“The Great One” will be on-hand for next year’s ECHL All-Star Game… and he has a connection to the Fort Wayne Komets.

Wayne Gretzky, the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, will be a part of the ECHL All-Star Game in Indianapolis on January 15th. He’ll be performing the ceremonial “puck drop” before the game begins at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

For a hockey fan, that’s exciting enough, because Gretzky is the only player whose number, 99, has been retired across the NHL, but the Journal Gazette reports there are some Indiana ties as well. Gretzky started his career playing for the Indianapolis Racers in 1978.

When he made it to the pros, Edmonton traded him to Los Angeles for a draft pick: Fort Wayne Komet player Nick Stajduhar.