Despite his age and passing years, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby believes he has enough gas left in the tank to keep up with his young Dolphins who want to follow in his footsteps.
The 36-year-old veteran begins his 19th career season in the National Hockey League (NHL) on Tuesday when his team hosts one Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. This is a first confrontation between “Sid the Kid” and the number 1 pick in the most recent draft, who many already see as the successor to Crosby and Connor McDavid, the player of the hour in the eyes of a majority of experts.
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However, the Pens’ color bearer still has the holy fire and wants to get his team back to the playoffs. Above all, he wants to fight for another Stanley Cup and there is currently no talk of retiring.
“I just love competing. When I was a young man competing against an older man, I saw it as an opportunity to go out and fight the best. “If the young player is perceived as such, it’s a great opportunity to compete against him,” the forward told NHL.com. That’s why I love the chance to play in the NHL every night. That’s what drives me. The age, the synopsis, that doesn’t change.”
The fact is that the Nova Scotian knows how to recognize the quality of his opponents Bedard and McDavid, whom he highly values.
“They are excellent hockey players. “I take that as a compliment,” he said of the comparisons. When I was younger I was compared to a few, so I can say something about that. And I’ve already made it clear: they are very good players with great skills.
Still very useful
Even though Crosby finished 16th last season with 93 points, 60 points fewer than McDavid, almost all pool players would add him to their lineup in a heartbeat. His performances remain more than satisfactory and there are no signs of a decline in performance unless the Penguins have serious problems or injuries.
In addition, the middle player tries to prepare optimally to avoid such pitfalls.
“In my opinion it doesn’t matter if you are young or older, you have to adapt and evolve depending on the changes in the way you play. Then you have to take advantage of these opportunities, he said. You must try to perform at your best physically to ensure you play at the highest level and compete accordingly. It’s about learning and continuing to adapt. I want to do it all the time.”