It's Sidney in Wonderland as first pro trip to Canada turns into smash hit on and off ice
Thursday, January 05, 2006
By Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
MONTREAL -- He was on the front page of the French and English newspapers, and he was mobbed like a rock star by autograph seekers at almost every turn in his return to Canada. Still, Sidney Crosby relished quiet moments the most.
Take the routine optional practice skate yesterday in the Montreal suburb of Verdun. The barn-like auditorium with its quaint wooden seats, now Denis Savard Arena, was where his father, Troy, plied his trade as a goalie in the Canadiens' organization a generation ago.
Crosby was one of 19 Penguins to participate, and later the ascendant star talked about how he and his dad swapped stories about the old rink while providing a glimpse of the generational hold that the game has in this hockey-mad country.
"For me it was nice, but for him even more so," Crosby said the day after he scored two goals and was the No. 1 star in a game vs. the Montreal Canadiens, which he grew up worshipping in Nova Scotia.
"As soon I told him [about the practice], it seemed like he wanted to tell me as much as he could about the rink and what it was like to play there. I think it kind of gave him an opportunity to talk about it more than usual." he added.
Crosby beamed as he spoke of watching old game tapes of his father when hockey players wore long uniform pants.
Troy Crosby won a championship in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with Verdun, but he also had to face such sharpshooters as a young Mario Lemieux. One story from December 1983 documented how Lemieux beat Troy Crosby with a 50-foot slap shot.
Asked whether he had talked to his dad about the time Lemieux beat him for a goal, Crosby quipped: "Which one?"
The morning skate was part of the Crosby Magical Mystery Tour -- whenever he appears, items from jerseys to framed pictures appear along with pleas for him to sign autographs.
As Crosby made his way from the rink to the team bus through a mob of five dozen or so fans, Penguins vice president Tom McMillan was swept up in the crush and pinned for a moment against the team bus. It was a fitting end to Crosby's first trip back to Canada as an NHL player for regular-season games in his homeland.
Earlier this week in Toronto, Crosby and McMillan left their hotel in a Lincoln Town Car. As they headed to the morning skate, autograph seekers gave chase, hopping into five cabs to form a convoy. Crosby's black car eluded them by pulling into the rink via a delivery truck gate. The scene was reminiscent of Beatlemania in "A Hard Day's Night."
As expected, the Canadian media turned out in full force to chronicle Crosby's return. In Toronto, Crosby sat behind a table full of microphones while a dozen TV cameras filmed him and 12 reporters posed questions.
The media turnout in Montreal, the soul of hockey, was larger. Sporting his Reebok hat, Crosby answered questions in French and English in a room usually reserved for the Canadiens' hierarchy.
Asked about the media attention, Crosby said, "It doesn't get old. ... That's just the way it is. I've accepted that."
One other standard question concerned Don Cherry, the loudly opinionated voice of Coach's Corner on "Hockey Night in Canada." Cherry has never met Crosby, but he ridiculed Michel Therrien's coaching decision to anoint Crosby with the "A" of assistant captain as if it were a scarlet letter for an 18-year-old.
"For me, I'm not going to get into a battle with Don Cherry," Crosby said in taking the high road. "... Everyone's not going to have a great opinion about you no matter what you do," he added. "... He has his viewpoints. ... The only opinions I care about are those from my teammates."
Therrien had been concerned enough about the media glare to meet with Crosby to make sure he stayed focused on the games. Crosby responded with an assist in Toronto and two goals against the Canadiens, the first one on his first shot in the arena where he watched his first NHL game as a fan six years ago. (Having reached 20 goals, Crosby now gets a $212,000 bonus as part of his incentive clauses.)
Therrien shrugged off questions about Crosby's status as a team leader even though he would have two years of eligibility for the Canadian junior team.
"Check his stats. You'll find the answer," Therrien said.
In the seven games since he received the "A" for his sweater and moved back to center, Crosby has 13 points and trails Washington's Alexander Ovechkin by a point in the rookie scoring race.
"Sid's a leader by the way he plays," Therrien said.
The media glare may soften a bit as the Penguins prepare to play the Thrashers in Atlanta. And Crosby is doing a cover shoot today for ESPN Magazine.
(Bob Dvorchak can be reached at bdvorchak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1959.)
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