Crosby and Penguins Bring NHL Excitement to Cole Harbour

Sidney Crosby has skated at Cole Harbour Place many times over the years, and it's a place that played a formative role in his hockey career. So, having the chance to bring the Penguins to his hometown rink for practice on Sunday ahead of the Nova Scotia Showdown was a surreal experience for the captain.

“I never thought I would have an opportunity to do this,” he said. “Had a lot of early morning practices in this rink and had dreams of playing in the NHL. Didn't ever think that I'd be able to be here with our team and do something like this. So, you just try to take it all in and enjoy it.”

It meant a lot to his teammates being there with him, knowing just how special it was for Crosby to have his worlds - the two places he calls home - come together.

“He was really excited about it. During all of training camp he was hyping up the place,” Kris Letang said. “You see how happy he is, he was kind of emotional a little bit, to be honest.

“I think Sid always wants to give back to the community. To be from here and everything he does here and have his entire team come and be part of the community and see where he grew up and everything around Halifax that he loves – it’s fun, and you see how grateful he is for it.”

The Penguins are staying in Halifax, which is about 20 minutes away. On the bus ride to the rink, the guys got a kick out of the famous sign welcoming them to Cole Harbour, with ‘home of Sidney Crosby’ listed below.

As they pulled up to Cole Harbour Place, the line of people waiting to get in for the team’s 11 AM practice – some of them arriving at 6 AM! – stretched out into the street, a sign of the excitement around town for the Penguins’ arrival.

As he took in the building that features a lot more than just a sheet of ice – including a pool, library, and fitness areas – Letang couldn’t resist ribbing his friend of nearly two decades.

“He always has talked about the little small town he is from, and Halifax in general. He kind of said he had to grind it up, then we pull up to this beautiful facility with tennis courts and squash courts,” Letang said with a laugh. “Like, ‘you really had it hard, huh?’ Just teasing around.”

To be fair to Sid, not much has changed about the ice rink itself, highlighted by the painted mural of people playing hockey outdoors in a snowy landscape.

“I think anytime you go to small local rinks, you feel so much support and it really brings you back to being that same age, playing hockey and falling in love with the sport,” Reilly Smith said. “So obviously, means a ton to Sid to be able to have the team here. For us to kind of see his backyard for a few days, we've all heard the stories of Cole Harbour, so it’s nice to finally come here and see what it’s all about.”

When planning for the Nova Scotia Showdown first began, Crosby called Paul Mason, his coach in both youth hockey and baseball who is a close family friend, to discuss how to make the most of the Penguins’ time on Sunday.

“I said well, you want kids involved, right?” Mason said, with the captain answering in the affirmative. So, they invited children from the Cole Harbour Minor Hockey Association to not only watch the Penguins skate, but take part in a clinic with the coaches and some players afterward.

“One mother called me and said, I have an email that says something I don't understand. I said, what do you mean?” Mason said. “She said, the way I'm reading this, I think my son gets to go to that practice. I said, well, he gets to go to practice, but he also gets to go on the ice. She screamed, and started crying on the phone. I think that describes the emotions of everyone here.”

It sure does. From the moment Crosby entered the building, when the kids had him in their sights, they chanted “CROSBY! CROSBY!” When he was elsewhere, the chants switched to, “WE WANT CROSBY!”

“You can see the energy and enthusiasm in the rink,” Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan said. “It’s incredible. It’s just been an unbelievable experience just to be a part of it and watch it all evolve here. I think it’s a great tribute to the legacy Sid has built, both with the Pittsburgh Penguins and also with the NHL.”

His teammates also marveled at the reaction Crosby inspired from those in his hometown, repeating the chants in the locker room and both on the team bus.

“Pretty wild,” Bryan Rust said with a smile. “Especially just there walking off the ice, I thought that piece of glass was gonna break, so I got out of there. It’s crazy to see how much he means to this community.”

After practice wrapped up, the captain and a few others – including Evgeni Malkin – changed into tracksuits and went out for the clinic.

One group went upstairs for a Q&A with kids and their families from the Cole Harbour Minor Hockey Association, while another group took over the room next door for a Q&A with Black youth hockey players, children from families affected by the Canadian wildfires, and new settlers to the area.

Finally, Letang and Erik Karlsson were part of a crew that went to IWK Health Centre, the local children’s hospital.

“Honestly, it's really nice they're able to bring everybody down here and do this. It'll have a lasting impact on a lot of people,” Ryan Graves said.

It certainly will for Nakai Simon, who was gifted with a core memory when Crosby sent over one of his sticks for the 12-year-old to tape prior to Penguins practice.

"It is something he’s never going to forget. So appreciated," said his mom Shayla.