"How Was Your Summer?"

The days between the Rookie Tournament and Training Camp always feel like going back to school and reuniting with all of your classmates.

The first question is usually, “How was your summer?” We asked that to Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell – here’s what they were up to.

Sidney Crosby

After representing Canada at the 2026 World Championship in Switzerland, the Penguins captain went to Italy. Crosby has said that he enjoys visiting those two countries in particular.

“Italy’s got a lot of history I like, with the Colosseum and ancient Rome and all of that. Switzerland, I just like the outdoors. So, those places are really cool to see,” Crosby said.

A highlight of Crosby’s trip to Europe took place in Ireland.

“I went to my first hurling match, so that was really cool,” Crosby said. “It was Limerick versus Cork. It was a big game. It met all of my expectations and more, I would say. I’ve followed hurling for a little bit and been on a couple golf trips over there and seen it on TV, but never been to an actual game. So, that was cool to see that live.”

How would Crosby explain the sport of hurling to someone who has never watched it?

“That's a very tough one,” he said with a laugh. “I would say it's kind of like lacrosse, rugby and soccer all mixed together. Just a really fast pace to it, physical, a lot of hand-eye coordination. Really fun to watch.”

Bryan Rust

After the season ended, Bryan, his wife Kelsey and their three kids took one epic vacation.

“Me and my family went to Hawaii for ten days, which was fantastic,” he said. “From there, we kind of just hung out at the house and enjoyed life on the lake. It was great.”

During the offseason, the Rusts live in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, as Kelsey is from there (as are some members of management, including Kyle Dubas, Wes Clark, Ron Francis and Trevor Daley).

Rickard Rakell

Rickard, his wife Emmeli and their two children were busy in the best way. After spending the season half a world away from their loved ones back in Sweden, they took full advantage of their time at home.

They spend time in Stockholm, as Rickard is from the suburb of Sollentuna. They also have a place farther north, as Emmeli is from Skelleftea, where former Penguin Marcus Pettersson and his wife Beatrice also grew up. The Rakells and Petterssons are great friends, and took a family vacation to Mallorca, Spain together.

Rickard and Emmeli then traveled to Nice, France for the wedding of his former Anaheim Ducks teammate, Hampus Lindholm.

But as Emmeli wrote on her post from the festivities, while they enjoyed their first trip as a couple in four years, they mostly talked about daughter Daisy and son Ziggy.

Rickard said his highlight of the summer was the kids getting to spend time with their extended families.

“Seeing everybody, seeing the kids growing up, seeing the cousins together now and how much fun they have, and creating memories,” Rickard said. “I just like to sit back and watch them enjoy their days. Still, now, even though they live in different places of the world, talking about each other, and I’m looking forward to when they meet next time.”