knows a little B次元官网网址� OK, maybe more than a little B次元官网网址� about being hockeyB次元官网网址檚 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 B次元官网网址淪id the KidB次元官网网址� 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 thatB次元官网网址檚 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 B次元官网网址� 1,502 and counting B次元官网网址� 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 wonB次元官网网址檛 just see the player he grew up idolizing. He will see a mentor well-versed in the unique crucible Bedard B次元官网网址� born two weeks before Crosby arrived in Pittsburgh and himself chosen No. 1 just weeks before his 18th birthday B次元官网网址� will find himself in over the next six months and quite possibly the next 16 years B次元官网网址� or more.

B次元官网网址淚 think heB次元官网网址檚 a guy thatB次元官网网址檚 more than ready at this point,B次元官网网址� Crosby said. B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 been dealing with the expectations for a while now. B次元官网网址� I think, at this point, heB次元官网网址檚 just ready to finally start and get all of that over with. You can relate to things like that.B次元官网网址�

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 heB次元官网网址檚 not the wunderkind he once was. That he has more hockey behind him than in front of him. That at one point heB次元官网网址檒l hand the baton of being the most recognizable active player in the sport heB次元官网网址檚 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.

DonB次元官网网址檛 let the small but noticeable flecks of gray that dot CrosbyB次元官网网址檚 hair fool you. While the league has become increasingly littered with B次元官网网址淣ext Sidney Crosbys,B次元官网网址� 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.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think itB次元官网网址檚 by accident heB次元官网网址檚 as good as he is,B次元官网网址� Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 an ultra talent without a doubt but he has an appetite for the game thatB次元官网网址檚 been unmatched by anyone IB次元官网网址檝e been around.B次元官网网址�

An appetite that doesnB次元官网网址檛 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.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址楬ey, did you see that Colorado play on the power play? ThatB次元官网网址檚 a really nice play, we should think about that,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Sullivan said.

Crosby sheepishly points out that he doesnB次元官网网址檛 watch hockey B次元官网网址渆very single nightB次元官网网址� but when the remote is in his hand it inevitably finds a way to a game. The smartest player of his generation canB次元官网网址檛 help himself. He doesnB次元官网网址檛 study hockey as much as he absorbs it.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 hard not to pick up on things or try to learn,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 think youB次元官网网址檝e got to continue to learn.B次元官网网址�

A process that never stops. It canB次元官网网址檛 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 donB次元官网网址檛 create the blur they once did.

Sullivan called Crosby B次元官网网址渁 wiser version of himself.B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 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 PittsburghB次元官网网址檚 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 captainB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淐B次元官网网址� on his left shoulder .

Bedard, who has crossed paths with his childhood idol on occasion as heB次元官网网址檚 made his way to the NHL, understands that responsibility will likely one day be his, too. Perhaps sooner rather than later. ItB次元官网网址檚 part of the gig, a gig Crosby has handled so gracefully it feels like second nature.

B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 such a good role model for everyone, the way he carries himself on and off the ice,B次元官网网址� Bedard said. B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 been in that spotlight for almost 20 years now and seems to have handled it so well. ThatB次元官网网址檚 something thatB次元官网网址檚 really easy to look up to and I always do.B次元官网网址�

Forgive Bedard if he admits thereB次元官网网址檚 a chance he may be B次元官网网址渟tarstruckB次元官网网址� when the puck drops. He expects the B次元官网网址渨ow, IB次元官网网址檓 finally hereB次元官网网址� 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 familyB次元官网网址檚 TV set in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, come vividly into focus right in front of him.

B次元官网网址淲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,B次元官网网址� Crosby said.

It should be much the same on Tuesday night, when the NHLB次元官网网址檚 future comes face-to-face with its, well, itB次元官网网址檚 far too soon to say past, isnB次元官网网址檛 it?

B次元官网网址淚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,B次元官网网址� Crosby said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 why you love the opportunity to play in the NHL and do that every night. So thatB次元官网网址檚 what I get up for.B次元官网网址�

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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