Crosby Rookie of the Month

[A_Steeves12 0]

well seeing as i hate crosby with a passion i think A-O should have gotten it with out a doubt. i know i know hes older so what? hes still a rookie leanring the NHL, he is still a much better player. hes is a better defencive player then crosby as the numbers proved. a +1 on a -21 team come on know. if he was playing on a team that was actually good he would be tearin it up more then he already is.

[mik3 1]

NHL Rookie of the Month already with another multi-point game tonight.

[Neo5370 132]

How can people say Ovechkin is getting snubbed because he's not Canadian?????

There was a HUUUGE spike in the popularity of russian players when fedorov/bur/mogilny were in their early prime.

Crosby may get special attention but I think that's due to all the hype.

Alex not getting so much attention IMO has nothing to do w/ him being Russian.

[Chadd 916]

How can people say Ovechkin is getting snubbed because he's not Canadian?????

There was a HUUUGE spike in the popularity of russian players when fedorov/bur/mogilny were in their early prime.

Crosby may get special attention but I think that's due to all the hype.

Alex not getting so much attention IMO has nothing to do w/ him being Russian.

Other than trying to justify the tons of ink used on Crosby during the lockout or national bias I can't think of another reason that Crosby has had so much more publicity than Ovechkin. Both are playing in essentially small-market, American towns, on bad teams and racking up a lot of points.

[A_Steeves12 0]

How can people say Ovechkin is getting snubbed because he's not Canadian?????

There was a HUUUGE spike in the popularity of russian players when fedorov/bur/mogilny were in their early prime.

Crosby may get special attention but I think that's due to all the hype.

Alex not getting so much attention IMO has nothing to do w/ him being Russian.

Other than trying to justify the tons of ink used on Crosby during the lockout or national bias I can't think of another reason that Crosby has had so much more publicity than Ovechkin.Both are playing in essentially small-market, American towns, on bad teams and racking up a lot of points

they are both playing on bad teams but pittsburg is "stacked" with guy that can score. Crosby is playing with Mario,Recchi,Ziggy all proven goal scorers who is Ovechkin playing with? halpern? wow.

[Adam91 0]

Ovechkin also quite a bit better +/- then Crosby while playing on a much weeker team although Crosby looks like his +/- might look alot better after tonight.

[mik3 1]

So far Crosby is 2 - 1 - 3 +2

And a scrum.

Whitney's now got 4 assists in two games also.

[mik3 1]

I liked Whitney because he is a BU guy. Hope he has a good career.

Nice seeing the master pass to the kid play, eh mik3?

On one hand I like that they put them together, on the other hand I liked that things were a little more spread out between the lines earlier.

And, Dipietro has stood on his head. This game should be a LOT worse than 5-1

[Neo5370 132]

you know another reason for the crosby craze is cuz he developed here in N.A.

if we had been watching ovechkin since he was 12 he'd have the same buzz I'll bet.

Nationality may look like a reason but it just seems that way

I blame it on exposure, supporting cast, and the fact that goals are more impressive to the majority than assists.

And timing. AO got drafted then no one played, we forgot about him. Crosby gets drafted, the NHL comes back. Of course the media is going to put a little more marketing on the #1 draft simply because hockey is back and he's the first to be picked by the "new" NHL.

[beaucoup_fish 0]

The overwhelming hate of Crosby/Fleury on this board is overwhelming.

How often does the guy who's more of a playmaker between two guys with close stats not get an award?

I think that Fleury would have been better off going to almost any other franchise, they haven't handled his development well at all. Conversely, it seems they're doing everything possible to ensure Crosby is a success. I don't like or hate either player, I'm just not impressed by the franchise.

You are right though, the goal scorer almost always wins the award.

Goal scorers get all the attention (except for Glen Murray), b/c goals are the glory stat. Forsberg notches 60 assists in one year and no one talks about it, but someone gets 50 goals, and there's buzz...

How do they break the Art Ross tie? It goes to the guy with more goals.

I wouldn't say they're hurting Crosby's development at all...all this losing is bound to build character and make him hungry, and it's not like he needs much development skill-wise, unless you're talking about play away from the puck. No one gives up more goals than the Penguins, but that's not Crosby's fault. Check the D and b/w the pipes. Don't worry, Fleury will be back - he's too good not to. In a couple years, he'll be Luongo Jr.

[MDE3 0]

I think that Ovechkin's "snubbing" is directly related to his attitude during the WJC..where he did little to help his perceptions with some of his antics.....Right now it's payback time...however if he keeps up his levels of play..he will get his due...not saying that is fair mind you...just reality....Plus of course all the hype the NHL has invested in Crosby, and his accessibility/facility to/with the media as the new "fair haired boy" he is going to get the first shot in the arm....

I can see them alternating these two as "rookies of the month" a few times just to build the hype even more.

[Eazy_b97 1]

The overwhelming hate of Crosby/Fleury on this board is overwhelming.

How often does the guy who's more of a playmaker between two guys with close stats not get an award?

I think that Fleury would have been better off going to almost any other franchise, they haven't handled his development well at all. Conversely, it seems they're doing everything possible to ensure Crosby is a success. I don't like or hate either player, I'm just not impressed by the franchise.

You are right though, the goal scorer almost always wins the award.

Goal scorers get all the attention (except for Glen Murray), b/c goals are the glory stat. Forsberg notches 60 assists in one year and no one talks about it, but someone gets 50 goals, and there's buzz...

How do they break the Art Ross tie? It goes to the guy with more goals.

I wouldn't say they're hurting Crosby's development at all...all this losing is bound to build character and make him hungry, and it's not like he needs much development skill-wise, unless you're talking about play away from the puck. No one gives up more goals than the Penguins, but that's not Crosby's fault. Check the D and b/w the pipes. Don't worry, Fleury will be back - he's too good not to. In a couple years, he'll be Luongo Jr.

Foppa's widely regarded as the best player in the NHL. Gretzky known for his passing. Goals are harder to come by than assists (statistically, 2 assists, but only 1 goal) and even then playmakes get a ton of respect. I look at all high profile scorers and think most need to do more than just score goals. Spezza is getting more attention than Heatley. Foppa over Gagne, Thornton over Murray, Crosbyh over Ovechkin. I think most people see playmakers as more rounded players, and give them a ton of respect. People need to do more than just score or pass to get noticed. Thinking back of Tkachuk, Hull, Bure, Anderchuk, alot of guys put up good numbers, but weren't regarded as the teams best player, or "main player" for most of their careers.

[beaucoup_fish 0]

The overwhelming hate of Crosby/Fleury on this board is overwhelming.

How often does the guy who's more of a playmaker between two guys with close stats not get an award?

I think that Fleury would have been better off going to almost any other franchise, they haven't handled his development well at all. Conversely, it seems they're doing everything possible to ensure Crosby is a success. I don't like or hate either player, I'm just not impressed by the franchise.

You are right though, the goal scorer almost always wins the award.

Goal scorers get all the attention (except for Glen Murray), b/c goals are the glory stat. Forsberg notches 60 assists in one year and no one talks about it, but someone gets 50 goals, and there's buzz...

How do they break the Art Ross tie? It goes to the guy with more goals.

I wouldn't say they're hurting Crosby's development at all...all this losing is bound to build character and make him hungry, and it's not like he needs much development skill-wise, unless you're talking about play away from the puck. No one gives up more goals than the Penguins, but that's not Crosby's fault. Check the D and b/w the pipes. Don't worry, Fleury will be back - he's too good not to. In a couple years, he'll be Luongo Jr.

Foppa's widely regarded as the best player in the NHL. Gretzky known for his passing. Goals are harder to come by than assists (statistically, 2 assists, but only 1 goal) and even then playmakes get a ton of respect. I look at all high profile scorers and think most need to do more than just score goals. Spezza is getting more attention than Heatley. Foppa over Gagne, Thornton over Murray, Crosbyh over Ovechkin. I think most people see playmakers as more rounded players, and give them a ton of respect. People need to do more than just score or pass to get noticed. Thinking back of Tkachuk, Hull, Bure, Anderchuk, alot of guys put up good numbers, but weren't regarded as the teams best player, or "main player" for most of their careers.

Of course these guys are all well regarded, I'm just saying that goals = glory. Yes, Forsberg is arguably the best player in the league when healthy. Gagne has always been out of the spotlight and has yet to prove himself as an elite goal scorer. Yes, Thornton gets more attention than Murray, hell who doesn't? That's b/c Thornton is a No.1 pick. Spezza is hot right now, b/c everyone's already talked about Heatley. It's all in the timing. Crosby - yes, hyped like crazy.

The point it though, when it comes down to awards time - goals count. Why is there no Wayne Gretzky trophy for the player with most assists every year?

And when it comes down to excitement - goals matter - it's what gets fans talking. IMO, very rarely does a fantastic pass garner the talk that a great goal does.

As for Tkachuk - I do believe that he was regarded as the Blues best player for the years him and Doug Weight shared the spotlight. Hull over Oates (Detroit and Dallas don't count, those were his tail end years). And Bure has always been the best player on his NHL team.

[tokes 0]

I agree Ovechkin was a shit at the WJC's, but I think his attitude has changed a lot now. They had an interview with him on sportsnet last night, and even with poor english he sounded a lot more respectful than at the WJC's. Talked about how Crosby was a great player and a good guy, said how his hands were shaking when he played his first game, and said how he doesn't really care about the calder, just wants to play and score goals. I said it before, I think AO is going to be a great mid 90's fedorov type player, a great goal scorer and skater who is big and still good at defense, while I think Crosby is going to be more of a Francis/Oates type assist machine.

[dangle4u 0]

i think they both are amazing but Crosby get more of the spotlight.