Crosby, Little Pens share lasting memory

Not every kid gets to go around and say that they got to hit the ice with Sidney Crosby and members of the Pittsburgh Penguins to learn a few tricks from the pros. But 100 lucky kids were gifted that opportunity through the "Little Penguins Learn to Play Hockey" program Wednesday afternoon at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

The "Little Penguins" program is in it's 11th season and provides free head-to-toe hockey equipment to 2,000 kids aged 4-9 every year. One hundred random kids were chosen from 25 rinks in this year's program and received a "golden ticket" with their free equipment at DICK'S Sporting Goods. This ticket was an invitation for the kids to come watch the Penguins practice and then hit the ice with Sidney and his teammates for a clinic.
"Today was our annual golden ticket event for our Little Penguins Program," Mike Chiasson, the Manager of Youth Hockey for the Penguins, said. "These kids were chosen amongst our 25 participating rinks when they picked up their equipment, so it was pretty exciting for them."
All of the participating kids came to watch the Penguins practice, and then quickly got into their gear before joining the players on the ice.
"I think it's so nice," Amy Panty, the mother of participant MJ, said. "All the stuff they provide, the ice time, teaching them the fundamentals of hockey and teaching them the basics so that they can grow and love hockey,"

The rink was divided into secionds with various drills set up for the players to teach the kids. As time went on, the kids would rotate between drills where a new Penguins player would help them out.
The players on the ice were Nick Bjugstad, Jared McCann, Garrett Wilson, Juuso Riikola, Dominik Simon and Casey DeSmith. Sidney Crosby rotated throughout the drills. All the players were greeted with stick taps from the kids as they were introduced.
One of the skills that kids got to work on is their skating. Though it might have been a little hard with Crosby chasing them around trying to play freeze tag. Anytime a kid was frozen, the only way to be unfrozen was by having Sid slide under the kids' legs.
"A lot of them will probably realize a few years down the road and a lot of them are probably too young to realize how special it is now," Chiasson said. "It's just fun to see everyone smiling and having a good time out there, and I think to see the team up close and for the parents to see it as well is very special, and a memory they'll always have."
Wilson was having fun with participating in the 4-on-4 drill as he was getting down and sliding around trying to block shots from the kids. At one point, all the kids were standing in front of one net trying to prevent Wilson from scoring. The Penguins forward kept skating around the net as the kids scrambled to stay in front of the goal.
"I think I went a little too hard, but it was a lot of fun," Wilson said. "I remember when I was their age and skating with bigger players, that was always a lot of fun. So I tried to make it fun for them and I had a great time."

Ian, a participant from North Versailles, never thought he would have the opportunity to be on the ice learning from the best, but he was extremely happy when he found his golden ticket.
"I was really in shock, I loved it," he said. "I was jumping around everywhere. I was so happy for it."
DeSmith had kids skate around tires and then attempt a shot at the him.
One young boy skated up to DeSmith, scored on the rebound, and the smile was so big on his face that he ended up falling over, much to the amusement of DeSmith.
That young boy was not the only one falling though, many kids were slipping and sliding which made for a fun atmosphere for everyone involved. Though that didn't stop them from pulling out their best moves to try and impress the Penguins players.
"It was fun, and we got a lot of compliments from the players and they were very nice to set this up for us," Derek Barbe, a participant from Beaver Country, said.

All of this would not be possible without the captain himself, as he is one of the reasons that this program exists.
"It's great to see that it's caught on and really from Day 1 it has," Crosby said. "But it seems to be getting more popular and that tells me that hockey is growing and that the kids are enjoying it, and hopefully they're telling their friends. They have now picked it up after going through it."
As the day was coming to an end, all the kids and players gathered at center ice for a group picture, and a final talk with Sid and the Penguins. Many of these kids than went off the ice and immediately told their parents how cool the experience was.

"You know it's just all about getting the opportunity and that's the whole point of it," said Crosby. "And the fact that they enjoy themselves, have fun and meet new kids, I think that's the experience we want them to make of it."