Sidney Crosby

Sidney Patrick Crosby, born August 7, 1987, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL. Known as "Sid the Kid" and once called "The Next One," he was the first overall pick in the 2005 NHL entry draft. Growing up in nearby Cole Harbour, Crosby was considered one of the most highly touted prospects ever and is now seen as one of the sport's all-time greats.

Crosby spent two seasons in major junior hockey with the Rimouski Océanic, piling up awards and taking his team to the 2005 Memorial Cup final. Both the Océanic and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League retired his number 87 in 2019, and starting in 2025, the QMJHL’s Rookie of the Year award is called the Sidney Crosby Trophy. He entered the NHL in the 2005–06 season, notching 102 points and finishing second for the Calder Memorial Trophy as top rookie.

At 18 years and 253 days, he remains the youngest player ever to hit 100 points in an NHL season. The next year, he led the league with 120 points to win the Art Ross Trophy, becoming the youngest player and only teenager to claim a scoring title in any major North American sports league. That same season, he took home the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP and the Lester B. Pearson Award for most outstanding player as voted by his peers. He was named Penguins captain at the start of the 2007–08 season and led the team to the 2008 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in six games.

The Penguins returned to the Final against Detroit the following year and won in seven games, making Crosby the youngest captain in NHL history to lift the Stanley Cup. He also captained Pittsburgh to championships in 2016 and 2017, becoming the third player ever to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in back-to-back years.

In 2009–10, Crosby received the Mark Messier Leadership Award and scored 51 goals to win the Maurice Richard Trophy as the league’s top goal scorer; he was also runner-up for the Art Ross and a finalist for the Hart. Early in 2011, a concussion sidelined him for the rest of that season and most of the 2011–12 campaign. He won his second Ted Lindsay Award in 2013 and was a Hart finalist that year. In 2014, Crosby captured his second Hart Trophy, his second Art Ross Trophy (with 104 points), and his second consecutive Ted Lindsay Award (his third overall), while also being a finalist for the award in 2010 and 2021. In 2017, he won his second Maurice Richard Trophy and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.

Internationally, Crosby has played for Canada many times. He won gold at the 2005 World Junior Championships and was on the 2010 Olympic team in Vancouver, where he scored the overtime game-winner against the United States in the gold medal game. He captained Canada to a second straight Olympic gold in 2014. The following year, he led Canada to gold at the World Championship in Prague, joining the Triple Gold Club and becoming its only member to have captained all three winning teams. In 2016, he captained Canada to gold at the World Cup of Hockey and was unanimously voted tournament MVP. In 2025, he captained Canada to victory in the first 4 Nations Face-Off, and in 2026, he led the team to a silver medal at the Winter Olympics.

Crosby was born at the Grace Maternity Hospital in Halifax to Troy and Trina Crosby. His jersey number (87) and his 2007 contract ($8.7 million per year) both reflect his birthdate (8/7/87). He grew up in Cole Harbour with a younger sister, Taylor. His father Troy was a goaltender for the Verdun Junior Canadiens in the QMJHL, helping them win the 1985 President’s Cup and reach the 1985 Memorial Cup. Drafted 240th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 1984, Troy attended training camps but never played in the NHL. Growing up, Crosby admired Steve Yzerman and, like his father, was a Canadiens fan. He started playing hockey in his basement at age two, shooting pucks into a net with the family dryer behind it—a setup that led to a common myth that he was actually practicing with the dryer. He learned to skate at three.

From ages 12 to 15, Crosby attended Astral Drive Junior High School, where he was a straight-A student. The vice-principal described him as “an amazing role model, who was really kind to students in the learning centre and to special needs kids.” At 15, he transferred to Shattuck-Saint Mary’s in Faribault, Minnesota, to play for the school’s hockey program. While playing for the Rimouski Océanic, he attended Harrison Trimble High School in Moncton, New Brunswick, graduating in 2005.

In minor hockey, Crosby started drawing media attention early, giving his first newspaper interview at age seven. When he was 13, Nova Scotia’s Minor Hockey Council refused to let him play midget hockey (a level for 15- to 17-year-olds). His family sued and lost. The next year, he played midget for the triple-A Dartmouth Subways, combining for 217 regular-season and playoff points and leading Dartmouth to a second-place finish at the 2002 Air Canada Cup. He was named tournament MVP and Top Scorer.