Move Crosby to first or second line.

[Crosbyfan]

The point is that guys like Thornton, Lecavalier, Spezza, Richards, etc. will be starting to come in to their primes and then you also factor in veterans like Sakic and so on.

And guys like Lemieux, Yzerman and even Sakic will be past their primes or retired, the level won't change in 2 + years as much as the "average" 16 year old never mind one that is getting all the experience few 18 & 19 year olds get. You guys 2 years from now will be saying "sure he'll make the team , but I didn't know he was going to be 6'2 " and 210 lbs".

 

[Le Golie]

Crosby is not better than Forsberg was at the same age.

No offense or anything, but Crosby is light years ahead of 16 year old Forsberg. Even at 18 Forsberg wasn't a sure shot top line forward. He was projected to top out at 'Thomas Steen'. In The Hockey News draft preview a scout is directly quoted as saying he will never be as good as Steen. His selection at 6th overall raised eyebrows all around the league.

 

[Sammy*]

It is common hockey sense.

Not worth much on some topics around here.

 

[Crosbyfan]

At 18 years of age, Crosby will not beat out veteran NHL stars for an Olympic spot.

It is common hockey sense.

At 16 years old, Crosby will not lead the CHL in scoring after taking a month off.

It is common hockey sense.

 

[BCCHL inactive]

And guys like Lemieux, Yzerman and even Sakic will be past their primes or retired, the level won't change in 2 + years as much as the "average" 16 year old never mind one that is getting all the experience few 18 & 19 year olds get. You guys 2 years from now will be saying "sure he'll make the team , but I didn't know he was going to be 6'2 " and 210 lbs".

First of all, nobody knows exactly how big he is going to be.

Secondly, we will be saying, "We knew he would grow physically, but he won't make this team....not with Sakic, Thornton, Marleau, Lecavalier, Peca, Spezza and Comrie all ahead of the rest now...and with guys like O'Neill, Richards and Savard with good potential to challenge for Olympic spots as well."

 

[BCCHL inactive]

At 16 years old, Crosby will not lead the CHL in scoring after taking a month off.

It is common hockey sense.

No it's not. It is actually happening.

Crosby will not play in a tournament full of NHL stars at 18 years of age.

Ask 100 people if Crosby will play in Torino if the NHL goes, 99 will say no...you will say yes.

 

[Crosbyfan]

I absolutley agree that crosby should be playing on one of the top two lines. I wouldn't touch the dawes, stewart and richards line, but instead replace carter with crosby. Carter, although great in the faceoff circle, throws way too many blind passes in the offensive end which against greater opponents will prove to be costly. It is also rather obvious that Crosby is by far and away the most offensively gifted player on this team and would have the stats to prove it if he had capable wingers that could finish/keep up/hit the net. I am not trying to belittle his linemates or carter, it just seems that have yet catch on to sid's style and are not fully taking advantage of scoring chances which he creates.

The lines are fine. They're all playing well. Carter, Getzlaf and Burns are solid. Dawes, Stewart and Richards are leading the tourament in +-. Paille and Talbot and Burns are really playing well. If Sid, Tambellini and Dixon create half as many chances as they have, they will do fine. It's not all about WHO scores. The really tough games are coming.

 

[Crosbyfan]

No it's not. It is actually happening.

Crosby will not play in a tournament full of NHL stars at 18 years of age.

Why not? Lack of size? Experience? Defence? Maturity? Why not?


[/QUOTE]
Ask 100 people if Crosby will play in Torino if the NHL goes, 99 will say no...you will say yes.[/QUOTE]




I think you know as well as I do that a random poll of even experienced scouts would be 1. meaningless and 2. not 99 to 1; since the nature of the subject matter involves estimating the limitations of a single individual.

 

[Jacob]

Sid, I am begging you to prove me wrong on this one.

I've been waiting for 25 years to see someone out do Wayne Gretzky and recently, I've been really hoping that Sidney Crosby will be that young man. However, so far it's pretty clear that Sid will NOT be the one to touch the Great One's numbers...esp. at this year's WJC.

Granted that the young Wayner was a slightly older 16 year old than Sid when he put up 6 points on his WJC debut...but as you can see, Sid is nowhere near that in his first 3 games...against some weak opposition. I was really expecting Sid to explode today because it's pretty obvious that he's a quick student and he's learning things by leaps and bounds from game to game...but it didn't happen.

I think that there are a number of reasons for this.

1. Sid is more a goal scorer than a set up man like Wayne was. It's heckuva lot easier to score points when you are using all your teammates on the ice. Sid has to work three times as hard physically as Gretzky to score a goal because of the style of his game.

2. As much as he relishes the physical aspects of the game, Sid is taking a lot of pounding...at least relative to Wayne whose longevity and high scoring totals were mainly due to his elusive, non-physical nature of his game.

3. At least at this WJC, he's not receiving as many passes from his teammates. It's almost as if Sid is being 'frozen out' by his teammates at times sort of like Michael Jordan was at his earlier All-star game by his own teammates. Even on PP, Sid is often being ignored although he's in good position to receive a pass or to score.

4. Amazingly, most of the scoring chances that Sid has had (and he's had a tonne of them!) he's basically had to generate them himself!

For whatever it's worth, and I am sadden by the conclusion that I arrived at but I feel that Sid will be a dynamic star in the NHL... but not the one to break Wayne Gretzky's records. I think that he'll be someone along the lines of a more gritty and physical combination of a Pat Lafontaine and Pavel Bure...which would be a phenominal feat all on it's own!

...But once again, Sid, here's your opportunity to make me eat crow and prove me wrong! ...'cos Sid, I am rooting for you every day!

wtf?

 

[BCCHL inactive]

Why not? Lack of size? Experience? Defence? Maturity? Why not?

Because he won't be good enough. All the players I mentioned will be better than Crosby at the NHL level in two years.

Making the U20 team at 16 is a hell of a lot easier to accomplish than to play for a Canadian national team full of veteran NHL stars at 18....especially when he might not even be in the NHL.

 

[Robert Paulson*]

No offense or anything, but Crosby is light years ahead of 16 year old Forsberg. Even at 18 Forsberg wasn't a sure shot top line forward. He was projected to top out at 'Thomas Steen'. In The Hockey News draft preview a scout is directly quoted as saying he will never be as good as Steen. His selection at 6th overall raised eyebrows all around the league.

Even Crosby isn't a sure shot top line forward. No prospect is EVER a sure shot. Example: Alexander Daigle.

It's impossible to know if anyone's talent will turn into NHL success and stardom.

 

[Crosbyfan]

Even Crosby isn't a sure shot top line forward. No prospect is EVER a sure shot. Example: Alexander Daigle.

It's impossible to know if anyone's talent will turn into NHL success and stardom.

But apparently some think its possible to put limitations on them. Alexander Daigle? Everyone refers to Alexander Daigle. There's only one Alexander Daigle. Most with his talent do not end up like him. He is not a good example. That is why his name keeps coming up. He's a bad example.

 

[BCCHL inactive]

But apparently some think its possible to put limitations on them. Alexander Daigle? Everyone refers to Alexander Daigle. There's only one Alexander Daigle. Most with his talent do not end up like him. He is not a good example. That is why his name keeps coming up. He's a bad example.

Why is he a bad example? He shows the possibility of the worst that can happen to a kid who is getting the hype that Crosby is getting.

You have to face the facts...

As of now, there is no guarantee Crosby will be an NHL player at 18. Everybody said Jason Spezza would be, but last I checked, the Windsor Spitfires play in the OHL. He wasn't an NHL regular until he turned 20.

There is no guarantee that he will ever be an NHL star, nevermind make the Olympic team full of veteran NHL stars at 18 years of age.

Playing among men is a hell of a lot different than playing among boys. Sidney Crosby will be playing among boys until he is at least 18....he won't play at the Olympics full of men from the NHL.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Why is he a bad example? He shows the possibility of the worst that can happen to a kid who is getting the hype that Crosby is getting.

You have to face the facts...

As of now, there is no guarantee Crosby will be an NHL player at 18. Everybody said Jason Spezza would be, but last I checked, the Windsor Spitfires play in the OHL. He wasn't an NHL regular until he turned 20.

There is no guarantee that he will ever be an NHL star, nevermind make the Olympic team full of veteran NHL stars at 18 years of age.

Playing among men is a hell of a lot different than playing among boys. Sidney Crosby will be playing among boys until he is at least 18....he won't play at the Olympics full of men from the NHL.

Even if he will be an NHL star, making the transition at 18 will be tough enough. Hopefully, it will go over smooth for him, but it will be a dramatic change of play for him.

Even guys from overseas have not become stars right away, and they play amongst men.

He's 16 right now. To talk about the NHL is still far off, the Olympics are way far off.

As far as comparisons to busts go, talented players sometimes don't have what it takes. There are plenty of guys besides Daigle that this has happened to. Crosby is only 16 right now and I'm sure is taking it game by game and day by day. He still has another half a year to play this year, and a whole other year before he is drafted after that.

Can we keep things in the present?

In regards to switching up the lines, Canada hasn't had much trouble beating teams yet. They aren't trying to outscore the other team in a run and gun game, either. It's not broke, and the strategy mixes with the lines and that is also not broke.

No changes need to be made. Crosby will have next year to be a top line player at this tournament. This year other players with more experience are playing the top two lines. But Crosby is playing well in the role he's currently in, and playing well with his linemates.

No need to change things up, because everything is working. Everything seems to be going how team Canada wants. (And that is a gold medal, not a star performance from Crosby or anyone else).

 

[John E. Ringo]

You are making the erronous assumption that common sense can overcome fanboyism.

I think we need to lobby Webster's and make sure "fanboyism" is included in next year's dictionary!

Brilliant!

 

[Crosbyfan]

I think we need to lobby Webster's and make sure "fanboyism" is included in next year's dictionary!

Brilliant!

Get them to include "erronous" while you're at it; Maybe in the childrens edition just for you guys.

 

[Epsilon]

Get them to include "erronous" while you're at it; Maybe in the childrens edition just for you guys.

Wow a typo, I missed the second "e" in erroneous and you spotted it!

 

[gb701]

This thread is yet another example of where a silly question leads to a sillier argument between those who expect Crosby to lead the league from the days before his 18th birthday, and those who either think he is overrated or who just think the hype goes too far. Nobody wins - or convinces anyone else. I guess there is nothing wrong with it - but do we really need a post a week to start it off again?

The most sensible comments have been those who point out the many - MANY - mature centres who Canada will have to choose from for Torino. There is almost nothing Crosby could do that could get him there that fast - Christ, he'll still only be 22 for the Games in 2010!

And, I still agree that given that he is far from the best forward (or center, for that matter) playing for Canada in the current tournament, he has a long way to go to prove he really is "the next one".

 

[kruezer]

Quick question, how many points did Wayner put up in his first WJC?

 

[Epsilon]

Quick question, how many points did Wayner put up in his first WJC?

Gretz had 8-9-17 in 6 games.

 

[Riddarn]

Gretz had 8-9-17 in 6 games.

Wasn't Gretzky one year older than Crosby is now when he played his first WJC?

 

[Epsilon]

Wasn't Gretzky one year older than Crosby is now when he played his first WJC?

No idea what Crosby's vitals are, but Gretzky was born in late January, 1961, and played in the 1978 tournament, so he was a late 16 year old at the time.

 

[THE NEXT ONE #87]

The point is that guys like Thornton, Lecavalier, Spezza, Richards, etc. will be starting to come in to their primes and then you also factor in veterans like Sakic and so on.

First, I don't think Sakic will play, because 2006 he's 37 years old! also Stevie! no Lemieux!
Richards? huh,... but this guy isn't a superstar! Spezza??? maybe, but so far,... he has disappointed!
Thornton, Lecevalier will play! and maybe Staal, if he'll prove his game!

So I think Crosby has real chance to play! if he's really the next one!???
I mean Lindros became the best player in the NHL, if he hadn't brain vibrations.

If Crosby plays on the same level like Lindros with 18 1/2 he'll be at olymics in athen 2006!

 

[THE NEXT ONE #87]

He guys stop this **** with Daigle!!!
Sid is definitely not the next Daigle. He plays a lot better than Daigle at the same age!
Spezza is a poor, poor skater and it was obvious that he'll made the sens with 20.

So what's he's real potential???

I think he only problem clould be his lack of size,... but he's 16!
So 6'0 or 6'1 is possible with 19!

 

[Epsilon]

First, I don't think Sakic will play, because 2006 he's 37 years old! also Stevie! no Lemieux!
Richards? huh,... but this guy isn't a superstar! Spezza??? maybe, but so far,... he has disappointed!
Thornton, Lecevalier will play! and maybe Staal, if he'll prove his game!

So I think Crosby has real chance to play! if he's really the next one!???
I mean Lindros became the best player in the NHL, if he hadn't brain vibrations.

If Crosby plays on the same level like Lindros with 18 1/2 he'll be at olymics in athen 2006!

No way would Lindros have made the Canadian olympic team at 18 if NHLers had been around back then. Lindros wasn't even one of the top 3 rookies in the NHL when he broke in, and that was a full year after his draft. Hell, he wasn't even the best Canadian rookie center in 92-93.