Sidney Crosby's Worlds Will Collide in the Nova Scotia Showdown

Sidney Crosby will see his worlds collide in the coming days as he brings the Pittsburgh Penguins to his home province for the Nova Scotia Showdown, an exhibition game against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Centre - the home of the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League - on Monday.

Crosby grew up in Cole Harbour – about 10 miles away from Halifax, the closest big city – and has spent his summers there throughout his career. Head Coach Mike Sullivan sees the trip as a great opportunity for his team, especially their captain.

“I think this is a great trip for the Penguins organization. I think this a terrific trip for Sid in particular, going to his hometown,” Sullivan said. “He’s done so much for the Pittsburgh Penguins, he’s done so much for the NHL, he’s done so much for the city of Pittsburgh. To have the opportunity to bring his team to his hometown and play an exhibition game there is a great tribute to him.”

It's something that the captain is very much looking forward to.

“I didn’t think I’d get the opportunity to have everyone play at home and experience this,” Crosby said. “So, I’ll definitely try and enjoy it… I know everyone there is excited.”

Crosby’s new teammate Ryan Graves, who signed a six-year contract with the Penguins on the first day of free agency, is also from Nova Scotia – hailing from Yarmouth, which is a few hours away from Halifax. The defenseman said this game was one of the first things he thought of after signing with Pittsburgh, “as the opportunity to play in your home province isn’t going to come along very often.”

That being said, Graves smiled that he’s going to leave the tour guide duties to Crosby. Especially since the team plans to go through some team-building activities over the weekend, as they flew to Halifax after practice on Friday for that very reason.

“We got a lot of new faces, and just to get together and get out of the routine of camp a little bit, we haven't been able to do something like this for a while,” Crosby said. “Some teams do stuff like this every year, and it's nice that it worked out that we could do this. Obviously, we still got to get ready (for the regular season), and there's still some work to do. But you know, cool to be able to play in Halifax, and I know everyone there is excited.”

Graves, who was born in 1995, said he’s part of one of the first generations that truly got to look up to Crosby and watch him when he broke into the NHL in 2005. They’ve seen what he means to Pittsburgh and the NHL, but are excited to experience what Crosby means to his home province, both at the game and through the community work the team is doing after their practice on Sunday.

“To be the best player in the game for so many years, people there just idolize him and for what he's done in the community and for kids growing up. Like, just the way he's paved the way for them, it's awesome,” he said. “Him coming home and doing this game for the people that wouldn't have the chance to come to Pittsburgh or other places that are a little further away – they’ll get to see him around the community, see that game, hopefully – is great.

“Then, even if you've been to a game somewhere else, there’s something different about seeing him play in his own province and how special that is. That does not happen very often, so it’s going to be very cool.”

For Crosby, it’s not just a chance to return to his hometown, but to the sheet of ice where he raised his first major trophy. The game will be played in the 11,093-seat Scotiabank Centre, which is where Crosby clinched the 2005 QMJHL championship with the Rimouski Oceanic. The arena also played host to this year’s World Junior Championship, and it’s a place that Crosby and his teammates expect a jubilant crowd.

“It’s going to be great for a preseason game to get that almost-playoff feel,” forward Noel Acciari said. “I think it’ll be a lot of fun.”

As high as those expectations are, Rakell blew them out of the water when discussing the reception he anticipated for their arrival in Halifax.

 “Probably a parade or something when we are landing. I don’t expect anything less,” the winger joked.