A Big Honor for a Big Brother : Wayne Gretzky is named Athlete of the Decade for his dedication to mentoring fatherless boys.

If dessert is a chocolate hockey puck and stick (with raspberry sauce), the honoree must be . . . Wayne Gretzky.

The Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles bestowed upon the hockey great a fitting sweet and a big title--Athlete of the Decade--and in return, the Gretzky machinery went into high-gear Monday night at the Regent Beverly Wilshire.

The self-effacing honoree (“I’m a little bit embarrassed to be here”) invited friends, family, neighbors and teammates to dine with him and leaned on fellow Canadians Alan Thicke and David Foster to provide entertainment. For the auction, Gretzky put his autograph on anything that didn’t breathe--his jersey, sticks, a commissioned portrait.

Gretzky also enlisted Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall to co-chair the event with Prime Ticket Network’s Bill Daniels, Great Western Bank’s John Maher and the Walt Disney Company’s Michael Eisner. Listed among the evening’s many sponsors was the Riordan Foundation--yes, the same Mayor Richard Riordan who sent along a proclamation honoring Gretzky for being an outstanding role model as well as important economic resource for the city.

“Normally you’re calling all your friends to buy tables,” McNall said. “This time we’re telling people, ‘Gee, I’m sorry, wait till next year. There’s not enough room.’ ”

The sold-out event raised about $200,000, which will go toward recruiting men to befriend and mentor fatherless boys. Currently, the organization serves 500 boys and 1,000 are on a waiting list.

“I could really use 2,000 big brothers,” Soboroff said. “And if we put out the word that we had big brothers available to all the principals of all the grammar schools in L.A. and Inland Empire, I’d need 10,000 big brothers in a week.”

Gretzky said he was 100% committed to kids: “Kids need guidance, whether it’s a friend, a parent, a sports hero. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I had a great role model in my father and Gordie Howe was my hero growing up.”

Walter Gretzky, meanwhile, confirmed that his son was an exemplary big brother to his four younger siblings. “Around the house they used to scrap a little bit, but Wayne was pretty good, just well-respected by his brothers and sister. He never forgets them.”