Hot on the heels of six and four point game performances, Sidney Crosby and his rollicking hockey clinic roadshow rolls into Montreal, home of Sidney's boyhood hockey dreams.
Crosby is having quite a week, to put it mildly, and the timing couldn't be better for a nationaly televised contest against the Habs. The Penguins #87 has torn apart the competition in recent games, and has ridden a seven game goal scoring streak launching him to the top of the NHL scoring race for the first time in his young career.
Sid the Kid likely won't come down from the lofty perch of league leading scorer anytime soon.
After anihilating the Flyers Wednesday with a 6 point offensive output, he helped pick apart a sound Islanders squad with a 4 point effort on Friday. He has now given himself a seven point cushion over Jaromir Jagr.
Crosby's breakout week has many asking if he is now the games best player. That is kind of like asking whether Jessica Alba is hot.
One thing is for sure, he shows no sign of relenting.
The Cole Harbour N.S. native has literally grown up with comparisons to the games greatest players. Hockey fans can stop calling Sidney "The Next One", after the week he has had, he is more "The Now One". Fans ought to be thankful to be watching and witnessing history in it's course.
I vividly recall a 19 year old, wiskerless boy wonder blazing a trail through hockey history, some 25 years ago in Edmonton in 1981. For myself, the comparisons end there, as each individual player is his own entity. Similarities will drop and fall on any given night. Enjoy without jealousy, envy and scorn, as Crosby defines the player he is becoming. Consider yourself lucky to be a spectator.
For many who focus on Crosby's exploits, they see numbers first, dazzling passes, dangling puck mysteries, and amazing goals second.
When I see Crosby, I see unbridled passion and desire unleashed. I see a player who will never become satisfied until he hoists the Stanley Cup. I see a relentless need to prove and improve. I see a mature team player who will take any means to win. I see a young man, unsure himself, of how good he will become. I see a consummate, unselfish team player, who will go to any lengths to make every player around him better. I see teenager, older than his age, ready and able to lead.
One must wonder where on Earth he could have learned all of this in 19 short years?
When considering the phenomenon of Crosby, many onlookers simply see a whining, spoiled child/man, used to having his all. Most miss the fact the Crosby has achieved all he has with relentless work - a dedication most of us will never know or apply to anything with such a degree in our lifetimes. He has earned all he has gotten single handedly with nothing given to him. He has earned whatever praise he gets.
Some fans of the game, I don't consider them true hockey fans, get turned off by the constant hype. A point in fact - it is becoming relenless, and you should expect more - the hype is not Sidney created, it is merely generated by the simple fact that he delivers.
As Muhammad Ali once boasted, "It ain't braggin' if you can back it up!"
As for the Montreal Canadiens, dealing with Crosby may be a focus they'd rather not have at this point.
No comments:
Post a Comment