Sidney Crosby: A Biography of Sidney Crosby

Sidney Crosby was born on August 7, 1987 in Halifax, Nova Scotia to Troy and Trina Crosby. He got a knack for hockey at a very early age, shooting pucks in the basement when he was just two years old and putting numerous dents in the family dryer. His father was a goalie, having played major junior hockey with the Verdun Juniors and was a 12th round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 1984. Though he never played professional hockey, he did put his son on the right path. A year later when Sidney Crosby was just over three, he had donned his first pair of skates and taken to the ice. It wasn't long before he started playing organized hockey and was immediately recognized for the exceptional skill he exhibited playing the game.

Early Years

By age seven he was already known to the local sports press for his hockey prowess. In 1997 he scored 159 goals in 55 games playing hockey in "Atom" and finished the season in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia with a whopping 280 points. During the 2001 hockey season he played in both a Tier II junior league and AAA midget hockey in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Though Sidney was only fourteen years old, he excelled against players up to three years his senior. After scoring 193 points in 74 games, it was clear that he was unlikely to return to the Nova Scotia AAA league.

Sidney and his family wanted him to play major juinor hockey in his hometown of Halifax as an underage player, just as Jason Spezza had in Brampton. After he wasn't allowed to play for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), he chose to play hockey at a high school in the United States. As if on queue. Sidney Crosby put up very impressive numbers with Shattuck-St. Mary's prep school in Minnesota. He created a new scoring records by notching 72 goals and 110 assists for a total of 162 points in just 57 games. He also led his high school to the national title.

Junior Hockey Career

Sidney was drafted first overall in the midget draft by the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL. He was very impressive as a QMJHL rookie during the 2003-2004 season. Crosby played a total of 59 games, scoring 54 goals along with 84 assists for 135 points. He was also invitied to play for the Canadian Junior Hockey Team; the only player under eighteen to suit up for Canada in that tournament and he became the youngest player to ever score a goal in the World Junior Championships. By the time Sidney Crosby returned to Rimouski for the 2004-05 season, he was considered the best hockey prospect in the world and was sure to have a tough season, with the whole league gunning for him.

That was a challenge he certainly rose to, scoring 66 goals and 102 assists for 168 points in just 62 games during the 2004-05 regular season. He also returned for a second stint with the Canadian Junior Hockey team and won a gold medal in North Dakota. Back after his orld Juinors victory, Crosby and the Oceanic tore up with Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The team had a sensational season and made it to the Memorial Cup tournament that was held in London, Ontario. Though the Oceanic lost to the London Knights in the Memorial Cup finals, Sidney Crosby scored 11 points that the 5 tournament games and solidifed his position as the best hockey prospect for the 2005 National Hockey League (NHL) amateur entry draft.

Crosby's journey to the NHL

With the NHL and its players union pitted against each other in a nasty labour dispute, rumours about where Sidney would play began to surface soon after the Memorial Cup was over. He wasn't returning to the QMJHL and the World Hockey Association (WHA) along with a European team were supposedly in the mix. But Sidney made it clear that his dream was to play in the National Hockey League. While the NHL was negotiating its collective bargaining agreement, Sidney signed on to become a spokesperson for Reebok's line of hockey products.

The NHL and NHLPA agreed on a new CBA on July 13th, 2005 and a special lottery draft was held on July 22nd to figure out who would get the first overall pick in the entry draft. Quickly dubbed the "Sidney Crosby sweepstakes", teams were assigned a weighted probability depending on their previous seasons' records. The Pittsburgh Penguins won the lottery and drafted Sidney Crosby as their first overall pick on July 30th, 2005. Crosby entered the NHL as an eighteen year old and was put under the tutelage of the great Mario Lemieux. Even though Mario had to retire a few months into the season due to some health concerns, Crosby clearly took over the team as their best player on the ice. He finished his rookie season with 39 goals and 63 assits for 102 points and second in the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) voting to Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. With the arrival of Russian prospect Evgeni Malkin to Pittsburgh and the continuing development of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, the Pens looked to have a strong team with a bright future. Sid continued to solidify his place in the NHL with a banner sophmore year, where his 120 points were plenty to land him the coveted Art Ross Trophy along with the Hart and Lester B. Pearson awards. The 2007-08 regular season saw Sidney Crosby miss 29 games due to injuries, but he came back strong in the playoffs to lead the Penguins to the Stanley Cup finals; where they lost to the Red Wings.

Source: www.sidneycrosbyfans.info/biography/