Sydney Crosby from Canada is competing in the Winter Olympics 2010 in Vancouver in hockey.
Hockey superstar Sidney Crosby will be the face of the Olympics for the home country. Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, has the hopes of his entire nation riding on him in the quest for gold. The Canadian men's team last won gold in Salt Lake City, defeating the U.S. in the final. After a disappointing seventh-place finish in Torino, all of Canada is expecting better, and won't settle for anything but gold on home ice. At just 22, Crosby has proven he can carry that weight, most recently when he led the Penguins to win the 2009 Stanley Cup.
Since being drafted by the Penguins with the first overall pick in 2005, Crosby has turned a struggling team into the Stanley Cup champions. In his rookie season, when the team did not make the playoffs, but Crosby scored 102 points, setting the franchise record for points in a season by a rookie. In 2006-07, Crosby scored 120 points, becoming the youngest player ever to win the league scoring title - and leading the Penguins to the playoffs for the first time since 2001. He was also named league MVP. Crosby was then named captain for the 2007-08 season, becoming the youngest NHL captain in history at age 20. One season later, the Penguins were hoisting the Stanley Cup, after defeating the reigning Cup champion Detroit Red Wings - their second-consecutive appearance in the finals. With the 2009 Cup win, Crosby became the youngest captain in NHL history to win the title. Among other firsts, Crosby is the youngest player to: record 100 points in a season; record 200 career points (beating Wayne Gretzky to that milestone by 147 days); record two consecutive 100-point seasons; be voted to the All-Star Game; and win the Lester B. Pearson Award as the players' choice for the most outstanding player. Crosby lost out on the Rookie of the Year award - virtually the only award he has not won - to Washington Capitals' phenom Alexander Ovechkin. Though Ovechkin was drafted in 2004, the NHL lockout postponed his debut, and the two have been compared ever since.
Legendary NHL star Mario Lemieux has played a prominent role in Crosby's life since the draft. Lemieux, a former Penguin and now part-owner of the team, played alongside Crosby in 26 games before retiring midseason because of an irregular heartbeat. He is still active in Pittsburgh's dealings, but more importantly, invited Crosby to live with him and his family - his wife, Nathalie, and their four children - during his first year. Crosby still lives with the Lemieuxs during the season, an unconventional living situation for a superstar athlete, though he has plenty of his own space in the expansive home.
As most kids in Canada do, Crosby grew up playing hockey, first putting on skates at age 3. His talent was apparent early on, even at 5 years old, when some coaches questioned whether he was really that young. Crosby practiced in the family's basement, shooting pucks at the dryer. By age 7, Crosby was attracting the attention of local press and gave his first newspaper interview. At age 14, playing in the Nova Scotia AAA league with 17-year-olds, Crosby scored 193 points in 74 games.
Crosby was controversially left off the 2006 Canadian Olympic team, though he has said he did not expect to make the team. In the wake of Canada's quarterfinal loss to Russia, Hockey Canada director Wayne Gretzky was widely criticized for the decision to leave Crosby - who was still in his rookie season - at home. He later represented Team Canada at the 2006 World Championships, scoring eight goals and 16 points in nine games, though Canada fell to Finland in the bronze-medal game.
Hockey superstar Sidney Crosby will be the face of the Olympics for the home country. Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, has the hopes of his entire nation riding on him in the quest for gold. The Canadian men's team last won gold in Salt Lake City, defeating the U.S. in the final. After a disappointing seventh-place finish in Torino, all of Canada is expecting better, and won't settle for anything but gold on home ice. At just 22, Crosby has proven he can carry that weight, most recently when he led the Penguins to win the 2009 Stanley Cup.
Since being drafted by the Penguins with the first overall pick in 2005, Crosby has turned a struggling team into the Stanley Cup champions. In his rookie season, when the team did not make the playoffs, but Crosby scored 102 points, setting the franchise record for points in a season by a rookie. In 2006-07, Crosby scored 120 points, becoming the youngest player ever to win the league scoring title - and leading the Penguins to the playoffs for the first time since 2001. He was also named league MVP. Crosby was then named captain for the 2007-08 season, becoming the youngest NHL captain in history at age 20. One season later, the Penguins were hoisting the Stanley Cup, after defeating the reigning Cup champion Detroit Red Wings - their second-consecutive appearance in the finals. With the 2009 Cup win, Crosby became the youngest captain in NHL history to win the title. Among other firsts, Crosby is the youngest player to: record 100 points in a season; record 200 career points (beating Wayne Gretzky to that milestone by 147 days); record two consecutive 100-point seasons; be voted to the All-Star Game; and win the Lester B. Pearson Award as the players' choice for the most outstanding player. Crosby lost out on the Rookie of the Year award - virtually the only award he has not won - to Washington Capitals' phenom Alexander Ovechkin. Though Ovechkin was drafted in 2004, the NHL lockout postponed his debut, and the two have been compared ever since.
Legendary NHL star Mario Lemieux has played a prominent role in Crosby's life since the draft. Lemieux, a former Penguin and now part-owner of the team, played alongside Crosby in 26 games before retiring midseason because of an irregular heartbeat. He is still active in Pittsburgh's dealings, but more importantly, invited Crosby to live with him and his family - his wife, Nathalie, and their four children - during his first year. Crosby still lives with the Lemieuxs during the season, an unconventional living situation for a superstar athlete, though he has plenty of his own space in the expansive home.
As most kids in Canada do, Crosby grew up playing hockey, first putting on skates at age 3. His talent was apparent early on, even at 5 years old, when some coaches questioned whether he was really that young. Crosby practiced in the family's basement, shooting pucks at the dryer. By age 7, Crosby was attracting the attention of local press and gave his first newspaper interview. At age 14, playing in the Nova Scotia AAA league with 17-year-olds, Crosby scored 193 points in 74 games.
Crosby was controversially left off the 2006 Canadian Olympic team, though he has said he did not expect to make the team. In the wake of Canada's quarterfinal loss to Russia, Hockey Canada director Wayne Gretzky was widely criticized for the decision to leave Crosby - who was still in his rookie season - at home. He later represented Team Canada at the 2006 World Championships, scoring eight goals and 16 points in nine games, though Canada fell to Finland in the bronze-medal game.
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