Tuesday, May 23, 2006
By Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Penguins rookie center Sidney Crosby didn't get to participate in the NHL playoffs. He wasn't chosen to play for Team Canada in the Turin Olympics earlier this year.
He no doubt made hockey fans wish he had been involved in both after his performance in the hockey world championships in Riga, Latvia.
At 18, Crosby was one of the most dominant players in the tournament. He became the youngest player to lead the world championships in scoring with 16 points in nine games and led all players with eight goals for Canada, which finished fourth.
Crosby yesterday was named the top forward and made the tournament all-star team along with forwards Alex Ovechkin of Russia and Dave Vyborny of the Czech Republic, defensemen Niklas Kronwell of Sweden and Petteri Nummelin of Finland, and goaltender Andrei Mezin of Belarus.
After being taken first overall in the 2005 NHL draft, Crosby became the youngest NHL player to record 100 points and finished with 102, breaking Mario Lemieux's team rookie record for assists and points.
Penguins prospect Evgeni Malkin, 19, the second overall NHL draft pick in 2004, tied for fifth in scoring at the world championships with three goals, nine points in seven games for Russia.
The Penguins and Malkin are hopeful he will join the NHL team for the 2006-07 season, something that is primarily dependent on the NHL and Russia coming to terms on a transfer agreement.
(Shelly Anderson can be reached at shanderson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1721.)
No comments:
Post a Comment