The next Great One
LONDON, Ontario – You could say he’s the LeBron James of hockey. He did his first newspaper interview at the age of 7. At 14, he was profiled on national television across Canada.
Today, as a 17-year-old who recently signed a $2.5 million endorsement deal with Reebok, he awaits selection as the shoo-in top pick in the National Hockey League entry draft — whenever that may be.
His name is Sidney Crosby. If you believe the hype (Wayne Gretzky has said if anyone ever breaks his records, it will be Crosby), the native of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, may single-handedly raise the NHL from the dead once the league’s lockout finally ends.
This week, Crosbymania is at a fever pitch in Canada as the hockey-mad country focuses unprecedented attention on the Memorial Cup, the annual four-team tournament to determine supremacy in junior hockey (players 20 years old or younger).
Without the NHL, and with the most compelling story lines in the Cup’s history, a perfect hockey storm has descended upon this southern Ontario city. More than 350 accredited news media representatives are in town for the nine-day event that ends Sunday, compared with the previous high of 150 last year.
Many feel Crosby is destined to be one of the game’s all-time greats.
About two years ago, Gretzky said Crosby was the best player he had seen since Mario Lemieux.
Meanwhile, the Hockey News, the sport’s pre-eminent publication, called Crosby “The Next One,” placing the baby-faced talent on par with “The Great One” himself.
Crosby often is asked about that comparison. His answer never wavers. He will acknowledge the compliment but makes it very clear “there will never be another Gretzky.”
That may be true, but Crosby is still the undisputed star of the Memorial Cup show.
Thanks to Crosby’s dominant play, primarily against competitors two and three years older, the Rimouski Oceanic are champions of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Rimouski compiled a 28-game undefeated streak to end the season and had a 12-1 playoff record.
As the Rimouski players took to the ice for an unscheduled noon practice this past Monday, it was typical Crosby chaos. A crowd of some 200 fans crammed into a viewing area, hoping to catch a glimpse of the 5-11, 193-pound boy wonder. In practice, his rare package of skills is on full display: Gretzky-like vision and anticipation, a deft passing touch, a hard and accurate shot, and the leg strength and speed of today’s prototypical NHL power forward.
Danny Fritsche, one of the top guns for the Ontario Hockey League champion and host London Knights, says Crosby deserves all the accolades.
“He controls the game when he’s out there,” Fritsche said.
“He’s a total threat. You have to be aware of him at all times. If you’re not, he’ll make you pay. Even though we beat him, I think he has proved to everyone what a great player he is.”
Crosby is a marketer’s dream.
He is articulate and comfortable with the news media. Fans appreciate not only his game but also his accommodating and easygoing personality.
At a media scrum in London after practice, he talked matter-of-factly about being at the center of fan frenzy here.
“Any time I’ve been around the rink, people have been asking for autographs and pictures and things like that,” Crosby said. “I have no problem with that. I take care of it.
“But I am here to play hockey, and that’s my focus. And I make sure that when I’m away from the rink that I relax and hang out at the hotel with the team.”
Crosby is truly a national phenomenon, an English-speaking Canadian who decided to learn French over the past two years while living with a family in Rimouski, a town of 31,000 about 200 miles northeast of Quebec City. Even though he has yet to play a single professional game, his endorsement contract is the most lucrative equipment deal ever signed by a hockey player.
On the ice, he has posted some Gretzky-like numbers. As a 16-year-old rookie, he won the league scoring title. This season, he was tops again with 66 goals and 102 assists in 62 games. He also was MVP of the league playoffs after finishing with 31 points in 13 games.
Because the NHL lockout could continue into next season, speculation about Crosby’s future is running rampant. His options include playing in Europe, joining the Canadian Olympic team or playing in the American Hockey League.
Crosby said next year “has not crossed my mind one bit.”
“This (Memorial Cup) is too big of an opportunity to be thinking about that stuff. We’ll have lots of time in the summer to worry about what’s going to happen.”
What is certain is that he’s ready to move beyond the junior game. Whatever NHL jersey he dons, the league will need all of his star power when it ends its labor impasse. A lasting comeback may depend on whether Crosby’s jersey number 87 is as universally recognized as Gretzky’s 99. That is a lot of pressure to place on a 17-year-old’s shoulders.
Yannick Dumais, Rimouski’s director of media relations and a close confidant of Crosby, says if anyone can handle it, Crosby can.
“A lot of people know he is a phenom on the ice, but he’s a phenom off the ice, too, because he manages everything around him so very well,” Dumais said.
“It’s not fair to say he will save the NHL, but when Gretzky says Sidney can beat his records, that has already put a lot of pressure on him.
“And it hasn’t bothered him at all.”