Is McDavid as popular as Crosby was at the same age?

[Hasa92]

I don't know but there isn't nearly as much talk about McDavid as there was with Crosby, that's also because Crosby had a lot of haters back then.

 

[John Eichel da GOAT]

McDavid on the Rangers has the potential to change the NHL in the states. Sucks hes going to waste prime years on the Oilers.

 

[Soundwave]

Crosby came at a time when really all the existing greats were retired or basically done (Gretzky, Lemieux, Lindros). So there was pent up demand.

McDavid entered the league when Crosby was still in his 20s and technically in his prime.

That makes a large difference, for the sake of argument lets say Crosby entered the league when Gretzky or Lemieux was 28 ... would he get more attention than Gretzky? Hell no. Wayne and Mario had been doing it for a decade by that point, Sid would have wait and earn his stripes.

Crosby entered a league where Martin St. Louis was arguably the best player in the league.

Connor gets a ton of attention anyway though, and will continue to do so, that's not much of a problem. If Jarome Iginla can get the amount of attention he got in Calgary, McDavid will get far more being the caliber of player he was.

And some guy named Gretzky became the most famous hockey player ever largely from his time in Edmonton too. That's not the issue.

 

[Soundwave]

McDavid on the Rangers has the potential to change the NHL in the states. Sucks hes going to waste prime years on the Oilers.

The NHL got a LA-New York Stanley Cup finals and still posted mediocre ratings in the US.

Canadian teams are what drive the NHL's revenue, they are well within their rights to get a great player now and again.

Fact is at the end of the day hockey will always be a niche sport in the US. It's a winter sport for starters in a country where the majority of people can't ice skate to begin with.

Sidney Crosby is "so popular" in the US, go look at the Gatorade American website ... he's not even one of the featured athletes on their web page, NBA B-tier stars like Karl Anthony Towns are featured over him. The Gatorade ads that have Crosby by the way only run in Canada and the Pittsburgh area I believe, he is edited out of the commercials for the rest of the US market because no one knows who the hell he is, lol.

Hockey is what it is, just embrace it.

 

[Archangel]

mcDavid gets hurt by playing for a team no one really cares about in Canada. Crosby maybe in Pittsburgh, but he is still stateside

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

not playing for an American team probably hurts is overall exposure

but who cares anyway? hockey ratings are beyond pitiful in the States anyways.. even with Sid in Pittsburgh and OV in Washington

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

1. Playing in a bad organization
2. Didn't whine and cry like Crosby (getting media attention)

McDavid is more "quiet" hence "less" popular...

 

[The Winter Soldier]

I would say they are similar, and maybe Connor infact is just a little more popular than Sid was.

 

[Cult of Hynes]

From what I remember? No. Living in NJ (an hour and a half train ride from NYC) any store that sold hockey stuff usually only sold local teams, so Devils, Rangers and the Islanders and some Flyers stuff. Crosby jerseys and shirts were also sold there. No other Pens stuff, just a Crosby Pens stuff.

When ever ESPN ran through the hockey scores, they always checked on how Crosby specifically was doing if the Pens were playing that night. They don't do that with McDavid.

McDavid is just as good as Crosby was at the same age, but the way they were marketed is not the same and the level of popularity between the two at the same age IMO is not the same.

Friends of mine that don't watch / like hockey knew who Crosby was, still do. And when I mean they know who he is, they actually know his name without forgetting it. Where as with McDavid, they know of an extremely fast and talented young Canadian hockey player, but they don't remember his name the same way. They just ask who the best player in the league is now, and if it's that number 97 from that oilers team and then run through a list of names until I finally correct them.

Not McDavid's fault. It falls on the NHL to a degree, but like someone already said, when Crosby came into the league it was a perfect storm to promote him and the Pens that led to him becoming as popular as he did.

 

[Flair Hay]

Crosby got way more shit when he was younger. Probably deservedly so. Both are class off the ice mainly. But Sid was more whiny on the ice for the first few years.

 

[ManofSteel55]

I think Crosby had more hype because the NHL hadn't had a clearcut "best player in the world" for a long, long time before he was there. There was always a battle between guys like Sakic, Yzerman, Forsberg, Lindros (until his concussions), Jagr, and Hasek, so Crosby came in as "the next Gretzky" and actually performed at that level basically out of the gate. So yeah, he was hyped more, even if Connor does end up better. Connor will always have the "is he better than Crosby" discussion, where with Crosby it was a debate with a contemporary, not a guy already established as a future HOF'er.

 

[ManofSteel55]

This is completely untrue, Crosby has a much bigger following among hockey fans, hell I think it's grown now that McDavid is here.

Maybe its more accurate to say Crosby is more hated? Because with Sid, everyone seems to either love him or hate him. With Connor, everyone either seems to love him or like him.

 

[robertmac43]

If either of those change, then he may get more hype. Can't speak to his pre-draft hype.

There was a lot of pre draft hype for McDavid but a lot of that just comes with the times. More exposure, media, sports channels, etc.

 

[Jeffhabs20]

Yeah no, Crosby was the most hyped kid since Gretzky and Lemieux, Crosby gave his first interview at age 7, at 12 he played AAA Peewee in the Dartmouth area and they couldn't keep track of his point totals only to say "well" over 200 points. he was so good the next year in AAA Bantam he had target on his back and routinely was pulled from games by the coach after getting a big lead, his folks even tried to sue nova scotia's minor hockey council to put him in midget 2 years early, they lost but the next 2 years in AAA Midget are legionary, leading scorer by 80+ points, MVP's and playoff MVP, then of course his ridiculous stats in junior with 350 points in 142 games.

Crosby will go down in history no only as a top hyped prospect but one that backed it up with being a winner at just about every level. McDavid needs to do more than skate fast and put up meaningless point totals to be even in the conversation. So far a McDavid lead team at any level has yet to win anything.

[mod] lmao.

 

[Hank Plank]

McDavid is infinitely more marketable then Crosby, social media included, doesn't have a personality of a doormat, and plays for an organization that boasts Gretzky, a billion dollar development going on and is a human highlight real. Once he makes some deep playoff runs , wins a few more awards, wins an Olympic gold, that might shut constant McDavid isnt this or that down on HF.

Is this satire?

 

[Riddum]

For starters, he put the Habs organization in an extremely uncomfortable position. They responded by moving him. They went to ****, after that trade.

Obviously, it's not ALL on him. It takes two to tango, but there's no way ownership was gonna let him put them over a barrel like that. Bergevin's also done a pretty good job himself, I will add.

PK's antics in the SCF played a pretty big role in them not winning the cup, in my opinion. That Listerine idiocy had the opposite effect of what that team needed, at that time. As a Pens fan, I can tell you I absolutely did not think we could beat the Preds, after witnessing what they were truly capable of... and the gum flapping he did, gave Sid and the Pens just enough gas to hold on and weather the storm long enough to win on lucky breaks.

PK is a locker room cancer. PK is selfish. PK is egotistical. PK is a Prima Donna. PK doesn't care about the team. PK's pledge to the hospital is nothing than a ploy, PK doesn't care about kids. PK sucks and never should have won the Norris.

What am I forgetting?

(and LOL @ Bergevin did a pretty good job)

 

[HyPnOtiK]

Crosby had sticks selling at reputable hockey shops at 15 years old. The hype behind Crosby was next to Lindros only. McDavid wasn't close for whatever reasons

 

[Ms Maggie]

Maybe its more accurate to say Crosby is more hated? Because with Sid, everyone seems to either love him or hate him. With Connor, everyone either seems to love him or like him.

The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. Bringing us back to difference between the two.

 

[daver]

Crosby had sticks selling at reputable hockey shops at 15 years old. The hype behind Crosby was next to Lindros only. McDavid wasn't close for whatever reasons

Because he wasn't as good as Crosby was at that age. Crosby was the epitome of a prodigy from a very young age. He was the best offensive prospect since Mario, and arguably was as good as Wayne and Mario in his pre-draft (age 16 and 17) years . McDavid wasn't quite at that level and since Crosby didn't turn out to be the next Wayne in terms of NHL production, it wasn't that big of a deal that another not quite as good a prospect as Crosby was coming down the pipe.

 

[ManofSteel55]

The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. Bringing us back to difference between the two.

No, but you are fooling yourself if you think people don't hate Crosby. People don't go out of their way to discredit someone and call them names like Crysby out of indifference.

 

[ACC1224]

Maybe its more accurate to say Crosby is more hated? Because with Sid, everyone seems to either love him or hate him. With Connor, everyone either seems to love him or like him.

Similar to Matthews everyone either loves the player or hates the team he plays for.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Similar to Matthews everyone either loves the player or hates the team he plays for.

The difference I think there, is that people dislike Matthews because he is a Leaf. People dislike the Penguins because they have Crosby. Nobody disliked the Penguins (aside from rival fans teams of course) before Crosby showed up. Sid is a polarizing figure, primarily because I think people have developed a dislike for him over his exposure by the media.

 

[ACC1224]

The difference I think there, is that people dislike Matthews because he is a Leaf. People dislike the Penguins because they have Crosby. Nobody disliked the Penguins (aside from rival fans teams of course) before Crosby showed up.

As dumb as that is, it's certainly true.

 

[sufferer]

Sid is a polarizing figure, primarily because I think people have developed a dislike for him over his exposure by the media.

Crosby was also a major brat on the ice and still is to a lesser extent. Matthews just goes about his business.

 

[Ms Maggie]

No, but you are fooling yourself if you think people don't hate Crosby. People don't go out of their way to discredit someone and call them names like Crysby out of indifference.

You miss my point. Crosby inspires love and hate. McD, not so much.