The big news in Canadian hockey recently is that Sidney Crosby has decided not to attend the upcoming Top Prospects junior game, citing an injury and general fatigue. Lots of people are disappointed, but Crosby’s family, the head of the Canadian Hockey League, and the commissioner of the Quebec Junior League in which Crosby plays have all confirmed that Sidney is injured and disappointed that he cannot make the game.
Vancouver Giants owner Ron Toigo has been very vocal, calling Crosby’s move a “knock on the game”. He also felt that Crosby would play if the game were in Montreal or Toronto instead of Vancouver, and offered first class airfare and accomodations for Crosby and his family, which they declined. Toigo needs to relax. If Crosby and these other important people are saying he’s injured, he probably is. Would you want to play injured in a game where everyone else is going to be sizing you up and wanting to prove themselves against the number one prospect in North America? I don’t think so, the chances of making the injury worse are just too great.
Surprisingly, the correct comment on the situation comes from Don Cherry:
Don Cherry, who called Crosby a hotdog in his rookie season last winter, dismissed questions of the phenom’s absence. “You expect me to say a lot of things, but there are 40 guys here working their butts off to make it,” he said. “And I’d rather have the attention on those 40 guys. I don’t want to dwell on that one. I’m just going to talk about the kids who are here.”
Read: Vancouver Sun
MasterMaq's Blog 