A pencil drawing of Sidney Crosby in action during the "Winter Classic" has earned one Crafton Elementary sixth-grader some notable recognition.

Student Kevin Schuster's drawing is currently being featured in the May 2008 issue of "Sports Illustrated for Kids" on newsstands now.

"I was excited after one of the publishers called when I was at a basketball game," Kevin says.

"They left a message on my machine. I was SO excited when I heard. I didn't know what to say."

A humble Kevin said his detailed drawing of the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar can be found on page 57 -- in the magazine's End Zone Gallery of artwork.

He submitted the drawing of his hockey favorite after a friend got a glimpse of his rendition of Crosby's game-winning goal in Buffalo on New Year's Day.

That encouragement was the little boost Kevin needed to put his drawing in the mail.

Cindy Schuster, Kevin's mom, says Kevin submitted the drawing even before the Pens knew they had made it into the playoffs.

"It was really cool (that he was selected). Kevin was chosen for a national magazine. It was just something he wanted to submit to Sports Illustrated Kids," she says.

"He's a great artist for someone his age. He takes after my dad,0 who is an architect. I think he may follow in his footsteps."

Like many Pens fans, Kevin has high confidence in this team during these championship playoff games.

"I think they will make it to the finals because they are already up two games," he said early last week.

"Sidney Crosby is my favorite hockey player. He has good puck handling and he just knows what to do on the ice."

Kevin is no stranger to being recognized for his artistic accomplishments.

He placed second nationwide out of 170,000 submissions last year in Pennsylvania's National Arbor Day poster contest sponsored by Toyota. Kevin was honored at an awards ceremony at a Seven Springs conference.

Although he is only 12, Kevin sees himself thoroughly using his artistic talents someday in some capacity, and he enjoys drawing the most.

"It is one of my favorite subjects," he says.

"I mainly like to do sports drawings and comics."

For more information about Sports Illustrated Kids, visit www.sikids.com [1] on the Web.