Sidney Crosby

91
Sidney Crosby bigraphy, stories - Canadian ice hockey centre

Sidney Crosby : biography

August 7, 1987 –

Sidney Patrick Crosby, ONS (born August 7, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Crosby was drafted first overall by the Penguins out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). During his two-year major junior career with the Rimouski Océanic, he earned back-to-back CHL Player of the Year awards and led his club to the 2005 Memorial Cup final. 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 NHL season, Crosby finished sixth in league scoring with 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists) and was a runner-up for the Calder Memorial Trophy (won by Alexander Ovechkin). 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 also won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the Professional Hockey Writers Association’s choice for most valuable player and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the NHL Players Association’s choice for most outstanding player, becoming the seventh player in NHL history to earn all three awards in one year.

Crosby started the 2007–08 season with the team’s captaincy and subsequently led them to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, where they were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings in six games. The Penguins returned to the Finals against Detroit the following year and won in seven games; Crosby became the youngest captain in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup. In the 2009–10 season, Crosby scored a career-high 51 goals, tying him with Steven Stamkos for the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league-leader; with 58 assists, he totaled 109 points, second in the NHL. During the off-season, Crosby received the Mark Messier Leadership Award. In 2010–11, Crosby sustained a concussion as a result of hits to the head in back-to-back games. The injury left him sidelined for ten and a half months. However, after playing eight games in the 2011–12 season, Crosby’s concussion-like symptoms returned in December 2011, and he did not return until mid-March 2012.

Internationally, Crosby has represented Canada in numerous tournaments for the country’s junior and men’s teams. After competing in the 2003 U-18 Junior World Cup, he represented Canada in back-to-back IIHF World U20 Championships, winning silver in 2004 and gold in 2005. At the 2006 IIHF World Championship, he led the tournament in scoring, while also earning Top Forward and All-Star Team honours. Four years later, Crosby was named to Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Playing the United States in the gold medal game, he scored the game-winning goal in overtime.

Career statistics

Bolded numbers indicate season/ playoff leader. *Denotes Tie.

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 Midget AAA 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
2009–10 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 81 51* 58 109 69 13 6 13 19 6
2010–11 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 41 32 34 66 31
2011–12 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 22 8 29 37 14 6 3 5 8 9
2012-13 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 36 15 41 56 16 14 7 8 15 8
NHL totals 470 238 427 665 417 82 40 65 105 53