Crosby, Teammates Take the Ice with Little Penguins

After the men’s hockey Gold Medal Game between the U.S. and Canada, which wrapped up the Olympics, NBC broadcaster Mike Tirico delivered an inspirational sendoff.

He talked about how for the young people watching, dreams are formed now, and to go chase them and go get them.

And through his Little Penguins Learn to Play program, Sidney Crosby is helping kids who want to try hockey do just that.

It provides children ages 5-9 the opportunity to learn the fundamental skills of hockey in a fun and safe environment. The program consists of eight to ten sessions of on-ice instruction by certified coaches, and Little Penguins participants receive free head-to-toe equipment.

 “To get kids involved in sports nowadays, I think it's an awesome opportunity for them to be introduced to different sports,” said Ryan Hartle, whose daughter Emilene just started playing hockey this year. “This is just a great opportunity for them to experience something out, maybe outside of their comfort zone, and try something new.”

Emilene was one of 100 kids enrolled in Little Penguins who got to take part in today’s Golden Ticket session at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex following Penguins practice.

“This is about the kids today,” said Yvonne Maher, Executive Director of Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation. “When you think about youth hockey, and when you think about what our role is at the foundation to bring more kids on the ice to generate the next fan base for the Penguins, we're super stoked.”

They took the ice with the Penguins players, as the injured Crosby interacted with them from the bench.

“My favorite memory was high-fiving Sidney Crosby,” said one of the Little Penguins, Emma.

The captain takes a lot of pride in how far the program has come since it started in 2008.

“It’s what you envision, having that opportunity for kids to play and introduce them to hockey,” Crosby said. “To have everybody be involved the way they have been has been amazing. To see it take the steps that it has and to see the registration for it be high and everyone be excited for it, that’s why we did it.”

The Penguins players hadn’t skated with the kids since before the pandemic. Perhaps it’s fitting that the return of the Golden Ticket skate came in the same season that he passed Mario Lemieux to become Pittsburgh’s all-time points leader, as it’s a huge part of Crosby’s legacy.

Dave Hannan, who was drafted by the Penguins in 1981 and played over 800 games in the NHL, played with Lemieux back in the day.

“We always said that after we were here for such a long time, we were always going to come back to Pittsburgh,” Hannan said.

Now, he has his grandson enrolled in Crosby’s program, as Jack has been begging his parents to let him get on the ice.

“It brings back a lot of memories from Mario when he brought a lot of young kids to play,” Hannan said. “And now, Sid, with his Little Pens, we just spent a whole day here, and it was just awesome.”

While the children were extremely excited to skate with the Penguins, and the parents were just as grateful to witness it, the players themselves also value moments like these.

“I think it's awesome for us to be able to get out there with the kids and see how much we can impact them,” Bryan Rust said. “But I think it's awesome for the kids, too. They obviously are able to get on the ice with us and have some fun, and that's kind of what it's all about.

“I don't think anybody has ever started playing hockey with the idea that it was going to be our career. We played because we loved it, and it ended up taking us to the highest point. But just kind of puts things into perspective, that this is a game that we love to play, and we're extremely fortunate to be able to do it for a living.”