Friday, June 1, 2007
Mario Lemieux (right) presents Sidney Crosby with the C jersey. Crosby was named captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Mellon Arena Thursday, becoming the youngest team captain in NHL history.
The Kid officially became The Man on Thursday, though both were easy to spot at a news conference announcing Sidney Crosby as the Penguins' new captain.
The Kid finished modeling his new jersey, complete with a capital 'C,' and he handed it to his dad for safekeeping.
The Man handled the media crush with ease.
The Kid loves PlayStation and still lives with Mario Lemieux's family -- though he purchased a house in his hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, last summer.
The Kid's a teenager -- two months shy of his 20th birthday -- which is why some who aren't close to the situation will question the wisdom of this move. A few months ago, NHL legend Mark Messier fell into that category.
Messier, during the All-Star break in Dallas, said he was wildly impressed with Crosby's character but cautioned against naming him captain anytime soon.
"I'm always leery about making kids that young assistant captains, even," Messier said. "Clearly, he is the leader of the team. But at the same point, you need to let him be a rookie, a child. You need to give him the opportunity to make mistakes.
"Being a captain or an assistant captain puts undue pressure on him."
Undue pressure? Crosby has been thriving in the face of it practically since birth.
See, in some ways, The Kid has always been The Man. His father reflected on that yesterday at Mellon Arena.
"He's just always been really mature," Troy Crosby said. "I think it's because a lot of his friends were a couple of years older, because of hockey, and I think some kids are just more mature than others. He was always focused and really knew what he wanted to do from a young age. He sacrificed a lot."
Still does.
You know as much if you watch the Penguins and see Crosby play every shift at warp speed. You know it, too, if you've seen coach Michel Therrien bar him from practice to avoid possible burnout.
Therrien spotted the born leader in Crosby the instant he replaced Eddie Olczyk midway through the 2005-06 season. Olczyk's instinct was to shelter Crosby. Therrien's instinct was to feature him -- burden him, even, because he knew The Man could handle it.
That's why Therrien immediately stripped respected veteran John LeClair of his assistant captain's role and gave it to Crosby.
Critics howled. Don Cherry, the cantankerous Canadian hockey analyst and former NHL coach, ripped Therrien and said of Crosby, "He's an 18-year-old kid."
But also an 18-year-old man, and one who would soon become the youngest scoring champion in NHL history.
Yesterday, the Penguins made Crosby the youngest captain in NHL history.
Crosby could have had the job before or during the season, but he turned it down twice, including 10 days after the All-Star Game.
"He told us, 'I don't think the time's right,' " general manager Ray Shero said. "That says a lot about him."
Ironic, isn't it?
In refusing such a prestigious job -- in demonstrating his ability to say no -- Crosby showed precisely the kind of maturity, courage and smarts the job requires.
The Kid was eager. The Man made him wait.
Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com
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