Sidney Crosby, validating and anointing himself as a person and player on the NHL playground.
I’ve had more than one writer and person ask me my feelings about Sidney. Each time gets a little better. The NHL playground is no place for the timid and weak minded. Sid faces some sort of challenge every day, especially game days, of his life. This is the latest piece I did on Sidney Crosby. Hope I did him well.
What makes Sid so special?
"He sparks a level of excitement that only a few figures do. Has to do with qualities revolving around authenticity. You see what you get."
I first met Sidney Crosby seven years ago. We were sitting across the aisle from each other on an airplane, and even then you could tell he had his training program down to a science; he knew exactly where he was going and how he was going to get there.
As we parted ways, he said, “Well, Mr. Grillo, if you're ever at a game where I'm playing, I would appreciate if you would come down to the locker room and visit after the game.”
This is a major-league statement for a 15-year-old; a hint of everything that will happen in the future.
Sidney’s assets go far beyond his talent. He is humble and hungry, has all the intangibles and is as great a person as he is a player. He embraces responsibility and a real challenge in life. My wish is that he plays with a joie de vivre that is rarely seen, making him an ambassador for professional sports where laconic, self-absorbed people seem commonplace. I hope he keeps smiling like a kid having fun in the sport he loves. My wish is he never loses his fifteen (15) year old personality.
Sidney's creativity, work habits and will to win are as good as it gets. He sees every option on the ice and he learned early on that sharing the puck with his teammates would get him more rewards and wins than over-handling the puck and passing out of necessity. “Shoot when you should shoot, pass when you should pass and carry only out of necessity.”
He is one of those “critical moment” players capable of capitalizing on the few critical moment situations a player gets during a game. If he misses that one chance, he is one to go back to the rink on an optional practice day and have the equipment person deal him two-hundred pucks so he could practice that shot over and over again. He did this after missing a critical moment shot during the 2007-08 season and he used the equipment person because no players or coaches showed up for the optional practice.
Sid is mature beyond his years with a curiosity level beyond his years. He is the most dynamic player in the league and takes nothing for granted. He’s on a mission to get better because he knows he’s still in his development years. He is one who will “never arrive”; much the same as Mario Lemieux.
Young players can learn a lot from Sid. For one, don't take your life, career, talent level or status for granted. There is always someone out there capable of catching you, passing you and beating you, both in hockey and in life. Sid raises the bar in every situation he encounters, whether it’s a game, training session or social setting.
He’s not interested in being a Lemieux, Richard, Beliveau or Gretzky. He has studied the game to the point where he will be a blend of any greatness he sees in others. He will validate and anoint himself, be Sidney Crosby, leave his own mark and blaze his own trail. In doing so, he will not say or do something that would dismantle or build himself up; so he will not be @ fault either way. He will get it done in his own way because he’s been through the hard knocks and lessons in life @ a very young age.
There’s no greater honor for a parent than to hear that their son is a detail person who puts the welfare of others ahead of their own career. You can say that about Sidney Crosby. He will be even keeled and fully aware of what’s on the other side of the rainbow. He sees everything that is going on around him, both on and off the ice, and he reacts as he should.
Every time I see Sidney Crosby, I see something special. We’ve had some of the most unique and caring conversations you could ever have between a scout and a player. All this and I am fifty (50) years his senior. I spoke with his father and was able to tell him that he and his wife raised a player who is equally great as a person. I know of no young man who has life figured out any better than Sidney Crosby. I observed the way he developed a relationship with Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin. The line seemed to respect what each guy brought to the line and they functioned well. His complete play in the Cup final led the way to a Stanley Cup for the youngest Captain in Cup history.
He is challenged by someone every time he goes on the ice sheet and his demands off ice are only exceeded by Heads of State dealing with this complex world. The scouting fraternity is in tune with the six H's; head, heart, hands, hips, heels, hockey sense. Sid has his own set of letters with gallant, gifted, grace, gracious, gritty, gratitude and he has Geno on the power play and in a critical moment. Sid has the grit to be King of the Stanley Cup playground, He accepts all challenges. He has the gifts of the most gifted in all of sports. He has the grace of a ballet dancer when appropriate, always shows gratitude for a solid upbringing and all that is happening around him and has the grit of a true warrior.
The current “Stable” on the Penguins team is blessed with quality athletes who can contribute in a lot of ways and be King of the Hill on any given day. Sid gets enough challenges fm within to prepare him for anything thrown his way by the opponent to test his gallantry. His suite for the under privileged, and many charities, are an extension of his graciousness. All this and he has “Madison Avenue savvy.”
There are a number of athletes that show you something in a variety of situations. They do things @ certain critical moments in a game and they do it with regularity. They understand all that is going on around them. Their drive to do what most players wouldn’t even dream of, make them different from others. They get to take more chances than normal players. It’s instinctual for them to do this and also instinctual for them to go to the paint in fearlessly. They understand being natural and fearless leads to success.
Sid embodies the consummate team player. I hope he spends his entire career I in Pittsburgh. When your most gifted player is your hardest working player; one to admire off the ice, you have a very good chance of doing a lot of winning throughout their career. Sid, as a leader and ambassador for the Pens, is something we all can appreciate every day.
We are writing about a young man who will politely stop whatever he is doing if it is appropriate, walk over, and totally disarm you as he shakes hands and converses. If not appropriate, he will find the time while you are still in the room or immediate area. He is one draft pick over the years that will initiate a conversation and enjoy doing it.
During the Washington series in 2008-09 playoffs, he was walking through the lounge area between the locker room and training room. He had a plate of pasta in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. When he saw me, he reached down to put the pasta on the floor. I stopped him and told him to continue on to the training room because I felt that was more important. Thirty minutes later he found me in a hallway near Ray Shero’s office, walked up and said, “My hands are free, now we can shake hands.”
I have been around NHL players for thirty years. This was a 1st for me and I am not one bit surprised it was Sidney Crosby. He will always be in and around a lot of firsts. I am honored to be there for his 1st Stanley Cup, mine also; the youngest Captain in the history of the NHL to win the Cup. I am one who believes that any young man who reaches his “engaging” level will perform better in games.
Ole Gringo
Chuck Grillo is an amateur scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins; an owner of Minnesota Hockey Camps
Brainerd Lakes Area, MN
Acquiring the skill and willingness to express your skills
Nice to be back watching the prospects play. I find it interesting to study the mindset of the younger players. First of all, they wouldn't be here if they didn't possess some unique skills. The first question for them to answer in this setting is: Have I mastered the ability to express my talent and skill level? Expressing a skill is an acquired ability that needs to be taught and learned. It is not genetic. This is something you learn; no different than passing, shooting and receiving. It doesn't “just happen”; it doesn't automatically happen; it takes time and hard work; especially during the summer months that give you a psychological edge on your opponent.
Expressing your skills in a critical moment is another level yet. Some are born with it; others have to acquire this by practicing like you play with thousands (10,000?) of repititions.
Hanging in there, or maintaining, is not progress. Every one of these players has one or more unique skills and they have to show them in every game or they will not be part of the program. It starts with the way they professionally dress and act; their mental maturity level. Their desire to compete, and protect all they have worked years for over the years is something to be ingrained in the coaches and players.
They are brought up to respect what each person brings to the team and they willingly accept a lesser role to get results (win) as well as win a job in the NHL with a back up game unlike their 'A' game @ a lower level. This carries over to the ice and they, most all of the time, win by sharing. They are placed in a playground setting, and teams pick what they believe are the 'most real people' out of the player pool. They have enough players, and the stakes are high to represent their organization, there is a ton of “unawareness” in this area, so obviously teams are not 100 percent right. Some of the worst years for pro teams are years with anointed superstars who don't get it, don’t live it, and the teams learns fm that. Players are allowed to express themselves in a playground setting with no entitlement in this business. They are @ a point where they need to make a statement no matter what it takes to make that statement.
If you bring forty (40) players in to a playground with some guidelines and no regard for what people write, say, believe or think, the twenty (20) who come out have a good chance of being the right 20. Skills get you in to the game. Intangibles difficult to measure allow you to express your skills and win the games. Players need the ability to summon energy, boldness, attitude, swagger and the killer instinct, once they reach a certain threshold of belonging, which can beat those blessed with more skill. I have seen a lot of very good players look like ordinary players in these settings and it all stems fm the inability to express oneself.
The best players want to play the best players if they have the right intangibles. The best teams want to play the best teams. The best countries want to play the best countries. It's tough to figure out life when you spend part of it hiding fm your opponent in life. Look them in the eye and get it on. You don't become the player you can be until you figure out how life works.
Expression of your skills and ability is all that matters. I believe putting highly skilled athletes together for short periods of time is a good thing because there will be a best and a worst in every group. Assigning them back to their teams is also good because they learn to lead and excel while others emulate their unique skills with the hopes of catching up and passing them.
There is more than enough evidence to prove this works. If your primary motivation for playing up is 'my child needs to be challenged', there is an argument you are stifling your child's career. Only the best out of the best benefit fm this experience.
Canada's provincial teams @ the 15 and 16 year old levels are another example of what is right. The player pool is this age group is kept around 100 to 120 players. Every one of those players have another team to play on during the season with time set aside to bring them together for special occasions and tournaments. I would have to believe that this player pool changes with regularity in line with training habits of players in and out of the season as each year goes by.
Skills to express skills touch & carry skills in traffic, slot presentation after going out of sight, thru on time with right angle, deception, look offs, false information, tandem play keeping the rink as big as possible, body control to free stick on rebounds and loose pucks are skills that are glaringly missing.
Center forwards dictate the course of the game. If your timing is right, presentation to the puck right, the games becomes easier because the rink stays bigger. If you aren't coming back to the puck when you are about to receive it, the pass is high risk for any transition to defense. Grabbing a piece of the weak side of the rink and maintaining a bigger gap between the center forward and strong side wing is imperative for everything to fall in to place.
Strong side play in your own end needs a lot of work. There were a few examples of players using their body to ensure an easy and safe break out pass guaranteed to move the team up the ice. There were also too many cases of cleared pucks predictably on their way back in to our own end. Strong side point coverage is a unique and teachable skill that works best when the strong side wing forces the strong side defense out to the blue and then comes back to the puck.
Controlling the opponent’s body before controlling the puck is imperative. Strong side point coverage is one underlying reason behind every sustained fore-check, especially when the strong side point gets another shot on net with another loose puck for the offensive team to jump on.
You will hear them say, “I am a detail person and I care about others. I have always put the welfare of those I care about ahead of any personal gain. I am finding more success by sharing than I would have by standing alone. I have a work ethic second to none both on and off the ice.”
-ole gringo-
24621 So Clark Lake Rd P.O. Box 90 Nisswa, MN 56468-0090
Phone 218.96.2444 Fax 218.963.2325 Email chuck@mnhockeycamps.com
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