knows a little 鈥� OK, maybe more than a little 鈥� about being hockey鈥檚 next big thing.
The hype. The attention. The pressure. It can be a lot for a teenager to handle, no matter how talented, how driven, how focused they are.
Crosby was that teenager literally half a lifetime ago when the Pittsburgh Penguins selected 鈥淪id the Kid鈥� first overall in the summer of 2005, weeks before his 18th birthday.
All the franchise and the city asked of him was everything. Over the better part of the last two decades, Crosby has delivered it. All of it.
Stanley Cup championships. A sparkling downtown arena. A regional transformation that鈥檚 made western Pennsylvania a hockey hotbed. All while serving as the face of the franchise and the league he helped revitalize one rush, one pass, one goal, one point 鈥� 1,502 and counting 鈥� at a time.
So when Chicago Blackhawks skates onto the PPG Paints Arena ice on tonight for the NHL season-opener and sees Crosby on the other side, he won鈥檛 just see the player he grew up idolizing. He will see a mentor well-versed in the unique crucible Bedard 鈥� born two weeks before Crosby arrived in Pittsburgh and himself chosen No. 1 just weeks before his 18th birthday 鈥� will find himself in over the next six months and quite possibly the next 16 years 鈥� or more.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 a guy that鈥檚 more than ready at this point,鈥� Crosby said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been dealing with the expectations for a while now. 鈥� I think, at this point, he鈥檚 just ready to finally start and get all of that over with. You can relate to things like that.鈥�
Or at least, Crosby can, though the two-time Hart Trophy winner and future Hall of Famer prefers not to spend too much time looking in the rearview mirror.
Yes, the now 36-year-old understands he鈥檚 not the wunderkind he once was. That he has more hockey behind him than in front of him. That at one point he鈥檒l hand the baton of being the most recognizable active player in the sport he鈥檚 helped redefine to someone else. Maybe Connor McDavid. Maybe Bedard. Maybe someone other prodigy drawn to the game because of something No. 87 did on the ice.
Don鈥檛 let the small but noticeable flecks of gray that dot Crosby鈥檚 hair fool you. While the league has become increasingly littered with 鈥淣ext Sidney Crosbys,鈥� the 1.0 version remains very much intent on proving the fire burns just as bright entering his 19th season as it did in his first.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 by accident he鈥檚 as good as he is,鈥� Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 an ultra talent without a doubt but he has an appetite for the game that鈥檚 been unmatched by anyone I鈥檝e been around.鈥�
An appetite that doesn鈥檛 have an off switch. At least one that works anyway. There will be times when Sullivan will be at home during a rare night off during the season when his phone will light up with a text message from his longtime captain.
鈥淚t鈥檚 鈥楬ey, did you see that Colorado play on the power play? That鈥檚 a really nice play, we should think about that,鈥欌�� Sullivan said.
Crosby sheepishly points out that he doesn鈥檛 watch hockey 鈥渆very single night鈥� but when the remote is in his hand it inevitably finds a way to a game. The smartest player of his generation can鈥檛 help himself. He doesn鈥檛 study hockey as much as he absorbs it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard not to pick up on things or try to learn,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think you鈥檝e got to continue to learn.鈥�
A process that never stops. It can鈥檛 for a player who is relentlessly searching for an edge, who is still almost impossible to separate from the puck, whose innate ability to see things before they happen remains intact even as the legs that have carried the Penguins to three championships don鈥檛 create the blur they once did.
Sullivan called Crosby 鈥渁 wiser version of himself.鈥� It鈥檚 a wisdom gleaned from 1,370 games of being held to a standard few can match, a standard that Crosby embraces perhaps now more than ever.
Crosby collected 33 goals and 60 assists while playing all 82 games last season, his production one of the few constants in an uneven year in which Pittsburgh鈥檚 streak of consecutive playoff appearances ended at 16. Crosby shouldered much of the blame and disappointment even though it largely lay elsewhere, typical of a player who has had the captain鈥檚 鈥淐鈥� on his left shoulder .
Bedard, who has crossed paths with his childhood idol on occasion as he鈥檚 made his way to the NHL, understands that responsibility will likely one day be his, too. Perhaps sooner rather than later. It鈥檚 part of the gig, a gig Crosby has handled so gracefully it feels like second nature.
鈥淗e鈥檚 such a good role model for everyone, the way he carries himself on and off the ice,鈥� Bedard said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been in that spotlight for almost 20 years now and seems to have handled it so well. That鈥檚 something that鈥檚 really easy to look up to and I always do.鈥�
Forgive Bedard if he admits there鈥檚 a chance he may be 鈥渟tarstruck鈥� when the puck drops. He expects the 鈥渨ow, I鈥檓 finally here鈥� daze to disappear once the game begins. Probably a good idea.
While Crosby practically rolled his eyes when asked if he plans to teach Bedard a thing or two, he remembers what it was like to enter the league and see the players once only visible through the flickering of the family鈥檚 TV set in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, come vividly into focus right in front of him.
鈥淲hen I was a young guy playing an older guy, I looked at it as an opportunity to go out there and compete against the best,鈥� Crosby said.
It should be much the same on Tuesday night, when the NHL鈥檚 future comes face-to-face with its, well, it鈥檚 far too soon to say past, isn鈥檛 it?
鈥淚f the young guy is coming up or being touted as the best, what a great opportunity that is to be able to go out there and go head to head against those guys,鈥� Crosby said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why you love the opportunity to play in the NHL and do that every night. So that鈥檚 what I get up for.鈥�
The Bedard/Crosby matchup is one of three games and plenty of storylines as the NHL opens its regular season Tuesday night.
The Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights will show off their new bling and banner as they entertain the Seattle Kraken at T-Mobile Arena. The Knights won their first Stanley Cup on June 13 by defeating the Florida Panthers 4-1 in the best-of-seven final.
And the always-tough Tampa Bay Lightning, without injured all-star netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy, host the rebuilt Nashville Predators at Amalie Arena.
Each of the 32 teams will play an 82-game schedule, resulting in a 1,312-regular-season schedule that winds up April 18.
All seven Canadian teams begin their season Wednesday: Montreal Canadiens visit the Toronto Maple Leafs; Vancouver Canucks host the Edmonton Oilers; Winnipeg Jets visit the Calgary Flames; and Ottawa Senators visit the Carolina Hurricanes.
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