Sid the Kid-The face of the NHL?

There have been mixed feelings about hockey, or so it seems, because it has not completely broken through in the United States as a dominant sport like football or baseball. It is safe to say, however, that hockey is catching on. One reason for this, I believe, is Sidney Crosby.

Crosby was drafted in the first round as the first overall pick in the National Hockey League’s draft in 2005 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, which started the spark of what was to come in his early career. With 120 points, in 79 games, at the young age of 19-years-old (and eight months to be exact), Crosby was recognized as the scoring champion and awarded the Art Ross Trophy. He became the only teenager and youngest to win this award, as well as being named the youngest scoring champion in all of professional sports. This is just some of the stats in biography (penguins.nhl.com). He is young, talented beyond his years and seemingly stays out of trouble, all traits that make him appealing to fans and easily marketable by the NHL.

Mike Chen, a blogger, who writes about the NHL and contributor to foxsports.com, the New York Times online and nhl.com, said Crosby had had an impact as the most marketable player to come to the league in a long time.

“Part of that is hype and the fact that Crosby actually lived up to it. Players like Vinnie Lecavalier and Jarome Iginla may rival Crosby in terms of talent at the peak of their careers but Crosby made an immediate impact, which is pretty special,” Chen said in an e-mail interview. “He's a good-looking kid with skills and competitiveness, and both Canada and America love that.”

Another Blogger Greg Ballentine, a fan of the game who has maintained a blog since the lockout in 2005 to talk and debate about hockey, said the NHL needed something after the lockout to boost the NHL, and Crosby was waiting in the wings.

“When the NHL came out of the lockout, they desperately needed somebody to market the game around. It had taken a huge blow from a year off. Sidney Crosby was a young star in the making. He was a good polite Canadian kid,” Balletine said in an e-mail interview from Germany. “The NHL put a lot of its marketing behind him (and Alexander Ovechkin - though Ovechkin being Russian made him the number two choice). They were fortunate that he turned out to be as good as advertised. Crosby is a face to put on the game. He has brought life back to Pittsburgh games (though if he didn't Evgeni Malkin would have).”

Both Chen and Balletine said Crosby’s young age, talent and looks help the marketing process.

“He's got the looks, he's got the skills, and he's got a competitive nature that we love to see in our pro athletes. He produces a lot of highlight reel plays and he thrives when he's in the spotlight (see: Winter Classic),” Chen said.
On the other hand, some think that Crosby is just another kid to hit the hockey rink and has little impact on the game.

“I don't think Sidney Crosby has had as much of an impact as the NHL would hope,” Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times sports columnist, who has covered the NHL for more than a decade and was awarded the Elmer Ferguson Award by the Hockey Hall of Fame for honoring journalism and hockey with her work, said in an e-mail interview.

Elliott said it hard for hockey players to reach the super stardom of other young athletes in different leagues. Also, the NHL doesn’t have a good deal to be on t.v. and is not on ESPN, and the league faces other challenges like geography and culture which prevents the building of new fan bases.

Looking at his career so far, it seems Crosby has already surpassed some of hockey’s great players, or is right behind them. According to the Penguins’ Web site, Crosby stands at second place in the title of youngest to win the Hart Trophy which is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, which puts him right behind Wayne Gretzky who was five months younger than Crosby when awarded for the 1979-1980 season. However, in regards to the Lester B. Pearson Award, Crosby is the youngest to have received the achievement of “most outstanding player,” topping Gretzky who was 21 when he won this award. Crosby became the first teenager since Gretzky to be the league’s leader in scoring on Dec. 13. How does Crosby really compare or is there even a comparison to the Great One?

Elliott says not yet.

“It's waaaaay too early to compare Crosby with Gretzky,” Elliott said. “Gretzky won four titles. Crosby hasn't won any. Plus, the eras are different. For most of Gretzky's career, the NHL was a high-scoring league. Coaches found ways to break down defenses and goalies got better and scoring is way down from where it used to be.”

Ballentine says Gretzky will always be the best.

“Wayne Gretzky was the best player in hockey,” Balletine said. “At this point, it looks unlikely that Crosby can match what Gretzky did in his career. In Gretzky's third NHL season, he scored a then record 212 points and won the MVP for the third year in a row. Gretzky scored 92 goals that season alone, which is likely greater than Crosby's point total in this season (his third). For full disclosure, Gretzky was about 7 months older than Crosby in his 3rd season and scoring was higher in Gretzky's time, but it doesn't close the gap.”

Balletine said Crosby will possibly be one of the best players in the league’s history, but only if he continues to grow and mature in the game; however, he doubts Crosby will be recognized like Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Gordy Howe and Mario Lemieux. Chen agreed.

“I'd say he comes close to Gretzky's passing vision, he's a better skater, and a more physical player. If we had a time machine, I'd love to stick Crosby on a line with Jari Kurri circa the mid 80's just to see what happens,” Chen said. “It's impossible to compare the two though, simply because of the eras they played in. While Crosby certainly has the tools to be a Top 5 All-Time player, he doesn't seem to quite match the ridiculous combination of talent and ingenuity that Gretzky had. I don't know if anyone ever will.

Time will tell for Crosby and his career. As an avid hockey fan, seeing young, players break through like Crosby is exciting for me. Maybe it is because I am young too, but I think it makes the game accessible and it is easy to root for someone like Crosby. He still has his whole career ahead of him, and it will be exciting to see what he does with it.