(1987-)

Synopsis

Professional ice hockey player Sidney Crosby was born on August 7, 1987, in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada. After his success throughout high school and a strong junior career, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Crosby first overall in the 2005 NHL draft. Two years later, the club made him the youngest team captain in NHL history. In 2009, he led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup title.

Early Years

Sidney Crosby was born August 7, 1987, in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada. The son of a hockey player—his father, Troy, a goaltender, was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 1984—young Crosby first learned to skate when he was just 3 years old.

By the age of 7 he’d significantly distanced himself talent-wise from other kids his age. The gap only widened with each year. In 1997, at the age of 10, Crosby scored 159 goals in just 55 games for his hometown youth club.

Even against older teens, Crosby excelled, showing a prowess with the puck that earned him attention across Canada. Denied the chance to play for the Halifax Mooseheads, the local junior hockey team, Crosby bolted to Minnesota, enrolling at the Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school. While there, Crosby set several new scoring records, recording 162 points in 2003 and leading his team to the national title.

The following season Crosby returned to Canada and continued his dominance while playing for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He tallied an impressive 135 points that year, including 54 goals, and as a result was asked to play for the Canadian Junior Hockey Team, making him the only under-18 player to join the club.

Crosby went on to become the youngest player in history to score a goal in the World Junior Championships. He then returned to Quebec for a second year in the QMJHL, scoring 66 goals and cementing his status as the best young prospect in the world. Across North America Crosby earned comparisons to some of the game’s all-time greats, including Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr.

NHL Career

At the 2005 National Hockey League draft, dubbed the “Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes,” the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Crosby with the first overall pick.

Working closely with retiring Penguins superstar Mario Lemieux, Crosby quickly acclimated to the NHL, taking the ice as the team’s best player. By the end of the 2005-06 season, Crosby had emerged as one of the league’s best young players, finishing with 102 points to his credit.

Crosby only continued to improve his second year. Overall, he tallied 120 points, scoring 28 goals and registering 84 assists—this despite playing the last six weeks with a broken bone in his foot.

That year, Crosby became the youngest player in league history to win the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion. More significantly, he was the second youngest player ever to win the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player. In 2009, Crosby got to hold up hockey’s ultimate prize when he led Pittsburgh to its first Stanley Cup title since 1992.

Alongside his dominance, though, Crosby’s career has been beset by concussions. At the Winter Classic game on New Year’s Day 2011 in Pittsburgh, Crosby was leveled by a blindsided hit to the head by then Washington Capitals center David Steckel. The collision forced Crosby to miss the rest of the season and fueled talk that his career might be in jeopardy.

After a tenuous and up-and-down 2011-12 season, in which he played just 22 games, Crosby returned to full strength the following year, registering 56 points in a 36-game season shortened by a lockout.

In addition to his success in the NHL, Crosby was also instrumental in leading Team Canada to the gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

---

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Sidney Crosby
• Birth Year: 1987
• Birth date: August 7, 1987
• Birth City: Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia
• Birth Country: Canada
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Sidney Crosby is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 2007, he became the youngest captain of a National Hockey League team.
• Industries
• Sports
• Astrological Sign: Leo
• Schools
• Shattuck-St. Mary’s School
• Interesting Facts
• Sidney Crosby’s father, Troy, was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens as a goaltender in the 1984 NHL draft.
• Occupations
• Hockey Player

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn’t look right,contact us!

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Sidney Crosby Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/athletes/sidney-crosby
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: August 26, 2019
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

---

QUOTES

• I want to be the best, so whatever comes with that, I’ll have to accept.