There isn’t a superlative around that has not been used to describe his game,” writes Paul Arseneault about Sidney Crosby. He would know, as he uses quite a few superlatives himself. In the course of this quickie book about the Nova Scotian boy who rose up through the junior leagues to become, at the age of 18, the player many are hoping will help restore the NHL’s fortunes, Arseneault lauds Crosby’s “on-ice wizardry,” his “star quality,” and his “Herculean lower body strength.” He describes Crosby as “a gift from the hockey heavens,” and says that “when you watch Sidney Crosby, you are watching the game of hockey as it was meant to be played.”

Luckily for Arseneault, a middle-school teacher in New Brunswick, most of this is true. His contention that Crosby is the player most likely to match or beat the record of Wayne Gretzky is endorsed by none other than Gretzky himself. So Arseneault can be forgiven if his book is a bit of a gusher.

Less forgiveable (and somehat puzzling, given fellow Maritimer Arseneault’s clear emotional attachment to his subject) is how ultimately bloodless and detached the book feels. Arseneault rushes through Crosby’s biography, gives a quick history of the roots of Maritime hockey, and speeds us through a few breathless accounts of some of Crosby’s biggest games and tournaments. What he leaves out is any real sense, beyond the hyperbole, of exactly what makes Crosby such a special player. Also absent is any real feel for the game itself. Arseneault’s accounts feel very secondhand and above-the-fray, and would be hard to follow for anyone not already a deeply committed hockey fan – for whom this book would be superfluous.

This is a decent first try at catching Crosby on paper, but it’s good to know that, given the Cole Harbour boy’s current trajectory, it’s likely to be far from the last.