NHL calls upon the young one After loosing the 2004-05 season to a lockout and alienating what fans it did have, the NHL is about to kick off a new season with a bright young star poised to provide a fresh new the face to the league: 18-year old Sidney Crosby. Writers and players alike are already touting Crosby, only 17 when he was taken with the first overall draft pick this year by the Pittsburgh Penguins, as hockey’s next “Great One.” Wayne Gretzky, the original “Great One,” said that if anyone were to break his scoring records it would be Crosby. He said that more than a year before the young phenom was even drafted into the league. Crosby, a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, will be handed the unfortunate task of spearheading the NHL’s attempt to regain its position as one of the four major sports in the United States. Hockey had been steadily declining in viewer ratings over the last five years or so, and last year’s lockout may have pushed the NHL permanently behind NASCAR in popularity. Placing such hefty expectations on someone so young may seem like a formula for disappointment and failure, but one only need to look to the NBA two years ago for an example of young shoulders carrying the hopes of an entire league. Lebron James was the first pick in the 2003 NBA draft, and like Crosby, was just a teenager. Expectations for James were equally high as he entered his rookie campaign with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and not only did he meet those expectations, he exceeded them. James has become one of the best players in the league and certainly one of the most marketable. After Kobe Bryant’s legal woes and the failure of Michael Jordan to make a successful comeback, the NBA was in dire need of an heir to serve as the face of the league. James jumped into that role and flourished on and off the court. He succeeded Jordan as Nike’s new poster child and landed the lucrative Sprite endorsement once held by Bryant. The NHL will be perfectly content should Crosby help popularize their sport half as much as James has for the NBA. But for that to happen, Crosby will first have to prove himself on the ice just as James did on the court. Though Crosby and James play two very different sports, they play very similar roles for their respective teams. Crosby will play center for the Penguins, the hockey equivalent to the point-guard position in basketball that James plays. Both positions demand an extraordinary amount of vision, decision-making ability, and highly developed leadership qualities out of the players. Like James, Crosby is a dual threat in terms of his offensive abilities. He can score and pass equally well. While playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for two years prior to joining the NHL, Crosby scored 54 goals in 59 games in the 2003-04 season and racked up 66 goals in only 62 games in 2004-05. Not bad when 50 goals in an 82-game NHL season is usually considered remarkable. Crosby also accounted for 183 assists during those two years, proving that he is not merely a one-dimensional player. He will have the luxury of playing alongside veteran Mario Lemieux, hockey’s previous golden boy, this year in Pittsburgh. Having a mentor that went through similar pressures in the 1980’s should help Crosby quickly mature into the player the NHL needs him to be. As a result of the lockout, and perfect for the offensive-minded Crosby, many rule changes will be in place this year in hopes of elevating scoring, the most exciting of which will be the shootouts. No longer will a hockey game end drearily in a tie, but instead will go to a penalty shot shootout to determine a winner. Crosby will begin his career Wednesday, Oct. 5 on the road against the New Jersey Devils.
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