Sidney Crosby Picked #1 By Penguins

[EagerBeaver]

I see that Sidney Crosby was picked #1 by the Penguins, and he is being hailed as the next "great one" in the line of Gretzky and Lemieux. But will he be the next great one or the next great bust like Eric Lindros? I don't yet have a handle on how good this kid will be. Something tells me he will be disappointing, in terms of being a great one, but will be just a very good player like Pat LaFontaine.

Some exciting rules changes!!!!!! There will now be automatic shootouts, no more ties. Goalie's pads and equipment are now reduced by rule, and the goalie's movements are now also decreased outside the crease. They did not take the stick away from the goalies and expand the nets, as I had hoped. I also believe that the increased the line space so that there will be a lot more power play goals because teams will have more room to operate on the power play.

Goal scoring is going up!

 

[Gambling Fool]

Crosby

Hey EB,

I believe today was just the draft lottery to determine what the order will be for the official draft. Like you said ; Pittsburgh will pick number one. I have to believe they will pick Crosby. The official draft is july 30th.

I work in Montreal and today, everyone in the rest area was by the tv to see if by miracle Montreal would get the first pick. We get number 5. Still very good. We were the last of the "1 ball" teams to go. Good for Pittsburgh, they need someone like Crosby to make the team good again. I don't know if they had problems with attendance, I guess they won't have those now. I hope Lemieux will take him under his wing.

I also believe that Crosby will not be the superstar. At least not in the first few years. I think he will develop with time. But not be a flop like Daigle. And I also like the rule changes so far.

I think I heard that one of the US markets just cut the price for seats in half. I hope others will follow and bring back the fans. Although I don't believe teams in Canada will do this.

Gambling Fool

 

[Board Stiff]

Watching Crosby center Lemieux will be worth the one year hiatus from hockey....He is certainly the real deal, his on ice vision is the best since Gretzky.

 

[steak]

Crosby

I am pretty sure Crosby will be a star. And there is nothing wrong in being the next Pat LaFontaine as if it weren't from Gretzky and Lemieux, he would have won at least one scoring title. But I certainly think he'll be better than that: learning under Lemieux's wing. This guy is no Daigle or Lindros as he is grounded, focused, determined and most of all, he adores playing hockey. Crosby is simply too good to be true.

 

[steak]

I know

I'm sure he will be great , but let's not forget the kid is still a teenager . He will need at least 3 years in the league to be really good.

I tottally agree with that. Kovalchuk is not that much older and dominated games in his second season. A player reach his peak normally at 25-26-27. But like you said, after two or three years, we'll know wgat kind of player Crosby will be. But as of now, this guy is flawless mentally and has a mind-blowing talent.

 

[steak]

Rule changes

I don't care about the purists of hockey. Over-strategizing is throwing the sport down the toilet. It takes drastic measures to save it and I welcome these new rules with open arms. We have to remember that many changes has been made to the game over NHL's history. Now, the league is at a turning point for its future and it has to do everything it can to open the game. Even if there is no more goals, if rules are applied by referees, a fast 1-0 games would be spectacular.

 

[steak]

Everyone agrees on that. But to sell the products which declined in quality the past decade, they have to stop this wwe-like referee BS. And I am pretty sure they will. Jacques Lemaire, who was an offensive player and who mastered the trap, said too that the application of rules by the umpires is the ONLY way to open the game. And if this happens, I cannot wait to see Crosby playing alongside Lemieux, Morozov/Malkin/Recchi.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I feel as though Crosby will have the crap beaten out of him like LaFontaine did when he played for the Islanders. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to absorb the punishment or whether he will end up like LaFontaine.

I feel as though Pittsburgh is sitting on a potential dynasty as in the last 3 drafts they have selected 2 overall #1 picks (the goalie Fleury and Crosby) and an overall #2 (some Russian dude they picked last year who is very highly regarded). This could be a team like the Edmonton Oilers teams of the early and mid 1980s, in a few short years.

Pittsburgh is potentially a great hockey town, but they need a new arena and it is questionable whether Lemieux will get it. I have heard he has no money. Therefore, this talent may all end up matriculating in another city, the most likely candidates being Seattle or Milwaukee.

 

[The_Seeker]

relocation

if any of the weak US teams can't get their act together business wise then they will be relocated but not to any more US destinations .... there is a strong movement to reinvest in Canada where hockey is king among sports .... therefore the top two locations for relocation will be Winnipeg or Quebec City

Nashville, Columbus, Atlanta and Pittsburgh are at the top of the list for relocation ... though Crosby may add new life to Pittsburgh making them survive yet again

 

[Techman]

Crosby

The Penguins just need to get a player to protect him a bit. He'll learn a hell of a lot by playing with Mario. By the time he becomes a free agent and comes to Montreal he'll be well seasoned and just really coming into his own. I feel that removing the two line pass will eliminate a lot of the neutral zone holding and grabbing and the return of the tag-up ofside will also help. These are rules that the refs really have no say in, it's not like penalties as they have no discretion in the matter. One thing that I disagree with is limiting the goalies handling of the puck, they should be allowed to do what they want but they should be free game to get hit if they choose to leave the crease. I really haven't gone over all the changes yet so maybe my opinions will be refined once I do but so far things are looking good for an interesting season. One more thing...if they're going to use the shootout they should just remove the overtime completely as it will be a waste of time, teams will just play out the ot to get to the shootout.

 

[The_Seeker]

hockey will return to Winnipeg and Quebec City for the same reason that hockey has returned to Minnesota .... the demand is there and always has been there

that demand plus the new CBA plus the existing hockey areas aleardy there in those cities will bring hockey back to Winnipeg and Quebec City

after those two are done then Hamilton and St John's Newfoundand are next

 

[steak]

Quebec

hockey will return to Winnipeg and Quebec City for the same reason that hockey has returned to Minnesota .... the demand is there and always has been there

that demand plus the new CBA plus the existing hockey areas aleardy there in those cities will bring hockey back to Winnipeg and Quebec City

after those two are done then Hamilton and St John's Newfoundand are next

The demand is there in Quebec City but, much to my deception as a habs fan seeking a feud, there is no installations that can support a hockey team right now. Let's hope that there will be a solid engagement to get a new Colisee from the governments. (If there was money to do the "defusions", there should be enough to put Quebec City back on the map) Winnipeg is far ahead of Quebec right now.

 

[Doc Holliday]

hockey will return to Winnipeg and Quebec City for the same reason that hockey has returned to Minnesota .... the demand is there and always has been there

that demand plus the new CBA plus the existing hockey areas aleardy there in those cities will bring hockey back to Winnipeg and Quebec City

after those two are done then Hamilton and St John's Newfoundand are next

Even though i'd love to see hockey back in those cities, the money simply isn't there. My prediction for future NHL hockey cities: Seattle and Milwaukee....and maybe even Houston.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Through 7 games, Sidney Crosby has 2 goals, and 7 assists, for 9 points, which are very respectable rookie of the year type stats. This projects to over 100 points for the season. Problem is that the Penguins are winless in those 7 games.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Are you serious? A guy on a pace to score over 100 points is not "NHL-ready"? How many rookies in NHL history have scored 100 points in a season?

 

[spin]

femaleluver/EagerBeaver,

The other rookie femaleluver is refering to is Alexander Ovechkin who plays in Washington, I think what he meant by saying "more NHL ready" is that Ovechkin is older than Crosby as he would have been a rookie last year had there been a season (he currently has 8pts in 7 games 4G/4A).

I don't think Ovechkin will keep this pace up, Crosby is a much better player with more natural talent and incredible eyes for the game for someone so young (my opinion). Crosby is the real deal, he will be rookie of year and something special for years to come.

Spin.

 

[spin]

WOW How about the Kid this week, 2 game winners - last night in overtime (to go along with another goal & assist in regulation) and the beauty in the shootout against Montreal. Welcome to the Sidney Crosby show ladies and gentleman.

Now if the NHL's marketing dept (which is terrible) could convince ESPN to give the Kid and the leauge a little coverage we would be on to something. I won't turn this into an ESPN rant but THEY CREATE NEWS, if they would cover hockey with any degree of seriousness and stop making fun of it (directed toward ESPN.com's PAGE 2) maybe it would create a little buzz in the good old U.S. of A

Keep your head up and stick on the ice,
Spin

 

[StripperLover]

spin,

It's up to the league to create this kid into an attraction like as if he is or could be an All American product. Then after creating the demand, for his appearance on late night & daytime talk shows perhaps for next season they can promote the league along with him but it most likely won't happen this season.

 

[spin]

SL,

I agree completly. The NHL, in terms of management, marketing, etc... has done a terrible job - across the board. They need new leadership, Gretzky would have been (in my opinion) an ideal candidate, if he would have had half the success running the NHL as he did running Team Canada it would be 4X the success the current NHL leadership has had.

It is a shame that they are wasting this incredible opportunity.

 

[StripperLover]

spin,

It's the lack of pull and/or imagination in how to market an Alll American type white kid that the NHL has no idea how to do. The current leadership of the NHL hasn't up to now shown that they know how or who to hire to run the pr/marketing arm of the league.