Early Success hasn't changed Crosby

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By Karen Price
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, October 22, 2006

It's 12:30 p.m. on a Penguins practice day, the session has been over for a half hour and Sidney Crosby is still on the ice.

Not that it's unusual for Crosby to be among the last to head to the dressing room.

Crosby took the hockey world by storm last year, becoming the youngest player in the history of the NHL to reach 100 points at the age of 18 years, 253 days. But while his life has changed in some ways, like becoming a homeowner, in most regards, he remains the same hard-working, focused player he was a year ago.

"I think it's important (to stay the same guy)," Crosby said. "I feel lucky that I'm able to play hockey, and I don't take that for granted. I'm lucky to wake up every day and do something I love. A lot of people don't have that opportunity."

Crosby's drive and maturity have been well documented over the years and particularly since he stepped into the spotlight of the NHL with labels such as "The Next One" and the new savior of the Penguins.

Sidney Crosby's father, Troy, believes that much of his son's maturity comes from playing both hockey and baseball with kids who were older than he was growing up.

"He was never around kids his own age except in his class," said Troy Crosby, who often attends games. "In sports, where he spent most of his time out of school, he was with kids who were maybe two years older. So, maybe it was just something that happened naturally. I don't know."
Troy Crosby says that he and his wife, Trina, didn't groom their son to be able to handle the spotlight and the pressure. But they did raise Sidney and their daughter, Taylor, to be respectful of others, he said. But there's nothing they did specifically to prepare Sidney for hockey superstardom.

"He's been in the spotlight for a long time, even in minor hockey. So, he's been singled out as being a little bit different, and he's always had a lot of attention," Troy Crosby said. "But there's nothing that we did consciously to prepare him, no."

Pierre McGuire, analyst for TSN, NBC and Versus, has known Crosby for years and says that, even when Crosby was attending Shattuck St. Mary's (Minn.) as a 16-year-old, he was known for being mature for his age, both on and off the ice.

McGuire also saw examples of it when Crosby was swarmed at his first World Junior Championship tournament in Helsinki, Finland, when he became the youngest player to score a goal in the tournament, and again when he went to play for Rimouski of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

"Rimouski is an extremely French town, and he not only played there, but he learned the language," McGuire said. "He had to adapt to a culture far different from what he grew up in, and he never complained. He was proud to be part of it and enjoyed it so much that, during the Olympic break last year, he went up to Rimouski."

Crosby's life did change a bit over the summer.

Although in Pittsburgh -- Crosby still stays with Mario Lemieux and his family -- Crosby bought his first house close to where he grew up in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, for the offseason. It's a good place for privacy, he said, especially since his parents' address is known well enough that fans have actually showed up unexpectedly at the front door.

"I found a spot that I've kind of always dreamed of having, and it was a perfect situation for me, so I was more than happy to get something there," Crosby said, adding that it's in a gated neighborhood. "It's not a place that's full of houses or a suburban area or anything. It's in the woods and on a nice lake, so I really enjoy it there."

One thing Crosby has come to be known for amongst his teammates is his willingness to share in his good fortune.

Reebok is one of Crosby's main sponsors, and last year, he had them deliver enough running shoes to outfit the entire team.

"He always does stuff for the guys in that way," Ryan Malone said. "Obviously, he has a lot of endorsements, and he thinks of the guys. That just shows the kind of person he is. He wants to make sure everyone can benefit from his success. He's definitely thinking about the guys, and he's a good team guy."

This year, Crosby arranged to have a popular Canadian brand of coffee delivered to Mellon Arena, so that his teammates and staff members could have it whenever they wanted.

"I know we don't have it here (in Pittsburgh), and the trainers enjoy a nice coffee sometimes because, let's face it, they're at the rink so much and early in the mornings, things like that," Crosby said. "I know a lot of the guys like to drink coffee, too, so I just figured that if I have the ability to get my hands on some coffee, I'd try to hook up the team and the office."

Malone said it was hard to judge whether Crosby seems more mature this year than he did last year. To him, Crosby's the same guy he's always been.

"He's still only 19, but he knows how to handle himself," Malone said. "To me, he's the same player. We still get on him and joke around with him. To us, he's still just another guy on the team."

One of Crosby's best friends on the team is Colby Armstrong, 23.

Armstrong laughed when it was suggested that Crosby sometimes acts like he's 19 going on 39. But he said that everything Crosby does, both on and off the ice, is done with the idea of helping the team get better.

In six games this season, Crosby, who had 102 points in his rookie year, has two goals and seven assists to lead the team in scoring.

"He wants the team to do well," Armstrong said. "He wants to win. He's obviously a big competitor, and he wants to turn this thing around not in a year, not in two years, but now.
"It's a great attitude to have, and it's obviously rubbing off on everyone else."

Troy Crosby said as mature as his son is on the ice during the season and as seriously as he takes hockey, he still shows his teenage side when he's at home during the offseason.

"When he's at home relaxing, he's like any other 18 or 19-year-old kid, hanging out with his buddies, laughing, joking around, watching TV, playing football or golf, just having fun and trying to relax away from the rink," Troy Crosby said. "He's definitely just a normal kid."

Troy Crosby has already had many proud dad moments over the course of Sidney's career, and he'll undoubtedly have many more to come. But, at the end of the day, he might be most proud of the person his son is, not the hockey player.

"What parent wouldn't be proud of that?" Troy Crosby said. "He cares about people, and he's respectful.

"After hockey's over, that's what's most important is being a good person. That's all we try to raise our kids to be. That's absolutely something that I'll always be proud of."

Karen Price can be reached at kprice@tribweb.com.