It’s not Christmas, New Year’s or Canada Day. But it’s close.

Tuesday marks Wayne Gretzky’s birthday, with the Great One turning 55 today. As is customary every year, Canadians and hockey fans everywhere use this occasion to look back on the greatest hockey career of all time. We’re no different.

There are the records. Gretzky has the most career goals (894), assists (1,963), and points (2,857) in a career; most goals (92), assists (163), and points (215) in a single season; and about 40 other records, ranging from most career hat tricks (50) to most assists in a single game by a rookie (seven).

There are the achievements. Gretzky has a record nine Hart trophies, 10 Art Ross trophies, five Lady Byngs, four Stanley Cups and three Canada Cups.

But when we’re reminiscing Gretzky, we think about the moments.

There was his memorable performance at the 1978 World Juniors where he led the tournament in scoring (eight goals and nine assists) in just six games at the age of 16, setting the bar impossibly high for all future facemask-clad under-agers at the tournament.

There was his short-lived WHA career, first with the Indianapolis Racers, before joining the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers.

There was his record 92-goal season in 1981-82, followed by his 100-goal campaign (regular season and playoffs combined) and his first of four Stanley Cups with the Oilers the year after.

There were the several highlights during international play at the pro level, perhaps none bigger than setting up Mario Lemieux for the win over Russia in the 1987 Canada Cup.

Then there were some less-revered moments for Oilers’ fans in the Gretzky career timeline; ones not as fondly remembered in Edmonton, but memorable all the same.

Gretzky was shipped to the Los Angeles Kings on August 9, 1988 in what still registers as the biggest trade in sports history. The salt in the wound for Oilers’ fans was Gretzky’s All-Star MVP award that season, the game, of course, being played in Edmonton.

And if we’re provoking Canadian hockey fans, we can’t forget the high stick.

It was Game 6 of the 1993 Conference Final against the Maple Leafs. Moments before scoring the overtime winner, a Gretzky high stick on Leafs forward Doug Gilmour went unnoticed by referee Kerry Fraser. The Great One went on to score a hat trick to lead the Kings to a Game 7 win and a trip to the Stanley Cup final.

Gretzky finished his career with the New York Rangers after a brief stint with the St. Louis Blues. After his playing days were over, Gretzky was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and had his number 99 retired by the league.

His best work off the ice came at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. Gretzky, serving as the executive director of Canada’s men’s hockey team, assembled a roster that ended a 50-year gold-medal drought for a hockey-mad nation. His impassioned press conference speech to media after a tie against the Czech Republic in round-robin play took the spotlight off a team facing immense pressure and helped set the tone for the team to overcome a slow start in the tournament.