I wasn't naturally gifted in terms of size and speed; everything I did in hockey I worked for, and that's the way I'll be as a coach.

That was just one of many quotes by Wayne Gretzky, who holds more than 61 NHL records--including his 2,856 points, or 50 goals in 39 games--that will likely never be broken.

But despite Gretzky's incredible, record-setting career, The Great One never found success as an NHL coach. In four years at the helm of the Phoenix Coyotes, Gretzky's team continually missed the playoffs and never won more than 38 games or recorded more than 83 points.

For some perspective, when Dave Tippett replaced Gretzky in 2009, he led the Coyotes to a 50-win, 107-point season.

Gretzky's inability to adapt to NHL coaching only further proves the notion that there are no guarantees in professional sports.

There are, however, trends; there are right ways and wrong ways, missteps and second chances.

Below are the examined résumés of all 30 NHL head coaches. Accomplishments taken into account include personal awards, championship teams and professional teams coached.

Highlighting similarities

There aren't many things all 30 coaches share, but nationality is one of them. Each coach is from North America. Twenty-three of the 30 are of Canadian descent, leaving just seven American-born coaches in the NHL today: Jeff Blashill, Dan Bylsma, John Tortorella, Peter Laviolette, John Hynes, Mike Sullivan and Jack Capuano.

Four of the seven American-born coaches--Tortorella, Sullivan, Bylsma and Laviolette--have won a Stanley Cup. Capuano, Blashill and Hynes are the only active American coaches without a Stanley Cup, the two latter are entering just their second NHL seasons.

Twenty-one coaches have previously been the coach of another NHL team. Only Blashill, Hynes, Capuano, Cooper, Sullivan, Dave Hakstol, Jared Bednar, Bill Peters and Willie Desjardins have coached just one team. Five are either in their first or second season in the NHL.

Meanwhile, there are only two coaches--Hakstol of the Philadelphia Flyers and Peter DeBoer of the San Jose Sharks--that have neither coached in the AHL nor spent time as a NHL assistant. 

Minor league success

Semi-professional hockey is one of the largest stepping stones that leads toward standing on an NHL bench. After being hired as the interim coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins last December, Sullivan joined Bylsma, Lindy Ruff and Joel Quenneville as the only coaches who never spent time as a semi-professional coach.

It's notable that both Ruff, 56, and Quenneville, 58, began their coaching careers in the 90s--before the modern era of hockey came to maturity. That was also a time when there were far less semi-professional leagues and a lot of players took the same paths to the NHL.

It's also interesting that Sullivan, 48, and Bylsma, 46, are two of six coaches to claim a Stanley Cup after being a mid-season hire. The only other active coach who has done that is Darryl Sutter of the Los Angeles Kings.

Sullivan and Byslma both won their Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins--also an organization that has taken the chance on younger minds and now has two Stanley Cups since 2009 to show for it. 
 
All other 26 coaches spent time in a semi-professional league, including, but not limited to, the QMJHL, ECHL, IHL, OHL and WHL.

Of those 26 coaches, 15 have won a championship in a league below the AHL and 11 have won a Coach of the Year award. Only Tippett, Blashill, Cooper, Desjardins, Gerard Gallant, Bruce Boudreau and Mike Babcock have won both a championship and Coach of the Year title in a minor league.

American Hockey League 

Twenty-one coaches have spent time behind an bench. Of those 21, nine have won the Calder Cup and eight have won the Louis A.R. Pieri Award for AHL Coach of the Year.

The only coaches that have won both a Calder Trophy and Louis A.R. Pieri Award are Desjardins, Cooper, Blashill, Laviolette and Barry Trotz. 

The AHL is becoming one of the roads more traveled to the NHL--both for top prospects and coaches alike. There have been six coaches--still standing--picked from the AHL since 2013, most recently including the 2016 Calder Cup Champion Bednar, who was hired by the Colorado Avalanche following Patrick Roy's abrupt departure in August.

Mike Yeo, the former Minnesota Wild coach and man on deck to take over for Ken Hitchcock's St. Louis Blues next season, also spent time as an AHL coach.

The AHL inevitably holds future coaches, and when the season ends, disappointed teams will turn to strong AHL teams to search for their new bench boss. 

Some of the most accomplished coaches

There are obviously a lot of qualified coaches at the forefront of NHL teams. While some have certainly accomplished more than others, their paths and experience at the NHL level certainly vary.

There are just 10 coaches in the NHL this season that have captured the Stanley Cup--the biggest accomplishment in hockey. But for Sullivan and Randy Carlyle, the Stanley Cup is nearly the only accomplishment on their résumés.

There are just two coaches who have won both a Calder Cup and Stanley Cup: Laviolette and Tortorella.

Known for his outspokenness and no-holds-barred attitude, Tortorella has quite the résumé: He spent time as an AHL coach and NHL assistant as well as coached the Tampa Bay Lightning to the franchise's only Stanley Cup. He also coached the New York Rangers to a Stanley Cup appearance, spent a season with the Vancouver Canucks and coached Team USA during September's 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Laviolette is another coach with an exceptional background. He also spent time as an AHL head coach, NHL assistant, held multiple NHL coaching jobs, coached Team USA for the Olympics and owns a Louis A.R. Pieri Award for AHL Coach of the Year.

The only active coach with three Stanley Cups, Joel Quenneville, runs the Chicago Blackhawks, which have been called the NHL's modern dynasty. With three Cups since 2010, Quenneville and his No. 2 spot on the all-time wins list for coaches put him at the forefront of the NHL's best coaches. Quenneville is just one of five active coaches--Byslma, Tortorella, Hitchcock and Claude Julien--with both a Jack Adams Award and Stanley Cup to his credit.

Then there's Mike Babcock, who is often called the best coach in hockey. Babcock owns a Stanley Cup, two Olympic gold medals and a World Cup of Hockey gold medal.

Babcock surpassed Jack Adams for the title of winningest coach in Detroit Red Wings history. Now, Babcock has undertaken the challenge of turning the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise around, and with young talent including Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly, his process could be quick.

Other coaches with strong experience include Julien, Boudreau, Alain Vigneault and Todd McClellan.

Julien, Boudreau, Vigneault and McClellan have all enjoyed success at the NHL level by leading a team to a President's Trophy for best regular-season record.

McClellan is the only one without a Jack Adams Award, and is also the only one without a non-professional championship to his credit. But he does have a Calder Cup, which Julien and Vigneault do not.

Coaches with more to prove 

The biggest trend among those with shorter résumés are age and experience.

In a surprising offseason move by the Calgary Flames, 2015 Jack Adams winner Bob Hartley was relieved of duties and replaced by former Dallas Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. Before Gulutzan joined the NHL, he won the ECHL's Coach of the Year Award in 2006, but failed to bring a championship to the city of Las Vegas.

Gulutzan coached the Stars during the 2011-12 season and lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, during which they failed to make the playoffs each year and accumulated a 64-57-9 record.

Carolina coach Peters has been looked upon favorably for his team's possession numbers, but a lack of true finishers and organizational depth has hindered the team's success since he took over in 2014. Peters coached the Spokane Chiefs to become WHL champions on their way to a Memorial Cup--his only achievement.
 
Since being rehired by the Montreal Canadiens in 2012, Michel Therrien has had a comfortable cushion to fall back on named Carey Price. Therrien doesn't have much of a résumé aside from winning a Memorial Cup with the Granby Prédateurs in 1996. 

Therrien has been criticized for an inability to adapt, most notably when Price was shut down last season and he rode the same lineup to a sorely disappointing finish.

Since being named the interim coach by the New York Islanders in 2010, Capuano has made a home for himself coaching the once-heralded team. Capuano lacks a winning track record. In six years with the Islanders, Capuano's team failed to make the playoffs three times, lost in the first round twice and in the second round this past May.

Hakstol made quite the name for himself in college hockey. He coached the North Dakota Fighting Hawks for nine seasons in the WCHA and another two seasons when the team moved to the NCHC. His team was a tournament regular but failed to ever move past the quarterfinals.

Philadelphia hired Hakstol prior to the 2015-16 season and he led the team to a playoff berth before losing to the President's Trophy winning Washington Capitals.