Sidney Crosby knows that playing with high expectations isn’t always easy and decided to give prodigy Connor Bedard some advice.
The Chicago Blackhawks forward is currently in the spotlight and will remain so for the rest of his career. In this context, Crosby emphasized how important it is for Bedard to take advantage of this first year on the Bettman circuit.
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“Just enjoy the moment,” the Penguins captain said in comments provided by Dave Molinari of pittsburghhockeynow.com. I still remember a lot about my first year, all these years later […] Playing against guys you saw the year before every night. You take on this challenge, but you also want to enjoy it because you only have the first year once and there are so many things that are so “cool” about it. He’ll want to do well, but [il devrait] Try to enjoy it as much as you can.”
Still, the 36-year-old athlete had some good words about how the Illinois-based club’s No. 98 is handling all the excitement surrounding him.
“I think he’s mature,” Crosby said. He has been in the spotlight for a while now. I think he handled the situation very well. He is confident in his abilities. Whenever he was challenged or put under pressure, I think he always raised his level. It’s impressive to see how he handled himself.”
Say “no” more often.
After all, Crosby has made it no secret that he would have liked to have done one thing differently when he started his career. He hopes Bedard won’t imitate him at that level.
“Maybe I would have said “no” a little more. There were many requests for interviews. There is a lot going on not only on the ice, but also off the ice. So you put a lot of pressure on yourself. He’s under a lot of pressure, but I’m sure he puts a lot of pressure on himself. “That’s probably the pressure he feels the most,” he said.
Because there is never a coincidence in life, Bedard’s first career game in the National Hockey League (NHL) will be against Crosby, as the Hawks face the Pens on October 10 on the Pittsburgh side.