The Pittsburgh Penguins are in Nova Scotia to play a preseason game and a visit to Sidney Crosby’s hometown of Cole Harbor was necessary.
The Pens held a practice at Cole Harbor Place on Sunday and many fans lined up to get a glimpse of the local hero. Starting at 6 a.m., a long line formed around the arena.
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There’s a pretty long line outside Cole Harbor Place this Sunday morning waiting to watch Sidney Crosby and the Penguins practice.
They started gathering at 6am! pic.twitter.com/1IJsHYxrvW
— Pens in Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) October 1, 2023
As he stepped onto the ice, Crosby was cheered wildly, and every kid in the stands wanted to get the famous number 87’s attention.
“It’s pretty crazy. “I thought the bay window was going to break,” Penguins forward Bryan Rust said on the Penguins’ X account (formerly Twitter). It’s amazing how important Sid is to this community. You walk through town and see his name on the welcome sign.”
In addition to training, Crosby and his teammates, including Evgeni Malkin, organized an on-ice development workshop for young hockey players in the area.
The Penguins face the Ottawa Senators on Monday at the Scotiabank Center in Halifax, a half-hour drive from Cole Harbour. According to his longtime pal Kristopher Letang, no one was more excited about the trip than Crosby.
“He was very excited. During the training camp he praised us about the place. You can see how happy he seems to be that he can bring the penguins to his hometown. To be honest, it’s a little emotional,” commented the Quebec defender.
In fact, Crosby’s mother is said to have cooked delicious banana bread for the team’s players. No doubt, the penguins were very well received!