The Pittsburgh Penguins used the first overall pick in the 2005 NHL entry draft to take 17-year-old Sidney Crosby of Canada on Saturday.
The arrival of the young superstar, whose already been compared to Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, is just what the NHL needed after the lockout which erased the 2004-2005 season. For Crosby, the waiting is finally over.
Crosby, who turns 18 next week, is a forward with surprising strength and masterful vision on the ice. He will share center stage in Pittsburgh with Mario Lemieux, the first overall pick himself in 1984.
PHOTO: AFP
"He creates a lot of excitement," said Lemieux, Crosby's possible linemate with the Penguins. "He has all the tools to be a great player. He sees the ice well, he's a great skater. He says he needs to work on his shot, but it looks pretty good to me."
The Anaheim Mighty Ducks picked forward Bobby Ryan with the No. 2 pick, and the Carolina Hurricanes drafted third and took defenseman Jack Johnson. Ryan and Johnson are the first American duo to go in the top three picks since 1983.
The Minnesota Wild chose fourth and selected left winger Benoit Pouliot, the Montreal Canadiens took goalie Carey Price, and the Columbus Blue Jackets followed by choosing center Gilbert Brule.
The Chicago Blackhawks took forward Jack Skille with the seventh pick, and Atlanta swapped the No. 8 spot with San Jose, getting the 12th, 49th and 207th picks from the Sharks. San Jose used the pick on right winger Devin Setoguchi.
Defenseman Brian Lee was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the ninth spot, and the Vancouver Canucks took defenseman Luc Bourdon to round out the top 10. The Los Angeles Kings used the 11th pick to grab Slovenian center Anze Kopitar, the first European selected.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
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