Back To Where It All Began: Sidney Crosby Takes On Role Of Teacher At Hometown Hockey Camp
COLE HARBOUR, Nova Scotia (KDKA) -- With its small town charm and beautiful scenery, Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, is a lovely place to visit.
Nova Scotia has a population of 25,000, but none of them is as well-known as "the kid" they refer to as their No. 1 son. He's a popular conversation topic amongst the locals, along with the sport he's so good at.
Cole Harbour is the hometown of hockey superstar Sidney Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
And if you didn't know that, you would just by being there for a few minutes.
All the local sporting goods stores can't keep Crosby merchandise in stock. They sell it year-round. And when their native son takes the ice, you can tell how important he is to the community.
The old barn known as Cole Harbour Place is where it all began for Crosby.
It's the place where he began to skate, it's the place where he started to dream big about an NHL career, and now it's the place where he's helping young kids do the same.
KDKA's Bob Pompeani: "This is where it started for you right?"
Crosby: "Yeah, this is my home rink. This is a place where I have a lot of great memories growing up, practicing here, played a lot of tournaments here. To have this here is pretty special."
The Penguins' star is talking about his first annual Sidney Crosby Hockey School, and as you would expect, he has done it first-class. That's because when he was a kid, he says things like it motivated him.
"Definitely spent a lot of time going to hockey schools," said Crosby, "teaching them as well, even at a young age. As a teenager, that was a summer job. It was a pretty easy summer job."
At the hockey camp bearing his name, his job is to instruct and help the kids of Cole Harbour.
"Keep moving, keep moving, shoot. Good job," he told them.
There were kids from six different countries there; including Japan.
His role as a face of the NHL is something he takes seriously. To that end, he made sure everyone had a moment to meet him, take a picture and get a look at his rings and medals.
"Did you see the ring? Wow, how many diamonds are in it?" asked one of the wide-eyed students.
Crosby: "I don't know, but it's really huge!"
And in the hockey world, so is Crosby, nobody bigger, nobody more recognizable in the sport, and nobody more appreciative to grow up in Cole Harbour.
Stay with KDKA for more with Sidney Crosby on Thursday. He'll talk all things Penguins, including the addition of Phil Kessel and others. We'll also get his take on the new 3-on-3 overtime rule, and what he thinks the NHL must do to increase scoring.
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