Here we are, sports fans. Numero Uno. The Big Kahuna. The Bee's Knees. Cat's Pajamas. Whatever you want to call it, we've reached the top spot on out Top 25 Athletes Under the Age of 25 list. At #1 we have the young Canadian sensation, Sidney Crosby.
Crosby is our 2nd hockey player on the list and is as much a household name as the NHL has to offer these days. It wasn't easy for me to put a hockey guy at number one, but looking at his career accomplishments at such a young age combined with the way he has dominated every level he has played at it was pretty clear that this guy was deserving of being number one. As I mentioned in the Stamkos post, I am not by any stretch of the imagination a hockey aficionado. However, I don't live under a rock and I am, just like every other sports fan, at least aware of who this kid is and what he has to offer.
What he offers is pure brilliance on skates. Nicknamed, The Next One - in reference to Wayne Gretzky as The Great One - Crosby was considered one of the most sought after draft picks in hockey history. After dominating the QMJHL, also known as the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (yea I had to wiki that one), Crosby was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2005. For hockey fans, and particularly Canadian hockey fans, this was not the first they had heard of Sidney Crosby.
After learning to skate at the tender age of 3, Crosby picked up the game of hockey at a rapid rate. By age 13 he was trying to play against 17 year olds, but ultimately lost a lawsuit challenging his right to play with the older kids. Whereas most super-talented youth are heralded and praised and generally get all they want out of life (see Lebron James) Crosby was the subject of much jealousy and hatred from opponents and league parents. Jealous of his superior talent many kids would try to injure Crosby and parents would often taunt him from the stands. As a result, Crosby attended a prep school in Minnesota. In 2002-03 his prep school won the U.S. National Championship, starting a lengthy string of championships for Crosby.
From there he was the 1st overall selection in the midget draft - surprisingly not a draft of little people - in the QMJHL. He dominated the league in his first year as the Player of the Year and also the Top Scorer. His amateur years caught the eye of Wayne Gretzky who said that Crosby was the best player he'd seen since Mario Lemieux, and that he thought Crosby could break his records some day.
Interestingly enough, like Lemieux Crosby was selected first overall by the Penguins in 2005. In his rookie season Crosby was able to play alongside Super Mario before he was forced to retire due to health. As a rookie in the NHL Crosby was everything that was expected and then some. He set franchise records for assists and points by a rookie - both Lemieux records. He was the youngest player in league history to tally 100 points in a season and the 7th rookie to do so. He finished 6th in scoring and 7th in assists, but lost out to Alexander Ovechkin for rookie of the year.
In his sophomore year, things got even better for Sid the Kid, as he became the first teenager since Gretzky to lead the league in scoring. He was the youngest ever winner of the Art Ross Trophy (scoring leader) and the youngest scoring champ of any North American sport.
By 2008-09 season Crosby was one of the biggest names in hockey, if not the biggest. He had established himself as one of the game's greats, albeit with a bit of a reputation as a whiner and a cry-baby. Mirroring his rise to stardom was the Penguins rise as one of the better teams in the league. In 2009 they won the Stanley Cup, led by Crosby their young Captain. He finished the season with 103 points, good for 3rd in the league, despite some minor injuries.
Hoisting the Cup cemented Crosby's status as the biggest name in hockey, and gave him a leg-up on the individual on-going battle with Ovechkin, who is perhaps more flashy but not quite the winner Crosby has proven to be. It also helped cement Crosby's spot on this list.
What truly puts Crosby apart from others on this list is the fact that he has dominated at every level. In the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Crosby broke the hearts of American hockey fans when he put home a rebound for the game-winning goal in overtime of the Gold Medal game against the upstart USA team. The win avenged an early loss to the American's in the preliminary round and basically avoided disaster for Canada who surely could not have suffered a Gold Medal loss to their big brother from the south.
This season, Crosby has been limited due to concussion suffered from multiple hits to the head in back to back games. He hasn't played since January 5th and it is questionable whether he will return at all this season. Despite playing about 30 less games than the points leaders Crosby still sits at #11 in points with 66. In fact, Stamkos the leader in goals has only managed 11 more than Crosby despite 28 more games played.
Although he is not the flashy highlight machine that Ovechkin is, Crosby is more substance. Think Derrick Rose compared to Rajon Rondo. He is a dominant force on the ice whether he is playing for Canada or the Penguins. And at just 23 years old the flapjack eaters in Canada and the Penguins fans in Pittsburgh alike are looking forward to many more seasons of brilliance and most importantly, winning. Duh!
Here is 2009's Top 25 Under 25 list. We did not do one in 2010.
1. Lebron James
2. Alexander Ovechkin
3. Sidney Crosby
4. Adrian Peterson
5. Evgeni Malkin
6. Chris Paul
7. Dwight Howard
8. Evan Longoria
9. Matt Ryan
10. Felix Hernandez
11. Mario Williams
12. Calvin Johnson
13. Rajon Rondo
14. Derrick Rose
15. BJ Upton
16. Deron Williams
17. Patrick Willis
18. Kevin Durant
19. Matt Cain
20. Justin Upton
21. Adam Jones
22. David Price
23. Josh Smith
24. Reggie Bush
25. Al Jefferson
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