Book Cover

There was definitely a lot of pressure, which is ok. I gotta go there and be ready.

# Review

In this biographical audiobook, the author takes a deep dive into Sidney Crosby’s first year in the NHL. The author examines Crosby’s upbringing in the Maritimes, his career in junior hockey, and his first year of being in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Specifically the book dives into how Crosby played with and is mentored by longtime Penguins legend Mario Lemieux, of him being singled out by other teams and being called a “crybaby”, and of his rivalry with another phenom, Alexander Ovechkin.

The “book” bases its narrative on interviews with people who are close to Crosby, such as his parents, his agent, and his teammates. There are also extensive interviews with Mario Lemieux and Crosby himself. The anecdotes are interesting, such as Crosby eating fast food in the bathroom in the middle of the night. Overall, the “book” paints an image of Crosby as the phenom who is fiercely passionate about hockey and who, almost single handedly, turned around a failing franchise. Joe Manganiello does a good job of narrating the book but I found the pacing to be on the slower end. I would recommend listening at 1.5x to 2x speed.

# Conclusion

Interesting audiobook exploring Crosby's first year, both the ups and the downs.

# Overall rating: 7.1

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