Sidney Crosby has basically been a top-3 player (Arguably the best) in the NHL since the day he entered the NHL and this scouting report from 2005 does a pretty good job at explaining why.
Crosby is notorious for being a player that tirelessly works on his game. Every offseason it seems like he comes back with a new skill that allows him to dominate another facet of the NHL landscape, but reading through this, you would think that nothing has changed.
It’s a long description, but if we were to highlight some key points, we’d say that this scout nailed it:
- “His backhand is as good as the forehand”
- “His leg strength and stamina allow him to be first on the puck and many times be the first guy back”
- “He has great speed to the outside, but can also split the defence carrying the puck”
- “His vision is unparalleled”
- “He can score in many ways and always seems to be in he clear to receive passes and turn them into scoring chances”
We feel like this is describing how he’s scored basically all of his goals in the NHL. Here’s the full scouting report:
It’s pretty hard to project NHL talent when they’re 17 years old, but this is pretty spot on. It also speaks to how he’s been able to live up to the enormous expectations placed on him.
