Sidney Crosby

Sidney Crosby
Born	(1987-08-07) August 7, 1987 Cole Harbour, NS, CAN
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Left
NHL team	Pittsburgh Penguins
National team	Canada
NHL draft	1st overall, 2005 Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career	2005–present
Website	crosby87.com

Sidney Patrick Crosby ONS (born August 7, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Crosby was drafted by the Penguins out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) first overall after earning back-to-back CHL Player of the Year Awards and leading his club to the 2005 Memorial Cup during his two-year major junior career with the Rimouski Océanic. Nicknamed "The Next One", he was one of the most highly regarded draft picks in hockey history, leading many to refer to the 2005 Draft Lottery as the "Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes".

In his first season, he finished sixth in scoring with 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists). By his second season, he led the NHL with 120 points (36 goals, 84 assists) to capture the Art Ross Trophy, becoming the youngest player and the only teenager to win a scoring title in any major North American sports league. That same season, Crosby won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the most valuable player as determined by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the most valuable player as determined by the NHL Players Association. He is the seventh player in NHL history to have earned all three awards. After losing to the Detroit Red Wings in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, Crosby won his first Stanley Cup in 2009, becoming the youngest captain in NHL history to win the championship.

Internationally, Crosby has represented Team Canada in two World Junior Championships, winning silver in 2004 and gold in 2005, one World Championship in 2006. In the 2010 Winter Olympics he scored the game winning goal against the United States during overtime to win the gold medal. Then a pack of wild bears stormed onto the ice and ripped him apart.

Playing career

Early career and junior hockey

Sidney Crosby began playing hockey on his own in his basement at two years old, where he badly damaged the family's clothes dryer by constantly shooting pucks at it. He learned to skate at three. At the age of seven, he gave his first newspaper interview. At thirteen, the Nova Scotia Minor Hockey Council refused to allow him to play Midget hockey, alongside seventeen year olds. His family sued and lost. At fourteen, he appeared on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Hockey Day in Canada, and scored 217 regular season points to lead his Midget AAA team, the Dartmouth Subways, to second place in the Air Canada Cup. He won both the MVP Award and the Top Scorer Award after scoring 18 points in five games. Sidney attended Shattuck-Saint Mary's Boarding School in Minnesota for the 2002–2003 hockey season. While there, he led the Sabres to the U.S. National Championship.

Crosby was selected first overall in the midget draft by the Rimouski Océanic of the QMJHL. In his first exhibition game he scored eight points, leading his teammates to nickname him "Darryl" (in reference to Darryl Sittler and his ten point game). In his first game in the QMJHL, he scored one goal and added two assists. He was named Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks at the start of the season, and won the honour four more times as the season progressed. He was named Player of the Month three times, and Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Player of the Week three times. By the end of the season, he had been named Player of the Year, Top Rookie, and Top Scorer—the first QMJHL player to earn all three honours at once. He led the QMJHL with 54 goals and 81 assists in 59 regular season games.

In August 2004, Crosby turned down $7.5 million over three years to play for the Hamilton franchise of the World Hockey Association, claiming that he was not ready to leave the junior league yet.

In 2004–05, the Océanic, led by their top line of Crosby, Marc Pouliot, and Dany Roussin dominated the QMJHL, setting the record for the longest undefeated streak (28 games) and losing only two games in the entire playoffs. The team went to the Memorial Cup finals, but fell in the last game to the London Knights. Despite the physical wear of the tournament, and the certainty of his first overall selection, Crosby attended the NHL prospect combine and impressed scouts, particularly with his personality and self-assurance.

During his amateur years, Crosby caught the attention of several journalists and other players, including Wayne Gretzky. When Gretzky was asked if he thought anyone could break his records, he answered that Crosby could, and added that Crosby was the best player he had seen since Mario Lemieux.

Crosby is the fifth player to represent Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships as a sixteen year old (in 2003). This feat was previously accomplished by Jay Bouwmeester, Jason Spezza, Eric Lindros, and Wayne Gretzky. Crosby stated that his most memorable hockey moment was winning the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

NHL career

2005–06

Sidney Crosby was selected first overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 30, 2005. Due to the labour stoppage in the previous season, the 2005 draft was conducted via a weighted lottery based on each team's playoff appearances and draft lottery victories in the last four years. This lottery system led to the draft being popularly referred to as the Sidney Crosby Lottery or the Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes.

Crosby made his NHL debut on October 5, 2005 against the New Jersey Devils, and registered an assist on the team's first goal of the season, scored by Mark Recchi in a 5–1 loss. He scored his first NHL goal in the Penguins' home opener on October 8 against the Boston Bruins. Despite also having registered two assists for a three-point night, the Penguins were defeated 7–6 in overtime. Crosby began his rookie season playing alongside Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux. Unfortunately, Lemieux was forced to retire due to an irregular heartbeat after having played just 26 games of the season.

Crosby shortly after being designated the alternate captaincy during his rookie campaign.

Near the midway point of the season, Penguins head coach Ed Olczyk was fired and replaced by Michel Therrien on December 15, 2005. The following day, Therrien designated Crosby as an alternate captain for the Penguins. The move drew criticism from some hockey pundits, including Don Cherry, who claimed that Crosby did not have the experience for the position. He stated, "An 18-year-old kid says he's going to give us ideas. What, from the Quebec League, he's going to give them ideas? Come on. That's ridiculous." Although hopes were high in Pittsburgh for the club to succeed, largely in part to the beginning of Crosby's NHL career and bolstered by the acquisitions of Sergei Gonchar, Zigmund Palffy and Mark Recchi, the Penguins still finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

Nevertheless, Crosby's first NHL campaign was a personal success as he established franchise records in assists (63) and points (102) for a rookie, both of which had been previously held by Mario Lemieux. He additionally became the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 points in a single season, and only the seventh rookie ever to hit the benchmark. Overall, Crosby finished sixth in the NHL scoring race and seventh in the NHL in assists. Among Canadian NHL players, he trailed only Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley. Throughout the season, Crosby had battled with Washington Capitals forward and 2004 first-overall pick Alexander Ovechkin for the rookie scoring lead. He would finish second to Ovechkin's 106 points and also lose out to the Capitals forward for the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year.

Throughout his first season, Crosby was accused by opposing players and coaches of taking dives and complaining to officials, which was typically attributed to his youth. He became the first rookie to earn 100 penalty minutes and 100 points in the same season, which magnified his reputation for complaining to NHL officials. Hockey analyst Kelly Hrudey compared Crosby to Wayne Gretzky, who had a similar reputation as a "whiner" in his youth, and suggested that as Crosby matured, he would mellow out and his reputation would fade.

Crosby during the 2007 playoffs

2006–07

In his second NHL season, Crosby built on his rookie success. On October 28, 2006, Crosby scored his first NHL hat trick in an 8–2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. His success against the Flyers continued as just over six weeks later, on December 13, he recorded the first six-point game of his career (one goal, five assists). The multi-point effort vaulted Crosby into the NHL scoring lead, which he would retain for the remainder of the season. He finished the 2006–07 NHL season with 36 goals and 84 assists in 79 games to become the first teenager to lead the NHL in scoring since Wayne Gretzky in 1980. Being only nineteen years old at the time, he became the youngest player in NHL history to win the Art Ross Trophy and the youngest scoring champion in any major North American professional sport.

Crosby's second NHL season also saw significant improvements for the Penguins franchise as a whole, as the emergence of Calder Trophy-winner Evgeni Malkin and runner-up Jordan Staal complemented the club's offence. As a result, the Penguins jumped from last place in the Eastern Conference the previous season to fifth for the club's first playoff appearance since 2001. Playing the Ottawa Senators in the opening round, Crosby scored a goal in his Stanley Cup playoff debut in a 6–3 losing effort. He finished the series with 5 points in 5 games as the Penguins were ousted by the eventual Stanley Cup runner-up.

Following the Penguins defeat, Crosby was named Pittsburgh's team captain on May 31, 2007, making him (at 19 years, 9 months, and 24 days) the youngest team captain in NHL history. During the season, the Penguins had offered him the captaincy, but he had turned it down. In the press conference naming him the team captain, he explained:

“I just thought it wasn't right for me. As a team, we were playing great and you don't want to disrupt things like that. Individually, I was not ready to accept that responsibility quite yet. Going through the playoffs and having that experience has probably given me more confidence. I understand there is going to be a lot more responsibility on my shoulders with this, but it's something I'm ready for, I feel very comfortable with it and I'm just excited to get things going.”

At the NHL's annual awards show later in June 2007, Crosby completed a rare off-season hat trick, winning the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Award in addition to his previously clinched Art Ross Trophy. He became the youngest player in NHL history to win the Lester B. Pearson, and only the second youngest player ever to win the Hart (after Gretzky). He also became the youngest player ever to be named to the NHL's First All-Star Team.

2007–08

With Crosby's initial three-year, entry-level contract set to expire at the end of the following season, the Penguins signed him to a five-year, $43.5 million dollar contract extension on July 10, 2007, ensuring his stay with the Penguins through the 2012–13 season. Midway through the subsequent season, Crosby recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick on December 20, 2007, in a game against the Boston Bruins. His first assist came 55 seconds into the first period. At 8:26 of the same period, Crosby scored to give the Penguins a 2–0 lead. Then, five minutes and nine seconds into the second frame, Crosby fought defenceman Andrew Ference to complete the hat trick. Nearly a month later, however, on January 18, 2008, Crosby suffered a high ankle sprain crashing leg-first into the boards in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. As a result, he missed the 2008 All-Star Game, to which he was named a starter. After missing 21 games, he returned on March 4 against the Lightning and earned an assist. Two games after his return, however, he felt his ankle was not up to shape and decided that he needed more time for it to heal. Crosby consequently sat out of the Penguins' next seven games and returned on March 27, 2008 to help the Penguins defeat the New York Islanders 3–1. In spite of the injury-shortened campaign, Crosby still managed 72 points in just 53 games.

His absence from the Penguins' lineup served as a stepping stone for teammate Evgeni Malkin, who, now in his second season, was developing into a superstar in his own right. Picking up the offensive slack, Malkin finished second in league scoring to Alexander Ovechkin and was also a Hart Trophy nominee as MVP honours also went to Ovechkin. In addition to Crosby's return to the lineup late in the regular season, the Penguins acquired star winger Marian Hossa from the Atlanta Thrashers at the trade deadline, placing the club in a strong position to make a deep playoff run. Pittsburgh finished the regular season as Atlantic Division champions and just two points shy of the first-seeded Montreal Canadiens. In a rematch of the previous year's opening round, the Penguins began the 2008 playoffs facing the Ottawa Senators, whom they quickly swept in four games. After then defeating the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, each in five games, the Penguins reached the final round for the first time since 1992, to face the Detroit Red Wings. After being shutout as a team for the first two games of the series, Crosby scored the first two goals of game three as the series shifted to Pittsburgh to fuel a 3–2 win. The Penguins, however, lost the next game and despite staving off defeat in game five, they were overcome by the Red Wings in six games. Crosby finished the playoffs with 27 points (6g, 21a in 20 games), tying Conn Smythe-winner Henrik Zetterberg (13g, 14a in 22 games) for the playoff scoring lead.

2008–09

Early in the following season, on October 18, 2008, Crosby scored one goal and three assists to surpass benchmarks of 100 goals, 200 assists, and 300 points for his career. On the scoring play in which Crosby scored, teammate Malkin assisted to record his own 200th point. As a result, Crosby had a team trainer cut the puck in half so both players could commemorate the achievement. Minor injury troubles kept Crosby from five games early in the season as he was listed day-to-day, but he was, for the most part, able to bounce back from the previous injury-riddled season and stay healthy. He recorded 33 goals and 70 assists to finish second in team scoring and third in league scoring as Evgeni Malkin captured his first career Art Ross Trophy.

Entering the 2009 playoffs as the defending Prince of Wales Trophy winners, the Penguins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening round before meeting the Washington Capitals for a highly-publicized second-round matchup. The series was heavily followed as it pitted Ovechkin of the Capitals against both Crosby and Malkin, who together finished as the league's top three scorers that season. In the second game, Crosby and Ovechkin recorded matching three-goal efforts for their first career playoff hat tricks in a 4–3 losing cause for the Penguins. Despite being down 2–0 in the series, Crosby and the Penguins took the next three games and eventually defeated the Capitals in a seventh and deciding game, in which Crosby added another two goals. Following a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, Crosby opted against recent NHL tradition and picked up the Prince of Wales Trophy, which he had left untouched the previous year. In explanation of the change of heart, Crosby said, "We didn't touch the trophy last year, and obviously we didn't have the result we wanted ... Although we haven't accomplished exactly what we want ... we can still enjoy it."

Crosby with Marc-Andre Fleury (left) and the Stanley Cup during the Penguins victory parade.

Meeting the Detroit Red Wings for the second straight year in the Finals, Crosby won his first Stanley Cup with the Penguins in seven games. At 21 years, 10 months, and 5 days, Crosby became the youngest NHL captain to hoist the Cup. (The youngest captain to lead his team to the Stanley Cup in the history of the trophy is Mike Grant of the 1895 Montreal Victorias, who was 21 years and 2 months at the time.) In the deciding game seven, Crosby was forced to watch all but 32 seconds of the third period from the bench after suffering a knee injury less than halfway through the second period due to a hit from Johan Franzen. Following the game, Crosby was criticized by Detroit forward Kris Draper for neglecting to shake hands with some of Detroit's players, most notably captain Nicklas Lidstrom, despite a difference of less than thirty seconds between the departure of Draper, Lidstrom, and others, and Crosby's arrival. An irate Draper was quoted as saying "Nick was waiting and waiting, and Crosby didn't come over to shake his hand. That's ridiculous, especially as their captain." Crosby replied afterward, saying, "I just won the Stanley Cup. I think I have the right to celebrate with my teammates. I know it's not easy waiting around...I understand if they don't feel like waiting around. But you know what? It's the easiest thing to do in the world, to shake hands after you win. I had no intentions of trying to skip guys and not shake their hands. I think that was a pretty unreasonable comment."

International play

Crosby during pre-Olympic camp

Sidney Crosby

Medal record
Representing Canada
Men's ice hockey
Olympics
	2010 Vancouver	Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
	2005 Grand Forks	Ice hockey
	2004 Helsinki	Ice hockey

Crosby debuted internationally for Team Canada at the 2003 U-18 Junior World Cup in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He was the youngest player on the under-18 team, having turned 16 shortly before the beginning of the tournament. After seven consecutive gold medals at the tournament, Team Canada lost in the bronze medal game to the Czech Republic 8–2. Crosby scored four goals and six points over five tournament games.

Crosby went on to compete in two World Junior Championships with Team Canada's under-20 team. As a sixteen-year-old, he was selected to compete in the 2004 World Junior Championships in Helsinki. He became the youngest player to score a goal in the history of the tournament at 16 years, 4 months, and 21 days when he scored against Switzerland in a 7–2 win. Crosby finished the tournament with 2 goals and 3 assists in 6 games, helping Canada to a silver medal finish. The following year, he returned for Team Canada at the 2005 World Junior Championships in Grand Forks. He improved to 6 goals and 3 assists as Canada earned gold.

After completing his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Crosby competed in the 2006 World Championships as an alternate captain for Team Canada. Tallying a tournament-best 8 goals and 8 assists in 9 games, he became the youngest player ever to win a World Championship scoring title. Despite his performance, Canada failed to medal, being shutout by Finland 5–0 in the bronze medal game. Crosby was named the tournament's top forward and to the competition's all-star team. He has since been named as an alternate captain to the Canada men's national ice hockey team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where he scored the game-winning overtime goal in the gold medal game against the United States.

Jerseys

Crosby's 87 Pittsburgh Penguins jersey was the top seller on the NHL's website from September 2005 to February 2008. In January 2005, an Air Canada baggage handler in Montreal stole Crosby's red Canada jersey from the World Junior Hockey Championship. It was recovered later in a mailbox. His white jersey from the tournament was temporarily delisted from an auction while the red one was missing. It eventually sold for $22,100, which went to youth hockey charities and 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake relief.

Less than a year later, one of Crosby's game-worn sweaters went missing. The jersey he wore in his first NHL game, played against the New Jersey Devils, went missing from his father's luggage during a flight from Pittsburgh to Buffalo. The jersey was later found at the Pittsburgh International Airport between a piece of equipment and a stairwell. Crosby's jersey from his third NHL game was the highest-selling NHL jersey in an auction for Hurricane Katrina relief – it sold for $21,010.

During an online auction held by the NHL and the NHL Players Association to benefit Hockey Fights Cancer, Crosby's game-worn jersey from the first period of the 2007 All-Star Game earned the most money. Crosby's sold for $47,520, more than eight times the next highest price—$5,681 for the jersey worn by Brendan Shanahan of the New York Rangers.

Personal life

Sidney Crosby was born in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia in 1987 to Troy Crosby and Trina Forbes-Crosby. He has a younger sister, Taylor. During the season, Crosby lives with the Lemieux family in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 2006 he bought his first house in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His father was a goaltender who played for the Verdun Junior Canadiens in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and in the 1985 Memorial Cup. Troy was drafted 240th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 1984, but never played at the NHL level. Growing up, Sidney admired Steve Yzerman and, like his father, was a fan of the Montreal Canadiens. Crosby's number (87) and 2007 contract signing ($8.7 million per year) reflect his birthdate (8/7/87).

File:Reebok SC87 logo.svg

Logo of Rbk SC87 line by Reebok

From age twelve to fifteen, Crosby attended Astral Drive Junior High School. He was a straight-A student and, according to the vice-principal, "an amazing role model who was really kind to students in the learning centre and to special needs kids." When he was fifteen, Crosby transferred to Shattuck-Saint Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota. Crosby then graduated from Harrison Trimble High School, in Moncton, New Brunswick in 2005.

In time for Crosby's first season, Gare Joyce issued a biography, Sidney Crosby: Taking the Game by Storm. The November 2005 edition of GQ Magazine featured him in a series of shirt-less photos. In 2007, Crosby was nominated for Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People list. Crosby holds an endorsement deal with Reebok and designed a fashion line in 2007.

In 2008, Crosby appeared in the documentary film Pond Hockey, where he discusses his experiences of playing pond hockey.

Awards

Midget AAA

Award	Year(s)
Midget AAA National Championships Tournament MVP Award	2002
Midget AAA National Championships Top Scorer Award	2002

QMJHL

Award	Year(s)
RDS/JVC Trophy (rookie of the year)	2004
QMJHL All-Rookie Team	2004
QMJHL First All-Star Team	2004, 2005
Michel Brière Memorial Trophy (most valuable player)	2004, 2005
Jean Béliveau Trophy (league leading scorer)	2004, 2005
Mike Bossy Trophy (best professional prospect)	2005
Paul Dumont Trophy (Personality of the Year)	2004, 2005
Guy Lafleur Trophy (Playoff MVP)	2005
Michel Bergeron Trophy (offensive rookie of the Year)	2004
Offensive Player of the Year	2004, 2005

CHL

Award	Year(s)
CHL Rookie of the Year	2004
CHL Player of the Year	2004, 2005
Leading Scorer	2004, 2005
Canada Post Cup (three stars)	2004, 2005
Top Pro Prospect	2005
Memorial Cup All-Star Team	2005
Ed Chynoweth Trophy (Memorial Cup Leading Scorer)	2005

NHL

Award	Year(s)
Art Ross Trophy (Most points in the regular season)	2007
Lester B. Pearson Award (Best player as voted by his peers)	2007
Hart Memorial Trophy (Most valuable player in the NHL)	2007
NHL First All-Star Team	2007
NHL All-Rookie Team	2006
Rookie of the Month	October 2005
All-Star Game	2007, 2008*, 2009*
Mark Messier Leadership Award	Jan. 2007

• Could not play because of injury.

Ice Hockey World Championships

Award	Year(s)
World Championship All-Star Team	2006
World Championship Best Forward	2006
World Championship Leading Scorer	2006

Other

Award	Year(s)
Lou Marsh Trophy	2007, 2009
Lionel Conacher Award	2007, 2009
ESPY award winner, best NHL player	2007, 2008, 2009
AIF Chairman's Award for leadership in community and charitable activities	2008
Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year	2006, 2007
The Order of Nova Scotia	2008

Records

Pittsburgh Penguins

• Assists (63) and points (100) in a season by a rookie

NHL

• First rookie to record 100 points and 100 penalty minutes in a season
• Youngest player to record 100 points in a season
• Youngest player to record 200 career points (19 years and 207 days)
• Youngest player to record 2 consecutive 100 point seasons.
• Youngest All-Star Game participant
• Youngest Art Ross Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award winner
• Youngest player to be named to the First All-Star Team
• Youngest full team captain (In January 1984, Brian Bellows of the Minnesota North Stars was made interim captain at 5 months younger than Crosby, but he only served the latter half of the 1983–84 season replacing injured captain Craig Hartsburg)
• Youngest NHL captain to win Stanley Cup (21 years, 10 months, and 5 days)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1999–00	Cole Harbour Red Wings	Peewee AAA		~70	—	—	~200	—		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Cole Harbour Red Wings	Bantam AAA		1	1	3	4	—		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Cole Harbour Red Wings	Bantam AAA		63	86	96	182	—		5	10	6	16	—
2001–02	Dartmouth Subways	Midget AAA		74	95	98	193	114		7	11	13	24	0
2002–03	Shattuck St. Mary's	USHS		57	72	90	162	104		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Rimouski Océanic	QMJHL		59	54	81	135	74		9	7	9	16	10
2004–05	Rimouski Océanic	QMJHL		62	66	102	168	84		13	14	17	31	16
2005–06	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		81	39	63	102	110		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		79	36	84	120	60		5	3	2	5	4
2007–08	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		53	24	48	72	39		20	6	21	27	12
2008–09	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		77	33	70	103	76		24	15	16	31	14
NHL totals				290	132	265	397	285		49	24	39	63	30

Bolded numbers indicate league leader.

• 1999–2000 stats are from: "Age-old question: Cole Harbour hockey association bars peewee player from bantam tourney". The Halifax Daily News. 2000-04-05.

International statistics

Year	Team	Comp		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2003	Canada	JWC18		5	4	2	6	10
2004	Canada	WJC		6	2	3	5	4
2005	Canada	WJC		6	6	3	9	4
2006	Canada	WC		9	8	8	16	10
Junior int'l totals				17	12	8	20	18
Senior int'l totals				9	8	8	16	10

See also

• List of Pittsburgh Penguins players

External links

• Sidney Crosby player profile at NHL.com
• Sidney Crosby career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database