This is Sidney Crosby

Posted on June 22, 2011 by kennynorton 2 Comments

Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins may be the most consistent performer that the NHL has ever seen (since of course the Great One, Wayne Gretzky). At the age of 23 he had won an NHL MVP, Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe and also, let’s not forget a Gold Medal at last year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Although he may have out performed pretty much any other NHL player the league has ever seen, this still comes with legions of haters. I’m not one of those people, and have the most respect for him. In part because he’s from Nova Scotia (where I was born and raised), and that he represents Cole Harbour to the fullest, and I respect that.

Of course, we haven’t seen much of Sid since February as he got laid out by two big hits to the head and was diagnosed with a serious concussion, which kept him off the ice for the rest of the entire season, including the playoffs. But he has been cleared for on ice activity, and I believe next season, especially with rumors that Jagr could make a return to the Pens, they could be more lethal than ever.

Another thing, if you’re a hockey fan, Sid is not one to be controversial or to call others out, or really cause much of a stir in any form or fashion. A PR rep’s dream. Even his marketing is incredibly straight laced, where his often compared nemesis – Alexander Ovechkin is doing wild and crazy ads with talking heads in lockers. Or the exaggerated “Ovech-trick” ad where they hint at Ovechkin scoring 8 goals in a game, Sid’s ads are typically pretty straight forward, and don’t rock the ship.

The NHL did do the show with HBO – NHL 24/7 leading up to the Winter Classic, which really was quite phenomenal, but still a lot of the focus was on other players of both teams, and not much in to who Sidney Crosby is.

I came across this ad from late 2009 and I think it humanizes him more than ever. Where he takes you to his home in Nova Scotia, shows you his parents, and Sid and co-stanley cup hero Max Talbot take turns shooting at Sid’s infamous dryer. It’s actually quite funny, I remember seeing this ad back then, but only a couple of times. And I think it’s a good look in to the NHL’s biggest (yet somehow unknown) star.

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  • http://twitter.com/guentherishere matt guenther

    I never saw that video before. It definitely shows a lighter side to Sid. As far as his personality w. the media he seems very similar to Johnathan Toews of the Blackhawks. A serious face with straight forward answers. Ovy on the other hand…. Have you seen his documentary? Alex Ovechkin: The Gr8? I would recommend it. It’s a fun mini-doc.

    • Anonymous

      Thanks for the comment Matt!
      I definitely think there is a strong similarity between Toews and Crosby. Both miled-mannered but excellent leaders and to the point.
      I haven’t actually seen the Sid documentary? I’d like to, what did you think of the Sid documentary?