NHL Year in Review: Sidney Crosby for Person of the Year

Even after becoming the youngest captain in NHL history to hoist the Stanley Cup at 21 years of age for the Penguins in 2009, Sidney Crosby came into 2010 with a different kind of weight on his shoulders.

Like Crosby has done his entire career, he answered the call and silenced his critics -- much to the dismay of most hockey fans in the United States.

After being left off Canada's Olympic roster for the 2006 Games, Crosby was named as one of the alternate captains for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. In those four years between the Olympics, Crosby fine tuned his game and exceeded the great expectations that were put on him by the hockey world when the Penguins selected him with the first overall pick in the 2005 draft.

More Nominees: Kovalchuk | Toews | Wirtz

In those handful of years, the 23-year-old Crosby paved history for himself -- with 2010 playing a vital role in the star forward's career.

In this winter's gold-medal game against the United States, Crosby furthered his status as a Canadian hero by scoring the dramatic game-winning overtime goal for his in Vancouver against the United States. Expectations never seemed to faze Crosby, and they weren't about to start this year.

Although the Penguins did not replicate their success from 2009, Crosby finished tied atop the NHL leaderboard with 51 goals, and tied for second with 109 points when the 2010 NHL season ended. Crosby, a great teammate, has never been too concerned with personal accolades, though.

As significant as his on-the-ice maturation is, Crosby made significant strides in his personal life during 2010 as well.

Since his rookie year with the Penguins, Crosby lived with team owner Mario Lemieux during the season. In the spring of 2010, it was finally time for Crosby to move out of the in-season Lemieux residence. In their time together, the Lemieux family helped groom Crosby into one of the league's most prominent players -- successfully transitioning him from a junior prodigy to a professional star. Crosby bought a house of his own and moved not too far away from Lemieux. He came in as a youth and left an ambassador of hockey in 2010.

As the face of the Penguins and arguably the NHL, Crosby now takes players under his wing as the leader in Pittsburgh.

Crosby has also undoubtedly been the most consistent player of the year as well. The selfless leader is riding a career-high scoring streak at 24 games, one of the most impressive in NHL history. He is leading the NHL in both points scored and goals for the season, too.

But he won't tell you that. He is more concerned with his first place team's run to another Stanley Cup.