he scored 70 goals and 112 assists for 182 points.