Sidney Crosby’s journey to hockey greatness started at an early age. At the age of six years, the Nova Scotia native would make plays and passes kids three years older than him couldn’t.
By the time he was a teenager, Crosby was a local celebrity in his hometown of Cole Harbour. At 18, he was in the NHL. He became a hockey great decorated with two Olympic Gold medals and three NHL Championships.
As a result, Crosby has been a standout player in every NHL video game edition since 2008. With an average rating of 93, Crosby is a fan-favorite in the eSports community.
Continue reading to learn more about the life of Sidney “the Kid” Crosby. For more information about eSports, and the best eSports betting sites, check out bestbettingsites.com.
Early Life
Crosby was born on August 7, 1987, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Cole Harbour, a small suburb of 25,000 residents in the Halifax municipality. His father, Troy Crosby, was a professional hockey player who goal-tended for the Verdun Junior Canadiens.
Born into a family of hockey-loving Canadians, Crosby was introduced to the game at two years. He would shoot pucks into a neck inside their family’s home. Because this net was located next to his family’s dryer, it led to the widespread myth that Crosby began playing hockey by practicing with the family dryer.
Minor Ice Hockey
Sidney Crosby has been an outstanding player since he first got into hockey. At age seven, the Canadian native gave newspaper interviews about his performance.
At 10 years, Crosby was the best-performing player in the Peewee category (Under 13). Many of his teammates were two to four years older than him. Yet, he had the vision and skills only a few generational players have.
In light of this information, Crosby earned the nickname—The Next One—from his coaches. Everyone saw something special in him, from his teammates to his family and friends.
Because of his excellent skills, Crosby was used to playing at higher levels than kids his age. For example, he got into the Under 18’s (formerly midgets) while 14 years old. At the time, only kids between 15 and 17 years could play at that level.
Crosby led his Under 18’s team to a second position after scoring 217 points. Unsurprisingly, he was voted the MVP and earned the top scorer award the same year. Additionally, he was invited to play two games for a junior A hockey team.
Junior Career at Rimouski Oceanic
After an impressive minor career, Crosby was the number one draft at the 2003 Midget Draft. He was drafted by the Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
Crosby had a legendary career during his two-year stint in Quebec. In his first exhibition game, the hockey legend scored eight points, earning him the nickname: Darryl. This was an homage to Darryl Sittler, who scored 10 points in a similar exhibition game in 1976.
While playing for the Oceanic, Crosby regularly won player of the week and player of the month awards. At the end of his first season with the Oceanic, Crosby won the Jean Beliveau Trophy for leading in points: He scored 54 goals and 81 points.
The Cole Harbour native won rookie of the year and the Most Valued Player (MVP) to add the cherry on top. He has also been voted the best offensive player and made it to the all-star team.
At the end of his junior career in Quebec, Crosby had garnered a hall-of-fame-worthy record. To honor his achievements, the Oceanic retired Crosby’s jersey number 87 in 2019. The QMJHL did something similar, retiring the jersey number for all teams.
Professional Career
Crosby has always been a star throughout his minor and junior hockey career. And after setting records in the QMJHL, international scouting services projected Crosby to be the number one draft in 2005.
The Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Crosby first overall in July of the same year. He played his first NHL team in October and produced an assist in a 5-1 loss against the New Jersey Devils.
Crosby continued to perform exceptionally for his teams in the next few weeks. This was even though Pittsburgh was struggling to win throughout the season.
Although the Penguins had a terrible year, Crosby lived up to the hype. He set new records for a rookie's highest number of assists (63). He also became the first rookie to contribute over 100 points a season.
Stanley Cup Success
After two seasons with the Penguins, Crosby’s rookie contract was about to expire. Determined not to lose his to a rival team, Pittsburgh extended the player’s contract to run through the 2012/13 season.
It proved to be a success. Not only did he break records and win personal accords, but he also led his team to success. Notably, he was the youngest Arts Ross Trophy in the 2006-07 season: Awarded to the highest points scorer. Crosby scored 120 points. Additionally, he became the second youngest player since Wayne Gretzky to win the Hart Player: MVP.
During the 2007-08 season, the Canadian international led Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup Champions game. However, they lost to the Detroit Red Wings.
Crosby scored 103 points in the following season to spearhead Pittsburgh to a second Stanley Cup finals appearance. This time, the Penguins won in a seven-game championship.
In 2011, Crosby had an injury scare that almost cost him his NHL career. But after missing out on the 2010-11 season, he returned to hockey in November 2011. He played for two weeks before being sidelined until March of the following year.
After a couple of seasons in which he had little hockey action due to injuries, Crosby got back to his best level in the 2013-14 season. He scored 104 points to capture the Art Ross Trophy a second time. Sidney also won the Hart Trophy for his accomplishments that season: Awarded to the Most Valued Player.
The 2014-15 season was disappointing for the Penguins. However, they regained their form in the 2015-16 season. He scored 85 points in the regular season and added 24 more points postseason. To add icing to the cake, Crosby led his team to another Stanley Cup Victory—the second of his career and the team’s fourth championship.
The Penguins won the Stanley Cup again in the 2016-17 season thanks to a dominant performance against the Nashville Predators. For his performance, Crosby won his second Playoffs MVP trophy—better known as the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Since 2017, Crosby has been an outstanding player for the Penguins. A case in point: He scored 100 points in the 2018-19 season. By February 2022, Crosby had scored 500 career goals, becoming the second Penguins player to achieve this record.
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