OPINION

By Ray Slover

updated 2:40 a.m. ET June 16, 2007

Ray Slover

Having attained superstar status before reaching drinking age, Sidney Crosby should be the new face of the NHL. Here's how the league must take advantage.

We have found the "Next One," and his name is Sidney Crosby. If there was any doubt from the season just past, it was erased with Thursday's NHL awards presentation.

Sidney Crosby, phenom, superstar, brilliant player and personality, is the modern-day Great One.

So as the headline asks, what's next?

Certainly Crosby had all the right answers after receiving the Hart Trophy and Pearson award, emblems and rewards for the NHL's best player, to go along with the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer.

Take, for example, these quotes from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

"It looks like a very bright future," Crosby said. "It's a statement to how far we've come in the past year. We should all be excited that there are a lot of guys that have made an impact and will continue to make an impact."

Certainly he used last season's rookie of the year snub as motivation. Yeah, even though he denies it. "That wasn't what drove me to play this year," Crosby told reporters after the ceremony in Toronto. "I just wanted to be better than I was before."

Modesty serves to make Crosby even more special in this age of me-first athletes. The NHL isn't as one-centric as other sports, but it's clear Crosby burns to be the best player of his time.

The next Gretzky, anointed the "Next One" by no less an icon than the "Great One," Wayne Gretzky.

What's next?

1. Personality
This is a genuine guy, this Sid the Kid. He should be the centerpiece of the NHL's marketing campaign. Certainly that campaign will continue to include Alexander Ovechkin, who has an electric smile and winning personality.

Special feature How Crosby compares to past phenoms

But Crosby is more what North American hockey fans want, and a man lukewarm fans can embrace. Handsome, articulate and, above all, a nonpareil talent. He can fill highlight reels, scraps of which will be used in NHL promos.

Let me repeat that so the NHL marketing geniuses get it. Sidney Crosby will be the face of NHL marketing and promotion.

But not the only one.

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One of the best NHL promos of recent years arrived last season. You know which one -- Ovechkin orders tons of food and sends it to Crosby's room. Well, there's Ovechkin on the phone. There's Phil Kessel in a group of players using a luggage cart for a hallway pushcart ride. Young, talented players outshine familiar old faces in this promo.

Keep it up. Add to it. Pluck the brightest, freshest young talent and use it to give TV viewers a look at just how engaging NHL players are. Those of us who are fortunate enough to spend time in NHL locker rooms know the personality strengths of players. Make those strengths come through.

2. Talent
Ovechkin couldn't lift a moribund Capitals team into the playoffs, but Crosby was the centerpiece of the Penguins' renaissance. Keep Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards involved. Mix in players from every NHL team. Paul Stastny, for example. American kids across the league. Canadian kids.

Their talent electrifies. Use those jaw-dropping scoring plays. The NHL must find a way to do what the NFL does with its NFL Films division -- put the best spectacular images on display with a mixture of media.

It's talent that makes the NHL world go round. And not just scoring and playmaking. Throw in the big hits, sensational saves and the outrageous on- and off-ice antics. But make sure talent drives it. And Crosby's talent should be the starting point.

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