Prospect Profile: Sidney Crosby

Joe Sager of pittsburghpenguins.com introduces Sidney Crosby to Penguins fans:

Sidney Crosby stood outside the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine on a sultry August afternoon after Pittsburgh Penguins rookie orientation. The air was thick with humidity and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

“Wow, it’s hot, eh?” he asked. “It’s definitely not hot like this at home. We usually get a pretty good breeze off the water. Hopefully, the temperature lowers for training camp.”

There’s little chance of that happening.

Ever since the ping-pong balls at the NHL Draft Drawing determined Crosby’s destination, Penguins fans have had an incessant fever. It grows day by day as Crosby’s selection as the No. 1 pick in the NHL Entry Draft spurned a hockey rebirth in Pittsburgh.

And, following Crosby like hockey’s Pied Piper, elite players are lining up to join the Penguins: Sergei Gonchar, Ziggy Palffy and John LeClair – to name a few.

The end result: A highly skilled team with a good mix of quality rookies and experienced and talented veterans that is poised to take the NHL by storm.

“I am really lucky. A lot of guys in similar situations that have been drafted high often go to teams that are rebuilding,” Crosby said. “I am going to a team that has some great veterans and great youth as well, so it’s a great mix for me. I feel very fortunate to be in that situation. I know I have the opportunity to learn a lot. I am going to try to take advantage of that.”

Read more here.