...He is considered far and away the No. 1 prospect for the 2005 NHL draft. The draft will be held soon after the end of the NHL lockout, which is expected in the next couple of weeks. What Crosby is projected to be able to do as a pro, combined with media skills beyond his years, has made him an attractive pitchman for companies.
"He reminds me a bit of a young Wayne Gretzky in that he has all those nice Canadian qualities, the gosh-by-golly, the modesty," said Bob Stelllick, who runs a sports marketing company in Toronto.
"He's quite media savvy. He's really ridden the crest of the media's desire for the guy who is the big story."
...Stellick said Crosby's desire to be bilingual has made him even more marketable. "I think Eric Lindros really missed the boat on that," Stellick said. "Eric Lindros, a bilingual, good-looking Canadian refused to go to Quebec and that hurt him massively in his Canadian endorsement opporunities.
"Sidney is a guy who has played in Quebec. He's almost a bilingualphone almost. That gives someone like a Gatorade access to another 30 per cent of the population."
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