Skating alone on an outdoor rink, Guillaume Ouimet got some unexpected company in January as the Pens' star left him with a lasting memory.
By Stu Cowan
http://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/stu-cowan-mont-tremblant-teens-magical-morning-with-sidney-crosby
March 15, 2018
Sidney Crosby surprised Guillaume Ouimet, right, on an outdoor rink in Quebec in early January.
Guillaume Ouimet was given the opportunity to see Sidney Crosby up-close in action Thursday night when the Pittsburgh Penguins played the Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
But it was nothing compared to actually being on the ice with Crosby, something Ouimet got to experience in January at an outdoor rink in Mont-Tremblant.
Ouimet, who is captain of the Junior Double-A Mont-Tremblant Diables, has been skating on the same outdoor rink since he was about 5 and the 19-year-old still likes to go by himself early in the morning to do some drills and again at night to play shinny with his friends. It was about 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 9 when he noticed a car pull up in the nearby parking lot and a man get out and start walking toward the rink.
“At first, I was just surprised to see someone else at the rink so early in the morning on a weekday,” Ouimet recalled over the phone Wednesday from Mont-Tremblant. “But as he got closer, I realized who it was and I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it … it was unreal.”
It was Crosby, who was vacationing in Mont-Tremblant during the Penguins’ bye week in the NHL schedule.
“When he first showed up he didn’t have his skates … he was just checking out the ice,” Ouimet said. “He asked me a couple of questions about the ice and if I was alone. I asked him if he wanted to join me for a skate and he said: ‘Of course.’ He went back to his car to grab his skates and laced them up while sitting in the snow, just like a kid would do. It was pretty impressive to see.
“When you think about it, it was his bye week — his only week with no hockey during the entire season. He comes to Mont-Tremblant and he brings his skates? That shows you how much he loves the game. He could have gone on a beach in Mexico or somewhere and relax.”
Ouimet’s story has received a lot of media exposure, including an interview with Tony Marinaro on TSN Radio 690. Afterward, Marinaro reached out to his friend Andy Kirstein, who has Canadiens season tickets, to see if he would give Ouimet his seats for Thursday’s game. Kirstein is president and CEO of Como Fred David, which designs, manufactures and distributes women’s apparel.
“I read the story online a couple of weeks before Tony had him on the air,” Kirstein said over the phone Thursday morning from London, England, where he was on a business trip. “I thought it was just a great story … that’s the type of story you wish would happen to everyone, including yourself. I thought it was very cool and Tony called me and I said it would be my pleasure to give the kid my tickets.”
Kirstein’s seats are very good ones, located in the third row of the Prestige section, and Ouimet brought his father, Guy, to the game. Kirstein said he received a “beautiful letter” from Ouimet, thanking him for the tickets.
Ouimet said he spent about an hour on the outdoor rink with Crosby while the player’s girlfriend, Kathy Leutner, took photos so Ouimet could have some souvenirs — and also so his friends would actually believe him.
After getting on the ice, Crosby told Ouimet he had been having some problems coming out of the left corner with the puck in the offensive zone, getting poke-checked by defencemen, so the NHL superstar set up a drill using a pair of his girlfriend’s boots as cones and had Ouimet work with him.
“He’s the best player in the world, but his desire to improve and his work ethic is phenomenal,” Ouimet said. “I realize why he’s the best player in the NHL … every little thing that’s not perfect he wants to work on it. I think that’s the main key to be the greatest at what you do.”
Afterward, Ouimet gave Crosby a tour of the nearby indoor arena where his junior team plays and took him into the Diables locker room. Ouimet said Crosby spent about 10 minutes speaking with some arena workers, using the French he learned while playing junior for the Rimouski Océanic.
“His French is pretty good,” Ouimet said.
When asked what impressed him most about Crosby, Ouimet said: “Not only his skills on the ice, but his personality. He was so humble, he really took the time to talk to me like we were friends. He doesn’t think that he’s better than anyone else. I was giving him compliments, but he just told me that every player in the NHL is good.”
Ouimet is a Canadiens fan and his favourite player is Brendan Gallagher, but that’s not who he was planning to cheer for Thursday night.
“I think I’ll probably be cheering for the Penguins,” he said. “The Canadiens’ season is pretty much over, so I’ll be cheering for a third Stanley Cup in a row for Sidney.”
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