Sid The Stud

photo courtesy Gene J Puskar/AP

Sidney Crosby, NHL scoring champion and known by some as the possible second-coming of Hockey Jesus, was named captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins today, their first since the retirement of Mario Lemieux in 2006. Crosby's still only 19 years old, by the way.

When I was 19, I spent my time as a college sophomore just trying to make it to class on time and the only scoring I did was with my first long-term girlfriend. I eventually graduated from college but the girlfriend didn't work out.

But I digress.

Crosby has proven himself as a scoring phenomenon, having already become the youngest-ever NHL scoring champion, as well as the youngest to score two consecutive 100+ point seasons and 200 career points. He's an offensive machine. Apparently, the Penguins also see him as a leadership machine. Despite their round one departure at the hands of the Eastern Conference champion Senators early in this season's playoffs, Crosby led the team in scoring and showed a constant drive to win---even if it didn't work out. Oh, and he played the whole series on a broken foot.

I think the Penguins are doing the right thing by slapping a big "C" on Crosby's chest, even if he is still very young. Pittsburgh has only just begun their rise as an NHL powerhouse, and in a couple of years when they win their first Cup since 1992, it will be good to see Sid The Captain raise the hardware above his head first.