Crosby's childhood coach says Cole Harbour ready for 4 Nations 

Paul Mason has coached minor hockey and minor baseball in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, for 46 years. He’s been fortunate enough to have coached several NHL players, including Sidney Crosby, who will play for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Paul and his wife, Dana, and Crosby’s parents own Top Shelf Pro Shop at Cole Harbour Place, Crosby’s childhood rink. Paul can often be found at the pro shop or on the ice there. His son, Liam, helps him coach and his daughter, Kristi, coaches ringette at the rink.

Here, Mason talks about the growing excitement throughout Nova Scotia, particularly in Cole Harbour, as Canada prepares for its first game of the 4 Nations Face-Off, against Sweden at Bell Centre on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, TVAS). Crosby is the captain for Canada and is playing on a line with Nathan MacKinnon, another Nova Scotian. Brad Marchand, also from Nova Scotia, is on the roster as well.

Weekend mornings at Cole Harbour Place, where the local minor hockey rinks are located, are always similar.

I’m in my usual spot at Top Shelf, working the skate sharpening and memorabilia shop located in the center of the facility. Many people come in to purchase items, have skates sharpened, or just talk hockey.

Often the conversations center around Sidney Crosby, because of his connection to our community. Increasingly, conversations about Nathan MacKinnon, another Cole Harbour graduate, and his dominance during the last several years are topics that are covered with morning coffees.

The pride in our community of these two tremendous ambassadors is far reaching.

When we travel with our hockey team, it never fails that people ask if anyone on our team knows Sidney or Nathan. What is in the water in Cole Harbour or do they ever come home are questions that are always asked.

These questions and others still occur, but there is a different excitement in the air with our morning java and hot stove session at the skate shop or in local arenas.

When it was announced that three of the first six players selected to represent Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off were from our local region, the pride increased exponentially.

Frequently, when Canadian teams are announced to represent the country in international competitions, our Atlantic Canadian region is not always represented. But this time, Team Canada tabbed three Nova Scotians among the first six players named to the roster: Crosby, MacKinnon and Marchand.

Those players come from two minor hockey associations in suburban communities outside of Halifax: Cole Harbour and Hammonds Plains.

The provincial pride is everywhere.

A regional podcast, “High Button Sports,” recently sent a social media reminder, as if it was needed, that said, “Reminder: Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Brad Marchand will be teammates in less than three weeks.”

People in our region are excited to see how this all unfolds. If any of us can influence the Canadian lineup, I’m sure the starting forward line would be 87, 29 and 63.

I continue to coach the same team that Crosby played for in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Cole Harbour Peewee AAA team.

We are planning our annual trip away to Quebec in February, a trip that Crosby and his teammates made as well. This trip includes a long bus ride to Quebec City, departing on the early hours of Feb. 15.

Two members of our coaching staff have excused themselves from the bus trip, instead flying up early to Montreal so that they can watch the Finland vs. Sweden game and U.S. vs. Canada game on Feb. 15. They’ll drive from Montreal to Quebec City to join us for the week in Quebec.

Other friends of ours are hoping to see the three Bluenosers in the final. They have purchased their tickets and made their travel arrangements to Boston. There are dozens of people from this area, heading to Montreal or Boston to see how our local superstars will do in this event.

One minor hockey team from Cole Harbour will be in Montreal during the tournament and many of them will be attending the 4 Nations Face-Off games.

Teams from a neighboring association are going to be in the United States. One of the staff members informed me that they were ensuring that the Wi-Fi on the bus would be sufficient so families could watch the games while travelling.

Families in our region who aren’t traveling don’t have to go very far to find a viewing party. Many local establishments are partnering with vendors to provide venues that will be go-to locations for fans who want to show their Canadian spirit with a large group of other supporters.

You can be assured that the numbers 87, 29 and 63 will be prevalent on jerseys and other paraphernalia at these viewing parties.